Small Thing Big Idea
Caroline Weaver: Why the pencil is perfect
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Why are pencils shaped like hexagons, and how did they get their iconic yellow color? Pencil shop owner Caroline Weaver takes us inside the fascinating history of the pencil.
Caroline Weaver - Author, pencil store owner
Caroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City. Full bio
Caroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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The sound is a really big part, I think,
of the experience of using a pencil,
of the experience of using a pencil,
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and it has this really
audible scratchiness.
audible scratchiness.
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(Scratching)
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[Small thing. Big idea.]
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[Caroline Weaver on
the Pencil]
the Pencil]
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The pencil is a very simple object.
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It's made of wood
with some layers of paint
with some layers of paint
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an eraser and a core,
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which is made out of graphite,
clay and water.
clay and water.
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Yeah, it took hundreds
of people over centuries
of people over centuries
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to come to this design.
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And it's that long history
of collaboration
of collaboration
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that, to me, makes it
a very perfect object.
a very perfect object.
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The story of the pencil
starts with graphite.
starts with graphite.
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People started finding
really useful applications
really useful applications
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for this new substance.
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They cut it into small sticks
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and wrapped it in string
or sheepskin or paper
or sheepskin or paper
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and sold it on the streets of London
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to be used for writing or for drawing
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or, a lot of times,
by farmers and shepherds,
by farmers and shepherds,
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who used it to mark their animals.
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Over in France,
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Nicolas-Jacques Conté figured out a method
of grinding the graphite,
of grinding the graphite,
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mixing it with powdered clay
and water to make a paste.
and water to make a paste.
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From there, this paste was filled
into a mold and fired in a kiln,
into a mold and fired in a kiln,
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and the result was
a really strong graphite core
a really strong graphite core
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that wasn't breakable,
that was smooth, usable --
that was smooth, usable --
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it was so much better than anything else
that existed at the time,
that existed at the time,
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and to this day, that's the method
that's still used in making pencils.
that's still used in making pencils.
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Meanwhile, over in America,
in Concord, Massachusetts,
in Concord, Massachusetts,
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it was Henry David Thoreau
who came up with the grading scale
who came up with the grading scale
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for different hardnesses of pencil.
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It was graded one through four,
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number two being the ideal
hardness for general use.
hardness for general use.
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The softer the pencil,
the more graphite it had in it,
the more graphite it had in it,
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and the darker and smoother
the line will be.
the line will be.
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The firmer the pencil,
the more clay it had in it
the more clay it had in it
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and the lighter and finer it will be.
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Originally, when pencils were handmade,
they were made round.
they were made round.
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There was no easy way to make them,
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and it was the Americans
who really mechanized the craft.
who really mechanized the craft.
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A lot of people credit Joseph Dixon
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for being one of the first people
to start developing actual machines
to start developing actual machines
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to do things like cut wood slats,
cut grooves into the wood,
cut grooves into the wood,
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apply glue to them ...
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And they figured out
it was easier and less wasteful
it was easier and less wasteful
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to do a hexagonal pencil,
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and so that became the standard.
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Since the early days of pencils,
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people have loved that they can be erased.
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Originally, it was bread crumbs
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that were used
to scratch away pencil marks
to scratch away pencil marks
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and later, rubber and pumice.
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The attached eraser happened in 1858,
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when American stationer
Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil
Hymen Lipman patented the first pencil
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with an attached eraser,
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which really changed the pencil game.
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The world's first yellow pencil
was the KOH-I-NOOR 1500.
was the KOH-I-NOOR 1500.
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KOH-I-NOOR did this crazy thing
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where they painted this pencil
with 14 coats of yellow paint
with 14 coats of yellow paint
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and dipped the end in 14-carat gold.
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There is a pencil for everyone,
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and every pencil has a story.
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The Blackwing 602 is famous
for being used by a lot of writers,
for being used by a lot of writers,
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especially John Steinbeck
and Vladimir Nabokov.
and Vladimir Nabokov.
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And then, you have
the Dixon pencil company.
the Dixon pencil company.
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They're responsible
for the Dixon Ticonderoga.
for the Dixon Ticonderoga.
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It's an icon,
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it's what people think of
when they think of a pencil
when they think of a pencil
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and what they think of
when they think of school.
when they think of school.
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And the pencil's really
a thing that, I think,
a thing that, I think,
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the average user
has never thought twice about,
has never thought twice about,
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how it's made or why it's made
the way it is,
the way it is,
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because it's just always been that way.
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In my opinion, there's nothing
that can be done
that can be done
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to make the pencil better than it is.
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It's perfect.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Caroline Weaver - Author, pencil store ownerCaroline Weaver owns CW Pencil Enterprise, a wood-cased pencil specialty shop in New York City.
Why you should listen
Grown from a lifelong interest and opened in 2015, Caroline Weaver's shop has garnered the attention of the New York Times, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and many other publications for its faithful dedication single object and its playful design. Weaver is also the author of The Pencil Perfect: the Untold Story of a Cultural Icon, a book on pencil history published by Gestalten in 2017.
Caroline Weaver | Speaker | TED.com