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The grease pencil, a wax writing tool also known as a wax pencil, china marker, or chinagraph pencil (especially in the
The grease pencil, a wax writing tool also known as a wax pencil, china marker, or chinagraph pencil (especially in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
), is a writing implement made of hardened colored wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...
and is useful for marking on hard, glossy
Gloss is an optical property which indicates how well a surface reflects light in a specular (mirror-like) direction. It is one of the important parameters that are used to describe the visual appearance of an object. The factors that affect glo ...
non-porous surfaces. This pencil is usually made from non-toxic opaque wax (such as paraffin, beeswax
Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive work ...
, ceresin
Ceresin (also cerin, cerasin, cerosin, ceresin wax or ceresine) is a wax derived from ozokerite by a purifying process.
The purifying process of the ozokerite commonly comprises a treatment with heat and sulfuric acid, but other processes are a ...
, carnauba
Carnauba (; pt, carnaúba ), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm ''Copernicia prunifera'' (synonym: ''Copernicia cerifera''), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of ...
or spermaceti wax) that is similar to a crayon
A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax a ...
but stronger. Marks made by grease pencils are resistant to moisture
Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapo ...
and can usually be removed by rubbing the marked surface with a paper towel.
Grease pencils are available in several forms. The outer casing may be made of wood (like an ordinary pencil) and sharpened with a knife or pencil sharpener. Other types are covered in paper and sharpened by pulling a string to peel off the paper, needing no additional tools to remain functional. More recently, it has been produced in propelling form, essentially similar to a mechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
, this type in particular being associated with knee boards employed by NATO aircrew.
Surfaces used with grease pencils include porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
, glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
, rock, polished stone
Quarry tile is a building material, usually to inch (13 to 19 mm) thick, made by either the extrusion process or more commonly by press forming and firing natural clay or shales.American Society for Testing and Materials Standard ASTM C 2 ...
, plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
, ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s, acetate, and other glazed, lacquered or polished surfaces, and metal, as well as the glossy paper that is used for photographic printing (particularly for contact sheets), x-rays, maps, and for marking edits on analog audio tape and film. It is also used to label theatrical lighting gels. It is often used as a construction or handyman's marking tool as it rarely scratches the surface it is used on. It may be used to mark a wet surface. They are also favored among some traditional artists. They were also used to mark glassware, during production (the original Chinagraph is so-named for marking porcelain during manufacture) and in medical or scientific applications.
Grease pencils were also widely used during the mid-20th century in aircraft control centers, military radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
defense system stations on land and in aircraft carriers in particular. As information came in from radar and radio operators, technicians would take details of aircraft locations, vectors, weapons and fuel status and other information and write it in reverse on a large, clear panel of glass, which was readable to the officers on the other side of the panel. The information would be continuously updated as the situation changed. They have largely been replaced by digital displays in the modern era.
In the days when broadcast studios had a library of LP records, a track which was prohibited from public performance could be defaced by a wavy white or yellow chinagraph line, giving a visible warning to the presenter as well as making that track unusable.
Grease pencils are also commonly used by fire brigades in the United Kingdom. Entry Control Officers who monitor firefighters wearing SCBA use them to write information such as their location on a control board.
References