Traditional wooden pencils are still manufactured in a process first introduced in the 1600s. Modern woodworking machines and automation methods have definitely streamlined the manufacturing process, but most of those made today's do not vary much from their centuries-old predecessors. Essentially, they are the end result of a sandwiching process involving graphite and slabs of cedar wood.

The first step in making pencils is the preparation of the graphite center, or "lead." Graphite is a dark, soft mineral that is ground and added to clay and water in a mixing chamber. After the water is squeezed out, the remaining graphite/clay compound is allowed to air dry until it becomes a powder again. This graphite powder is mixed once again with water to form a soft paste. The graphite paste is then extruded through thin metal tubes to form pencil-sized rods. These rods are superheated to create hard and smooth leads.

Meanwhile, a woodworking machine slices blocks of cedar wood into thinner slats. Another machine cuts eight grooves across the length of these slats. Pencils are not carved from a single blank, but actually start out as two half-blanks glued together. As the two halves are sandwiched and glued, another machine places a graphite rod on each of the eight shallow grooves. The entire uncut slab is allowed to dry before further processing.