Does a lead pencil contain any lead?

Answer 1

Pencils have never contained the metal, lead, although the word commonly used to describe the centre core of a pencil is, in English, 'lead'.

The ancient tool which preceded the modern pencil was a stylus, and these were frequently made from lead. The first versions of the modern pencil were made with graphite, a soft, carbon-based mineral, and this hasn't changed; both wooden and mechanical pencils are today made with a mixture of powdered clay, graphite and water, which is extruded into lengths and fired in ovens (kilns) until hard; the rods are then oiled or waxed for a smoother surface, preventing them catching on or damaging paper during use.

The use of graphite is ancient: evidence of pottery decorated with graphite-based compounds has been found dating back to the Neolithic Age.

The English commercialized graphite when they discovered deposits of the mineral in the 1500s; they took it to be a kind of lead and called it plumbago - from Latin, plumbum:lead - and later it became known as black lead. The marking qualities of graphite were immediately put to use by farmers in the area, for easy labeling of livestock and containers. Later, square sticks of graphite were sold for general writing; users or sellers wrapped them in various materials to protect the hands from the easily-transferred and very messy graphite residue.

Later still, the Italians began making wooden holders for graphite; their invention spread, and the term 'lead pencil'entered the English language sometime in the 1680s, the English still believing graphite was a form of, or contained some, lead.

Today we still use the term 'lead' to describe the inner core of a pencil and some still believe the core contains the metal, lead, or at least that it is in some way poisonous. It doesn't contain any lead, and it isn't at all poisonous.