Of course #1 pencils exist. There is a long history of pencil technology and features. Going back to the late 19th century, when pencils were first mass-produced, there was only one way to make a "standard" pencil, and nearly all manufacuturers used the same graphite "recipie", length of pencil, and the all-important four-sided square cross-section.

Of course, as time and manufacturing technology progressed, people found that it was cheaper and more comfortable for writers to use a six-sided hexagon cross-section. In today's terminology, this would be "pencil version 2.0", but given the period, they just called it "#2".

The "#1" pencil with its square cross-section still exists and is used by mainly by architects and others in the drafting profession. I believe the reason is so that the pencil won't roll off the slanted surface of a drafting board, though I suspect that "olde tyme" tradition has something to do with it.

Some manufacturers offer a #3 pencil, which has an eight-sided octogon cross-section, and round pencils (a circular cross-section) are most commonly known as #0 pencils, though I've seen them called #4 pencils in some catalogs.

I found this funny because I do work for the government and everybody I asked knew what the difference was. I was given lectures on the subject. Well just to show you that figures don't lie but liars figure.

It's so funny that this thread comes up right now. My students (also Massachusetts) were taking the MCAS recently, and they were asking about #1 pencils, so I told them the story.

What's REALLY strange here is that I mentioned the #1 vs. #2 story to my boyfriend, and he mentioned that he'd seen an Antiques Roadshow where this woman had a #1/2 pencil worth about $40K. Her father had been an architect or something, he doesn't remember the circumstance. Weird!

Shane, you violated the "wikipedia" ban. Your information,however, sounds like what I remember.

by the way, i felt it would be useful for me to tell you that pencils were first manufacturedc here in England, in shropshire, where the graphite was originally mined. and they didn't have #1 and #2 pencils - it's b, hb , 2b, 4b, 6b, 8b, h, 2h, 4h, 6h, 8h in that order

typically, no one has mentioned the 'f' pencil (fine point). it nestles comfortably between h and hb and is the nib of choice for many sketchers.
don't get me started on erasers!!!

simmah down now, guv'nah.

Posted By: hitchhiker

legatissimo that was a racist and xenophobic comment which i do not appreciate and im sure no other british people do (if there are any on this forum)

and eatthefrog... get a life!!! im not a pencil collector you know

hitchiker that was a xenophobic comment and i do not think that eatthefrog would appreciate what you said about him/her and im sure that many other people agree that you are contradicting yourself

And I thought that it was pretty funny, legatissimo. Waste your time writing to one of the many Royal Family mockery shows on CBC.

legatissimo that was a racist and xenophobic comment
half of us british hate the queen,we only keep her 4 tourism.
im a strong anti-royalist frm britain.
the irish hate her.
and half the scots.
queen victoria married her cousin,Albert who brought christmas trees to britain,because britain owned most of the known world at that time the crimbo tree spread around so u americans can thank us for crimbo trees and all of ur non-native population from 100 or so years ago!
u cnt keep angry at the germans,they make good booze.
(royals originate frm germany,as in the windsor family (originally known as saxe-coburg-gotha family or something like that)
o n srry 4 the duble post

It's a thin line between love and hate, ya know...

This may not be 'in vogue' in this day and age but I happen to respect the present Queen. As for the next generation of royals however, I'm totally nonplussed.

Ok Monetdell so the Roayl Family do cost a fair bit to upkeep but they bring in a large amount of cash through Tourism and I believe that Prince Charles would like all correspondence to be written in a B pencil. It may be his reptillian eyes working on differnt wavelegths. GO David Icke.

Is it me or are us British a bit anal when it comes to things like pencils. I can see the need to have a lot of coloured pencils but 11 different hardnesses of graphite. Were sorry we can't help it and are seeking help from our friend in the EU. Although they usually just put their head in their hands and sob when our PM talks to them.

Udoboy if we wish to dispose of pre fab four rock bands then we can it should not be a reason to disrespect us. Now removing west Yorkshire from the map was a sign of stupidity.

By the way you guys an gals in the States has anyone found the Hippo yet- Just saw a posting from Gullible.info on my homepage. How does someone steal a Hippo. Do you just put a hat on it and call it Hank?! no disrespect intended.

Can I just ask, what the heck does the Royal Family have to do with pencils? And how on Earth can it be a racist and/or xenophobic comment?

Shaft, it's simply a matter of rotating the scroll wheel.