Tap a grade to see where it sits on the hardness scale, what it's typically used for, and the nearest US pencil number. This is the conventional trade ordering graphite pencils are sold under — not a calibrated hardness test.
H stands for hardness — more clay in the graphite core gives a lighter, harder mark that holds a point well. B stands for blackness — more graphite gives a softer, darker, smudgier mark. F sits between the two as "fine point", and HB is the everyday middle grade.
US pencils are numbered, most commonly #1 (soft, close to B) through #4 (hard, close to 2H), with the everyday #2 landing close to HB. Brands don't calibrate this the same way, so the mapping here is a typical equivalence, not an exact one.
No. There's no single lab standard tying, say, a 2B from one maker to a 2B from another — core formulation varies. This page shows the conventional ordering and typical use for each grade, not a calibrated measurement.
Everyday writing sits around F to 2B. Technical drafting and fine linework favour the harder end, 4H to H, for a crisp, light line that doesn't smudge under a straightedge. Sketching, shading and expressive drawing favour the softer end, 2B to 9B, for rich dark tone. The extremes — 9H–6H and 6B–9B — are more specialist: light non-photo layout lines at the hard end, charcoal-like blacks at the soft end.
