HOUSE OF GRAPHITE

The Tennessee Red is a US-made wood-cased pencil from the Musgrave Pencil Company of Shelbyville, Tennessee (founded 1916), cased in aromatic Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) — reviving the wood Musgrave originally used before switching to California incense cedar in the 1970s. It carries a single #2/HB graphite core that reviewers note writes notably soft and dark, and is finished with a ferrule and eraser; it is aimed at everyday writing such as notes, lists and letters. The line is offered in two body styles: the hexagonal Tennessee Red and the round Tennessee Round. This specimen: Tennessee Red / Tennessee Round in grade #2 (HB).