Parts of a Pencil – 8 Parts Labeled, Eraser to Point

All 8 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

Eraser Rubs out pencil marks.
Ferrule The metal band that clamps the eraser to the pencil.
Paint The coats of paint over the wood. Usually yellow on a school pencil.
Wood casing The wooden case round the core, usually cedar. Shaved away to sharpen it.
Graphite core (lead) The writing core: graphite mixed with clay, not lead at all.
Point The sharpened tip of the core that makes the mark.

Cut across 2

Slat One of the two grooved strips of wood that sandwich the core.
Glue Holds the two slats and the core together.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) Musgrave Pencil Company, How a pencil is made, https://musgravepencil.com/blogs/news/howapencilismade : a graphite core sandwiched between two grooved wooden slats with glue; the wood-cased pencil painted in coats; the ferrule crimped on to hold the eraser; sharpened to a point. (2) Wikipedia, Pencil, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil : a core of graphite and clay (the 'lead', which contains no lead) in a wooden casing, often cedar, glued in two halves; painted outside; an eraser held by a metal ferrule; sharpened to a point; hexagonal and round shapes; HB and other grades. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a pencil: a sharpened hexagonal pencil with a window cut in its side, then the pencil cut across to show how it is put together.

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Outside

The eraser is held on by the ferrule, a crimped metal band. The body is painted over the wood casing, and sharpening shaves the wood back to expose the point of the core.

Inside

A pencil is a sandwich: a graphite core laid in grooves between two wooden slats, with glue holding them together. Cut across, you can see the seam where the halves meet.

Pencil 'lead' has no lead in it: the core is graphite mixed with clay.

Questions and answers

What is the metal part on a pencil called?

The ferrule. It is the ridged metal band crimped round the end of the pencil to hold the eraser on.

What is pencil lead made of?

Graphite mixed with clay. It is still called lead from the days when graphite was thought to be a kind of lead, but it contains none.

How is a pencil made?

Graphite cores are glued into grooves in a wooden slat, a second grooved slat is glued on top, and the sandwich is cut into pencils, shaped, painted, and fitted with a ferrule and eraser.