Even though pencils can be found everywhere, they're not all made with the same care. The leads of graphite pencils are made with ground graphite and a filler and the ratio of one to the other determines what grade of hardness a pencil is. The type of filler used depends on the manufacturer. The "harder" grades (F - 9H) contain more filler, and the "softer" grades (HB - 9B) contain less. While the correct ratio of filler to graphite for each hardness grade is well known, I've never found two brands of pencils that seem to use the same formula. One brand's 2H pencil can be the same as another's 4H. I've even found huge variations in consistency between different lots of the same brand, so it's a good idea to test each new pencil.

Here's a general interpretation of pencil grades:

Extremely Hard - 9H to 7H	Very Hard - 6H to 5H	Hard - 4H to 3H
Medium Hard - 2H to H	Medium - F to HB	Medium Soft - B to 2B
Soft - 3B to 4B	Very Soft - 5B to 6B	Extremely Soft - 7B to 9B

The following table shows a comparison of some of the most common drawing pencils available in the US. I've judged them by the quality of the filler used and by how each grade looks on paper. I've listed approximate prices, too, but a good pencil saves you a ton of frustration and that's worth quite a bit! Some pencils don't come in a full range of grades, especially mechanical pencil leads, so you may have to mix and match if you want a full range to draw with. For example, I currently use Staedtler Drawing Leads in a mechanical holder and use Derwent Graphic Pencils to complete the range.

Brand	Range	Quality	Price	Best Fine Art Choice	Best Sketching Choice
Derwent Graphic Pencils	9B - 9H	Excellent	High	X	.
Cretacolor Fine Art Graphite Pencils	2H - 9B	Average	Avg.	.	.
Cretacolor Monolith Woodless Pencil	HB - 9B	Average	High	.	.
Palomino	2B - 2H	Excellent	Avg.	.	X
General's Kimberly Drawing Pencils	6B - 9H	Poor	Low	.	.
Sanford Turquoise Drawing Pencils	6B - 9H	Average	Avg.	.	.
Sanford Turquoise Leads - 2mm	6B - 6H	Average	Low	.	.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Drawing Leads - 2mm	2B - 4H	Excellent	High	X	.
High - $1.26 to $1.50 each Average - $0.86 to $1.25 Low - $0.55 to $0.85 each Excellent - Clearly defined, consistent grades, filler is mixed well, sharpen well. Avg. - May be some inconsistency between grades of pencils but filler is usually mixed well, usually sharpen well. Poor - Grades are not consistent, sharp bits in filler can tear paper, leads break often while sharpening.

Graphite Drawing Pencil FAQ

Do I need a pencil in each hardness?

Not at first. A good range for a beginner is 4B, 2B, B, 2H, 4H. If you're more experienced and are moving into fine art drawing, though, you'll need a full range of leads to create different effects.

What do you think about the ultra small (.5 mm) leads for mechanical pencils?

I don't use them. They don't come in the full range of hardness and, more importantly, I use very sharp leads to create many of the textures in my drawings and these small leads are too blunt for that, and they're too fragile to sharpen.

Graphite is shiny. Is there anyway to avoid that?

No, but there are a couple of things you can do to make it less of a problem. After a drawing is finished, spray it with a matte fixative. That cuts down on the shininess considerably and keeps the work from being inadvertently smeared. Any shininess left after fixing is usually only visible at certain angles so, if the drawing is hung on a wall, shininess is usually not visible at all. For the best possible presentation, fix your drawing, have it matted, and hang it out of direct sunlight. (That's the best way to care for any artwork.)