Editing Pencil (section)

===The pencil in America===
[[File:Pencil, perhaps made by Henry David Thoreau - Concord Museum - Concord, MA - DSC05641.JPG|thumb|right|Pencil, perhaps made by Henry David Thoreau, in the Concord Museum]]
[[File:Pencil manufacture.svg|thumb|Pencil manufacturing. The top sequence shows the old method that required pieces of graphite to be cut to size; the lower sequence is the new, current method using rods of graphite and clay.]]
American colonists imported pencils from Europe until after the [[American Revolution]]. [[Benjamin Franklin]] advertised pencils for sale in his ''[[Pennsylvania Gazette]]'' in 1729, and [[George Washington]] used a three-inch pencil when he surveyed the [[Ohio Territory]] in 1762.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pencils.com/famous-pencil-users/|title=Famous Pencil Users - Pencils.com|language=en-US|access-date=2016-09-08|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009151127/http://pencils.com/famous-pencil-users/|archivedate=9 October 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>It is said that [[William Munroe (pencil maker)|William Munroe]], a cabinetmaker in [[Concord, Massachusetts]], made the first American [[wood]] pencils in 1812. This was not the only pencil-making occurring in Concord. According to [[Henry Petroski]], [[transcendentalist]] philosopher [[Henry David Thoreau]] discovered how to make a good pencil out of inferior graphite using clay as the [[Binder (material)|binder]]; this invention was prompted by his father's pencil factory in Concord, which employed graphite found in [[New Hampshire]] in 1821 by Charles Dunbar.

Munroe's method of making pencils was painstakingly slow, and in the neighbouring town of [[Acton, Massachusetts|Acton]], a pencil mill owner named Ebenezer Wood set out to automate the process at his own [[Nashoba Brook Pencil Factory Site|pencil mill located at Nashoba Brook]]. He used the first circular saw in pencil production. He constructed the first of the hexagon- and octagon-shaped wooden casings. Ebenezer did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with anyone. One of those was [[Eberhard Faber]] of New York, who became the leader in pencil production.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.actontrails.org/EAPencils.htm
 |title       = Acton Conservation Lands, Early American Pencils
 |publisher   = Actontrails.org
 |accessdate  = 23 July 2009
 |deadurl     = yes
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090625130359/http://www.actontrails.org/EAPencils.htm
 |archivedate = 25 June 2009
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

[[Joseph Dixon (inventor)|Joseph Dixon]], an inventor and entrepreneur involved with the [[Tantiusques]] granite mine in [[Sturbridge, Massachusetts]], developed a means to [[mass production|mass-produce]] pencils.  By 1870, The [[Joseph Dixon Crucible Company]] was the world’s largest dealer and consumer of graphite and later became the contemporary [[Dixon Ticonderoga]] pencil and art supplies company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dixonusa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction=history.dixon |title=Joseph Dixon 1799–1869 |publisher=Dixon Ticonderoga Company |accessdate=23 July 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013191609/http://dixonusa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction%3Dhistory.dixon |archivedate=13 October 2007 |df= }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/368_tantiusques.cfm
 |title       = Tantiusques Graphite Mine
 |publisher   = Thetrustees.org
 |accessdate  = 23 July 2009
 |deadurl     = no
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418023739/http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/368_tantiusques.cfm
 |archivedate = 18 April 2009
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

By the end of the 19th century, over 240,000 pencils were used each day in the US. The favoured timber for pencils was [[Juniperus virginiana|Red Cedar]] as it was [[aromatic]] and did not splinter when sharpened. In the early 20th century supplies of Red Cedar were dwindling so that pencil manufacturers were forced to recycle the wood from cedar fences and barns to maintain supply.

One effect of this was that "during World War II rotary pencil sharpeners were outlawed in Britain because they wasted so much scarce lead and wood, and pencils had to be sharpened in the more conservative manner – with knives."<ref name=Petroski>{{cite book|title=The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance|author=Henry Petroski|year=2010|location=New York, NY|publisher=Random House LLC|isbn=0307772438}}</ref>

It was soon discovered that [[Calocedrus|Incense cedar]], when dyed and perfumed to resemble Red Cedar, was a suitable alternative and most pencils today are made from this timber which is grown in managed forests. Over 14&nbsp;billion pencils are manufactured worldwide annually.<ref name="Readers Digest, pencil users" /> Less popular alternatives to cedar include [[basswood]] and [[alder]].<ref name=Petroski/>

In Southeast Asia the wood [[Dyera costulata|Jelutong]] may be used to create pencils (though the use of this rainforest species is controversial).<ref>{{cite news|title=In World Of Politically Right, Pencils Can Be Wrong Stuff|date=1 September 1993|author=Janita Poe|work=Chicago Tribune|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-09-01/news/9309010106_1_jelutong-pencils-incense-cedar-institute|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222013536/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-09-01/news/9309010106_1_jelutong-pencils-incense-cedar-institute|archivedate=22 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Environmentalists prefer the use of [[Alstonia scholaris|Pulai]] – another wood native to the region and used in pencil manufacturing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Forest Management Public Summary for: PT Xylo Indah Pratama |url=http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/pt-xylo.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229141343/http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/forestry/documents/pt-xylo.pdf |dead-url=yes |archive-date=29 December 2009 |date=15 March 2000 |publisher=Rainforest Alliance }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fantasiapencil.com/aboutus.html|title=Fantasia – The Quality Pencil Company – About Us|deadurl=no|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825111536/http://fantasiapencil.com/aboutus.html|archivedate=25 August 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>