General's Compressed Graphite Sticks set

General's Compressed Graphite Sticks are extra-smooth, artist-quality drawing tools designed for sketching, shading, and laying down broad areas of tone quickly. Manufactured in the USA by the ⁠General Pencil Company, these sticks offer a versatile alternative to traditional graphite pencils, delivering rich, velvety dark tones with less prone to smudging than charcoal.

Key Specifications & Dimensions

Physical Shapes: Available in rectangular and square block formats.

Standard Size: Standard square/rectangular sticks typically measure 3 inches long × ¼ inch high × ½ inch wide.

Jumbo Format: Extra-wide "Jumbo" variants are available for maximum coverage on large compositions.

Available Grades: Produced in three core soft degrees—2B, 4B, and 6B—as well as specialized multi-packs containing an assortment of soft, medium, and hard grades.

Application & Artistic Techniques Broad Strokes: The flat, wide edge of the rectangular stick is ideal for capturing massive planes, creating uniform backgrounds, shading shadows, and doing texture rubbings.

Detailed Line Work: The sticks can be sanded down with sandpaper or a sanding block to a fine point for intricate linework and sharp details.

Blending & Erasability: The rich graphite deposit blends smoothly using a blending stump, paper tortillion, or soft paper stub. It can be completely cleaned or highlighted using a kneaded eraser or an extra-soft vinyl eraser.

Custom Sizing: Artists often break the handcrafted sticks into smaller fragments to achieve better hand control and specific angular marks.