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Most people would say there really isn't anything special about mechanical pencils. You can buy printed mechanical pencils that have your name or the name of your school or club embossed on the side. That makes them a step above ordinary mechanical pencils. Some people buy personalized mechanical pencils for giveaways, often at office or school events, and sometimes as party favours (usually for little kids, not adults). Others use customized mechanical pencils.

Typically only the serious student, artist or some type of consultant or mathematician would require customized mechanical pencils. An artist for example may need several different types of mechanical pencils to complete a work of art done in pencil. A mathematician may want to use a specially branded mechanical pencil.

A schoolteacher would most definitely want his or her students using mechanical pencils or at the very least traditional pencils.

Wooden or Paper Pencils?

Most traditional pencils are made from graphite, charcoal or collared pigments wrapped in wood or sometimes paper sheaths. Today's mechanical pencils house graphite or other writing materials in a plastic or rubber container. The exact amount of writing material, usually still graphite, can easily be extracted for use when needed.

A rubber adjustable eraser is often included with traditional mechanical pencils saving time in searching around for the elusive rubber.

Pencils Get Grades

No two pencils today are crafted alike. A defined classification and grading system currently exists that defines the blackness of the graphite or charcoal material contained within a mechanical or wooden pencil, the hardness of the material and the quality of the point.

Pens and pencils are both graded as having a fine point or medium point for example. Pens may come in black or blue ink; pencils may have colours ranging from a light-soft gray-white to a dark, hard charcoal black. There are many different colours, thicknesses and hardness' between these. There are as many as twenty different grades of colours in many different pencil manufacturers' pencil line ups.

Typically such large gradations of colour and thickness are used primarily in the artistry industry. Most artists that want to colour or draw with pencils and charcoal require a wide range of colours, thickness and texture. Whereas in times of old only mechanical pencils were used to create great masterpieces, today many artists consider working with mechanical pencils interesting, innovative and newly challenging. For this reason the mechanical pencil is likely to stick around for quite a while longer. The mechanical pencil will likely continue to evolve much like its predecessors, the wooden and paper pencils.

Colour Mechanical Pencils

Traditionally only wooden pencils came in colour. Today many manufacturers are realizing the benefits of expanding their offerings. In the very near future it may be the norm for all manufacturers to offer collared mechanical pencils not just for artists but for everyone interested in expressing art through colour. Mechanical pencils in colour or in traditional colours are highly valued because they tend to last longer than traditional pencils, and rarely require any maintenance (like sharpening).