Koh-i-noor 2.0 mm Graphite Leads for Technical Drawing and Retouching, 4190 8B

There are no real standards for lead hardness, one manufactured H might be a little harder than another's. That being said I would go one step down in hardness from what's on the package. If you want HB go H

Koh-I-Noor is a respected brand among artists and draftsmen. This is just a standard pack of 12 2mm diameter 4B drawing leads to fit a regular mechanical lead holder. They arrived unbroken, and handle very well. Being a 4B, they deliver nice dark lines and lay down a lot of graphite on the page, as expected.I readily recommend Koh-I-Noor products!

These are the right size for my mechanical pencils. I used one of the pieces and they are great. I’m only giving 3 stars because the majority of the graphites are broken. Some of the pieces won’t be able to even work in the mechanical pencil.

The 8B Koh-i-Noor lead produces beautiful, rich, deep blacks and flows onto the paper very smoothly. Being fairly soft it is a bit easier to break than, say, 4B, but with reasonable care this should not be a problem. I did manage to snap off the tip a couple of times in my Staedtler lead pointer, but once I realized that I need to be a bit less aggressive when sharpening I haven't had any further problems.

4B and 7B lead was received broken. They were just placed in the bottom of the shipping bag and not wrapped in any bubble wrap or anything. Received 6B and 8B in the same bag and they were wrapped and ok. The Leadis fragile. I'm not very happy but they are what was described but in pieces. 8 of the 12 7B's were broken.