Indeed there are. Pencil makers manufacture Nos. 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 pencils—and sometimes other intermediate numbers. The higher the number, the harder the core and lighter the markings.

An American #2 pencil (roughly) corresponds to an HB pencil on the rest of the world's scale. The lead is not too dark and not too light, and it's not too hard or too soft.

Some are known as HB pencils (a mix of hard and black) and are good for drawing and writing. Hard and soft pencils produce different types of marks. H pencils make fine lines.

In all likelihood, if you rummaged through any given school desk in the U.S., the first pencil you'd encounter would be a number two pencil. Here's why. The United States tends to do its own thing ...