Perhaps we’re biased, but there’s a unique beauty to drawing pencils that isn’t matched by your everyday writing pencil. Usually painted in a pleasing color and embossed with their name and grade, ...

Despite the name, pencils have never been made with lead. They’re made with graphite, a form of carbon. Just where does graphite come from, and why did we decided to write with it? NPR took a look ...

National Pencil Day (March 30) is a big deal in pencil circles. Pencil sales are better than ever, in spite of consumer infatuation with high-tech tablets and other digital tools and gewgaws. Sales of ...