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Lead refills comprise a range of standard diameters, but with the occasional length that is designed for a specific model of specialist pencil.
All our 'finelead' ranges - 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm and 0.9mm - are 60mm long and suitable for use in all standard mechanical pencils of the appropriate size. For 0.35mm use 0.3mm, for 1.0mm use 0.9mm - these sizes are considered interchangeable and some brands of lead, eg. Faber-Castell, actually state both sizes on the pack.
Beyond 0.9mm, the common lead sizes are 1.4mm, 2mm, 3mm, 3.15mm and 5.6mm. The lengths of any particular brand can vary, as at this size the pencil designs vary quite widely. However, we normally state lead length and you can cut down longer leads if the exact length you require is not available.
The grade, or hardness, of leads covers quite a range, and the most choice is available in the most popular sizes (0.5mm, 0.7mm and 2mm). See our article here for information on lead grades, but in a nutshell: the higher the 'B' number, the softer the lead; the higher the 'H' number, the harder the lead, with HB occupying the middle ground and most commonly used as standard. We also have 'F' grade lead in some ranges.
Coloured lead is also available: primarily red, green and blue in 0.5mm, and red and blue in 0.7mm and 0.9mm. There's a good choice of colours in Pilot's ENO Color 0.7mm range, but stocks are limited as the product is discontinued in the UK. We also have some colours available in Koh-I-Noor 2mm lead and Worther 3.15mm lead. |
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