Thick and Thin

I’ve just been sharpening a new pencil I’d picked up from my kitchen drawer to replace the stub of my last one. But it has no marking on it and when I wrote the first word on my desktop notebook the lines were too thick to be of any use. Why don’t all pencils have HB or whatever on them.

I actually didn’t know what all the symbols on pencils meant until a couple of years ago. Here are the sizes or grades in the UK:

I usually use the boring old HB but occasionally have been known to stray into B territory but have never had to consider 2B or not 2B.

If you want to check the differences or want to know anything about the thick and thin of pencils you really should make a visit to The Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick which is the only museum of its kind in the UK, offering a journey through the history, art, and science of pencils.

Borrowdale shepherds are said to have discovered that the black substance clinging to the base of an upturned tree was really useful for marking their sheep. The mineral was graphite, known locally as “wad”. In the 17th century some saw it as more valuable than gold, which led to a thriving black market, centred on a Keswick pub.

Derwent Pencil Museum

Through interactive displays and hands-on exhibits, visitors to the Museum can explore the entire process of making a pencil, from mining the graphite to the final product. It also showcases a collection of art created using pencils that show how the different grades from 9H to 9B are needed.

It is also home to one of the biggest and thickest colouring pencils in the world. The yellow pencil was completed on 28 May 2001, is 7.91 metres (26 ft) long, and weighs 446.36 kilograms (984.1 lb).

the longest pencil

At the other extreme is this:

During World War II Keswick pencil-makers were commissioned by MI6’s Charles Fraser-Smith – the real-life Q – to design and make a secret pencil to help British airmen evade capture. The ordinary-looking pencils concealed miniature brass compasses and tightly rolled tissue-paper maps showing escape routes out of Germany.

the WW II secret pencil

The museum provides engaging activities for younger visitors, including quizzes, drawing challenges, and opportunities to create their own personalized pencils.

Just in case you think going to see a pencil could be boring here are a couple of comments:

We had a great time visiting the museum which is also dog friendly. The quiz they give you to complete on the way around was a great idea and we enjoyed finding all the answers to get our prize at the end! Well worth the £6 entry free and would recommend to anyone visiting Keswick, especially if you have a dog with you!

Very interesting museum. Lots of information .They gave us a clipboard quiz which wasn’t too easy but the prize was free pencils.

Good parking ( parking entrance behind museum) small cafe and gift shop.

We were in the museum 2 hours. We visited with the kids, and they loved it.

In the summer it’s open from Monday to Sunday.

The actual topic was Thick and Thin. So how about this:

[love is more thicker than forget]

love is more thicker than forget
more thinner than recall
more seldom than a wave is wet
more frequent than to fail

it is most mad and moonly
and less it shall unbe
than all the sea which only
is deeper than the sea

love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive

it is most sane and sunly
and more it cannot die
than all the sky which only
is higher than the sky

                                     E. E. Cummings

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.