No.2 Pencil Issue

<p>Hey, guys.</p>

<p>I am appearing for the SAT in October and the 'use a no.2 pencil' is really bugging me. </p>

<p>Wikpedia states that the number 2 pencil equivalent to the HB pencil; however, in my home town, all the pencils that are available (faber castle, goldfish etc) have the label 2.5=HB on them, whereas 2.5 = type F, as per wikipedia.</p>

<p>I was able to get a hold of a bunch of pencils labelled no.2 (for electronic tests), but I don't know...I am confused.</p>

<p>which one should i use for the SAT?</p>

<p>2.5 or F should be fine. HB/#2 is the middle grade. Pregressively harder leads (H through 9H) make finer lines, and are difficult for machines to read. These are commonly used for drafting. Softer leads (B through 9B) are rub off onto the paper more, and are easier for machines to read, but also are more likely to smudge. These are used by artists for shading. #2 and HB are probably recommended because they are more commonly found.</p>

<p>Incidentally, the US numbering system is not an official grading system Faber-Castell uses its own numbering system where 1=2B, 2=B, 2.5=HB, 3=H and 4=2H. Thus if you’re using Faber-Castell pencils, you will in fact want a 2.5</p>

<p>Won’t I required a 2B pencil, then? Becaus the CB requires us to use a no.2 pencil, not HB pencil.</p>

<p>[Pencil</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Pencil - Wikipedia”>Pencil - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>According to Wikipedia, there is no difference. HB is simply the grade for a standard pencil. In the United States, we call them #2 pencils, but, internationally, they’re referred to as HB pencils.</p>

<p>HB or the whole 1B, 2B, etc. is just a standard of pencil thickness or something used INTERNATIONALLY. no.1, no.2, etc. is the standard used in the US. It’s like meters and kilometers VS feet and inches. HB is the same as no. 2. Some pencils have 2 and HB on them… just so that they put the two standards on the pencil</p>

<p>Hey!</p>

<p>So, I got a hold of Staedtler Norice 130 46 2 HB pencils. Good enough for the SAT?</p>

<p>Image: [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.staedtler.com/norica_eng]STAEDTLER”&gt;http://www.staedtler.com/norica_eng]STAEDTLER</a> norica pencil<a href=“this%20is%20the%20image%20of%20a%202B%20pencil;%20I%20got%20a%20hold%20of%202%20HB%20pencils”>/url</a></p>

<p>Good enough?</p>

<p>Is it true we are not allowed to use mechanical pencils even if they are #2?</p>

<p>Sadly, no you can’t use a mechanical pencil on the SAT; presumably because of fears of using it to cheat in some way. If the College Board did allow them, I would happily use my Pentel P205 on the test this Saturday (arguably the best mechanical pencil ever made). As far as lead grades go, HB is equivalent to a #2 pencil, so if you have an HB pencil you’re fine! Think of it like this, if someone asks you to bring a pencil to the test that is 2.54 cm long, would it be OK if you brought one that was 1 inch instead? And the scanner that ETS uses to score the test is not even that sensitive. 2B pencils work great too (and I actually prefer them for their darkness). Happy bubbling.</p>

<p>My friend used mechanical pencils on all his SATs and he had very high scores (2200+)… I wouldn’t risk it though.</p>

Hello, i am from India. In my previous test i used apsara drawing 2b pencil. When i got my result i was shocked that many of my words in my essay were either not read properly or were missing so today i brought a camlin 9B pencil will it be ok? Please reply as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

wow I’ve never given a second of thought to what number the pencils are that we use despite using scantrons and landing many students pencils.