The Development Stage of Pencil

Phase 1

The birth of graphite: At this time, the "graphite pencil rod" was still in the primitive stage of only being able to write;

In 1564, a black mineral called graphite was discovered in a place called Barodale in England. Soon, some local shepherds discovered that graphite could be used to mark sheep's bodies. Inspired by this, people cut graphite blocks into small strips for writing and painting. But graphite strips can easily stain hands and break easily. In 1761, German chemist Faber solved this problem: he first ground graphite ore into powder, washed it with water to remove impurities, and obtained pure graphite powder; Then, he added sulfur, antimony, rosin and other substances to the graphite powder; Then the mixture is heated and solidified, and pressed into the shape of a pen, which is the earliest prototype of a pencil.

Phase 2

The Birth of Wooden Pencil Holders: After a hundred years of development, the "pencil" at this time has entered the initial stage of its own evolution. The emergence of wooden pencil holders has become a semi-finished product of "pencils", and the main type of pencil holder on the market is this type, which users need to sharpen again before they can use.

From the perspective of 2017, the "pencil" invented by Kong De is actually just a pencil lead. The task of putting a wooden "coat" on a pencil lead was completed by an American carpenter named William Monroe in 1812. The machine invented by Monroe can cut standardized thin wooden strips ranging from 5 to 18 centimeters in length, and can dig a groove in the middle of the strip that fits perfectly with the pencil lead. Place the pencil lead into the slot, and then align and bond the two wooden strips to create the first modern pencil rod. Until 2018, this was still the standard process for manufacturing ordinary pen holders.

Phase 3

The birth of cap pencils: With the widespread use of pencils, a series of problems with traditional pencil stems have also been exposed, bringing many troubles to people, such as unhygienic use, easy to break pen tips, and difficulty in carrying, all of which have brought new challenges to the progress and development of the pencil industry. The emergence of cap pencils solves the development bottleneck faced by the modern pencil industry in product innovation.