Signs

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Doors and two chairs...

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Graphite scale

Graphite Grading Scale Explained

There are two graphite scales used to measure the hardness of a pencil’s graphite core.

NUMERICAL GRAPHITE SCALE

The first graphite grading scale is a numeric scale. Using this scale, the hardness of the core is often marked on the pencil — look for a number (such as “2” “2-1/2” or “3”). The higher the number the harder the writing core and the lighter the mark left on the paper. As the pencil core becomes softer (through the use of lower proportions of clay) it leaves a darker mark as it deposits more graphite material on the paper. Softer pencils will dull faster than harder leads and require more frequent sharpening.

HB GRAPHITE SCALE

The second graphite grading scale is known as the HB scale. Most pencil manufacturers outside of the U.S. use this scale, using the letter “H” to indicate a hard pencil. Likewise, a pencil maker might use the letter “B” to designate the blackness of the pencil’s mark, indicating a softer lead. The letter “F” is also used to indicate that the pencil sharpens to a fine point.

Historically, pencil makers also use combinations of letters to tell us about the graphite — a pencil marked “HB” is hard and black, a pencil marked “HH” is very hard, and a pencil marked “BBB” is really, really black! Today, however, most pencils using the HB system are designated by a number such as 2B, 4B or 2H to indicate the degree of hardness. For example, a 4B would be softer than a 2B and a 3H harder than an H.

GRAPHITE SCALE COMPARISONS

Generally, an HB grade about the middle of the scale is considered to be equivalent to a #2 pencil using the U.S. numbering system.

In reality however, there is no specific industry standard for the darkness of the mark to be left within the HB or any other hardness grade scale. Thus, a #2 or HB pencil from one brand will not necessarily leave the same mark as a #2 or HB pencil from another brand. Most pencil manufacturers set their own internal standards for graphite hardness grades and overall quality of the core, some differences are regional. In Japan, consumers tend to prefer softer darker leads; so an HB lead produced in Japan is generally softer and darker than an HB from European producers.

Finding what works best for your own artistic and writing needs is generally a matter of personal preference and experimentation with different brands of pencils.

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Frog Applause is trending again...

Something tells me that if GoComics had its way, Frog Applause would never appear as a trending comic. When your own syndicate snubs you on Twitter, Facebook, and on every other venue regularly, you know that you mean squat to them. We all know that Frog Applause is around because it is a fan favorite, not a syndicate favorite. We are a thorn. An embarrassment. A comic that should never grace the website of any respectable comics venue. That said, there is an algorithm in place that hasn't received the memo and continues to spotlight Frog Applause whenever the comment count or whatever is triggered. We don't know how many times we've shown up as "Trending..." but it's been a lot. Readers have sent me screenshots to prove it. Anywho, Frog Applause only appears in one category: TRENDING IN OFFBEAT. Other comics in this category appear in multiple categories, but not Frog Applause. We get it. We are grateful for one, even though we technically qualify for at least one or two others. So be it.  The world is inherently unfair and we are glad to just live in it.

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ggrumpy (PREMIUM MEMBER)

The old Frog Blog used to repost comments from readers often. It was almost a mainstay, actually. Back then, haters ran rampant on the Frog Applause GoComics page and their heated vitriol (when the comment got a screenshot* before being flagged or censored by the Overlords) was hearty entertainment, particularly when dissected on Frog Blog. I can only imagine how betrayed some haters felt when their hate backfired and became a source of laughter instead. Good times. I'm posting the comment from ggrumpy because 1. He (or she) has, apparently, NEVER left another comment on any other comics page, despite a large number of comics he follows  2. He (or she) is a premium member so it stands to reason that this is not some contrived "inside job" meant to drum up fake hate. 

ggrumpy (Let's be informal, please, and just call you grumpy, okay?)

Anyway, grumpy is not peddling any hate today. We don't know how long a reader he (I'm tired of adding she) is, but he can't be a founding reader because 1. He didn't mention Shoecabbage which was about as educational a comic as you can get before it got the ax. 2. Merkins have been mentioned more than once, maybe even twice or thrice (never miss the opportunity to use thrice in a sentence) in Frog Applause comics of yore.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I guess I just appreciate a new reader who decided to leave his only ever comment on a Frog Applause comic. That alone is worth celebrating.

Just because I am spotlighting grumpy doesn't mean I value my founding or off-and-on readers any less. Readers come and go and I get that. I've even had a few readers die on me. My favorite was a reader (Rudy T) who told me that my comic made his cancer more tolerable. I consider that a high compliment. This reader ultimately left this world, but I will always be grateful to him for telling me that. Other readers have also shared things that made my heart go pit-a-pat because of what my lame comic meant to them. Believe me, most cartoonists live for this kind of acceptance or gratitude, and I am no different. It's nice to feel appreciated in some small way. For example, I will NEVER forgot the campaign organized by various readers when GoComics wanted to send Frog Applause to the comic strip graveyard. Postcards and comments of support rained down until the ensuing flood was too much for GoComics to ignore. I don't know for sure, but I don't think any other comic on the chopping block was saved after the infamous emails from you-know-who started to appear in the inboxes of various cartoonists. I was a little surprised that The New Adventures of Queen Victoria didn't survive the carnage, but I guess Pab had his reasons to end things. I could go on, but additional thoughts are best left privately between me and my core (founding and most trusted) readers, who know who they are.

As always, forgive my typo-filled stream of consciousness.

 

*not sure how to treat this word as a verb. Screenshotted sounds ridiculous. Even as a noun it comes across as clunky. Help me out, somebody. I have many wordsmiths in the wings.

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Frog Applause for Monday, November 15, 2021

Not sure why the comic below 

repeated itself. The only explanation I have is that the intended comic was hopelessly lame and had to suffer the ultimate consequences: banishment from GoComics.
 

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Thanks to The Old Wolf for his ever-vigilant eye for typos. (Because in panel 4 was misspelled. I detest typos! So embarrassing.)

The anus is #1

The anus is developed in the human embryo before the heart or brain. The mouth is second.

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