I like to test art materials and today I would to share how I use graphite pencils. Typically, we see HB pencils on sale as well see varieties of graphite pencils sold ranging in softness from 6H to 8B in art stores (examples of softness/hardness of graphite pencils are above this post). 

I consider that varying pencil hardnesses are able to be used just like different paint brushes in the sense that all of them or some of them, can be used together in a single work of art. This we often can see in master artists' works. 

For myself I discovered, that for artworks size 16x20” that very hard graphite pencils are practically never used. For instance, if I do a plein air sketch, very hard graphite pencils such as 2H and HB, will be the hardest I use. 8B and 6B will be used, but only for accents. Mainly I use 2B and 4B. 

For smaller sized artworks, I basically use HB, 2B and 4B and can use all of H as well. 

In addition to using graphite pencils, I also like to use mechanical lead pencils. Typically on sale in every general store we can see 0.7mm (#2) lead, which is HB. 

It's good to have an entire set of lead pencil sizes to use to like different tools, for instance 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, 0.9mm and 1.3mm with the variation of hardness and softness depicted in the image above. Usually, you can easily find 4H to 4B in art stores online. 

Mechanical lead pencils as opposed to graphite pencils give clear and crisp lines and preferential to use in the smallest detail work. 

Because old masters didn't have the technology of mechanical lead pencils, and they are used very little today, this allows for the discovery of new things in the area of pencil drawing. 

Using mechanical lead pencils like you would different paint brushes or pastels, you can achieve a better expression and beauty of both lines and tone versus what you would get using just a single graphite pencil. 

I would like to also emphasize the importance of the sharpness of the lead for both mechanical lead pencils and graphite pencils – I use different roughnesses of sand paper and blades because I myself have discovered that using pencil sharpeners limits the width of the pencil strokes and the differentiation of the pencil lines.