HB
The middle of the scale.
Hardness
Blackness
Usually for: Writing, school, light sketches — the everyday pencil.
Link to this grade: https://mariuscomper.uk/duritate-creioane/en/?grade=HB
The pencil lead scale · 20 grades, from 9H to 9B
What do HB, 2B, 4B and 2H mean on a pencil?
H means a hard lead and a pale line, B a soft lead and a dark line, and the number says how much. Pick your pencil's stamp below.
Pick the stamp on your pencil §
One line, three leads: 2H, HB, 2B §
Three grades you meet everywhere, drawn one under another. 2H barely touches the paper, HB writes firmly, 2B presses black.
What the letters and numbers say §
- H
- hard — a lead with more clay, a pale line, a point that lasts.
- B
- black and soft — a lead with more graphite, a dark line, a point that wears fast.
- HB
- hard black — the middle: neither hard nor soft.
- F
- firm, fine point — sits between H and HB, for precise lines.
- 2–9
- the number says how much — 4B is softer and blacker than 2B, and 4H is harder and paler than 2H.
Some makers go past the ends of the scale: STAEDTLER climbs to 10H, Faber-Castell drops to 14B. In everyday sets, 9H–9B covers everything you buy.
Every grade, from 9H to 9B §
| Grade | Zone | How it draws | Usually for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9H | very hard | Extremely hard, with a very pale line. | Fine technical drawing, cartography; the point lasts a long time. |
| 8H | very hard | Extremely hard, with a very pale line. | Technical drawing, precision lines. |
| 7H | very hard | Extremely hard, with a pale line. | Technical drawing, fine construction lines. |
| 6H | very hard | Very hard, with a pale line. | Technical drawing, precision sketching. |
| 5H | very hard | Very hard, with a pale line. | Technical drawing, guide lines. |
| 4H | very hard | Very hard, with a pale line. | Technical drawing, crisp outlines. |
| 3H | hard | Hard, with a light line. | Technical sketches, construction lines. |
| 2H | hard | Hard, with a light line. | Sketches, construction lines; the hardest grade in the everyday set. |
| H | hard | Hard leaning to the middle, with a light line. | Precise writing, light technical drawing, fine outlines. |
| F | middle | In the middle, with a fine point. | Writing, fine and precise lines. |
| HB | middle | The middle of the scale. | Writing, school, light sketches — the everyday pencil. |
| B | middle | Middle leaning soft, with a visibly darker line. | Relaxed writing, drawing. |
| 2B | soft | Soft, with a dark line. | Sketches, expressive writing, light hatching. |
| 3B | soft | Soft, with a dark line. | Sketches, light shading, drawing. |
| 4B | very soft | Very soft, with a very dark line. | Shading, hatching, artistic drawing. |
| 5B | very soft | Very soft, with a very dark line. | Shading, expressive effects. |
| 6B | very soft | Very soft, with a very dark line. | Deep shading, bold accents. |
| 7B | very soft | Extremely soft, with a near-black line. | Deep shading, expressive drawing. |
| 8B | very soft | Extremely soft, with a near-black line. | Intense black, dramatic accents. |
| 9B | very soft | Extremely soft, with a near-black line. | The darkest grade on the scale; deepest shading and accents. |
Usual questions §
What does HB on a pencil mean?
HB is the middle of the scale: a lead neither hard nor soft, suited to writing, school and light sketches. H stands for hard, B for black.
HB or 2B — what is the difference?
2B is softer and draws darker than HB. HB stays the choice for writing; 2B is for sketches, expressive writing and light hatching.
And 2H or HB?
2H goes the opposite way: harder and paler than HB. It suits construction lines and precise sketches, not everyday writing.
What does F on a pencil mean?
F sits between H and HB — a middle grade with a fine, firm point, for writing and precise lines.
Which pencil suits school?
HB for writing and homework — supply lists ask for it by name — 2B for drawing. Together they cover nearly everything school needs.
Why does the same grade look different across brands?
Each maker blends its own graphite and clay, and the line also depends on paper and hand. The grade marks a relative position, not a guaranteed shade. There is no industry shade standard: a Japanese-made HB is usually softer and darker than a European one.
What is the American equivalent of HB?
No. 2, the standard American test pencil, matches grade B (Faber-Castell) — next to HB at the middle of the scale.
Where this comes from §
A pencil lead is graphite and clay baked together: the more graphite, the softer the lead and the blacker the line; the more clay, the harder the lead and the paler the line. The letters and use bands on this page follow the published maps of three makers.
In shops, HB dominates outright: on 18 September 2026, 1,136 of the 3,392 pencils listed on Skroutz.ro carried the HB grade — over a third of the offer and more than five times the runner-up 2B, with 222 listings. There is, however, no industry standard for how dark a grade draws: a Japanese-made HB is usually softer and darker than a European one.
- Faber-Castell: graphite lead hardness grades — the H, B, HB and F definitions, the graphite–clay mix, the 3B–8B, H–2B and 2H–6H bands, the B to No. 2 equivalence.
- STAEDTLER: graphite pencils — the classic 2B–2H grades for writing and sketching, the very hard 3H–10H grades for technical drawing and cartography.
- STABILO: hardness map — writing at B/HB/F, artistic drawing at 2B–8B, technical drawing at H–6H.
- Skroutz.ro: pencils by lead hardness — listing counts per grade, read on 18 September 2026.
- Pencils.com: graphite grading scale — the missing industry shade standard and the Japanese versus European HB difference.
- School supply list, 3rd grade (in Romanian) — “3 creioane negre HB” required under shared supplies.
The line samples are drawn by the page as indicative illustrations, not measured from real pencils. Checked 18 September 2026.