Mechanical pencil leads for use on paper and drawing card, designed to fit 0.5 mechanical pencils. The leads glide smoothly and easily over the page, giving even lines for technical drawing or other precision work, and are slightly flexible for higher break resistance. What does 2B mean? Pencils are graded according to the strength of their lead. B pencils are softer and darker, more suitable for sketching, while H pencils are lighter and harder, more suited for precision work and technical drawing. HB, the 'standard' pencil lead, sits firmly in the middle as a good all-purpose, everyday pencil, and the numbers increase the further they get from this point.