General Pencil Company
Last verified: April 2026
Read our full verification: Is General Pencil Company Made in USA?Verification Summary
American Score
Manufacturing Location
Jersey City, NJ
Headquarters
Redwood City, CA
Founded
1889
Products Verified
5 products
Evidence Breakdown
Factory Location Specificity
Specific factory city identified
Website Claim
Brand website explicitly claims Made in USA
Manufacturing History
20+ years of USA manufacturing
Known Overseas Production
No known overseas production
Verification Notes
American pencil manufacturer in Redwood City, California since 1889. Handcrafts charcoal and graphite pencils in the USA using sustained yield incense cedar. One of the last domestic pencil manufacturers.
Last verified: April 2026
Manufacturing Profile
General Pencil Company manufactures at a specific factory location in Jersey City, NJ. Founded in 1889 — a manufacturing history spanning 137 years. Our 5 verified General Pencil Company listings sit in arts & crafts.
Verification tier
94% average
High — strong brand-level and product-level evidence
Factory evidence
Specific city
Jersey City, NJ
Catalog breadth
5 products
1 category
How we verified General Pencil Company
Most recent check: Oct 20, 2026
From the brand's website
We re-read generalpencil.com on Oct 20, 2026 and did not find an explicit statement about where its products are made. This page relies on the other evidence below.Independent source
“General Pencil Company has manufactured pencils and art supplies in Jersey City since 1889, making the family-owned business a lasting piece of the city's industrial history.”
hobokengirl.com · checked Sep 20, 2026
Amazon listings
We read the live Amazon listing for 5 of the 5 General Pencil Company products on this page (most recently Oct 18, 2026). All of them state US origin on the listing itself:
- “Made in USA” on General Pencil Company Carbon Sketch Pencils and Sharpener
- “made in USA” on General Pencil Kimberly Graphite Drawing Pencils 12-Pack Assorted Grades
- “Made in USA” on General Pencil Semi-Hex Graphite Drawing Pencils 4-Pack HB 2B 4B 6B
Ongoing monitoring
Under review. A source reports a possible change we are still confirming:
“General Pencil Company has manufactured pencils and art supplies in Jersey City since 1889, making the family-owned business a lasting piece of the city's industrial history.”
hobokengirl.com · checked Sep 20, 2026
These checks are run by our software on a schedule: brand websites are re-read about every three weeks, Amazon listings weekly, and news is scanned monthly. Every flag is checked against its original source before anything on this page changes. How the American Score works.
General Pencil Company has been manufacturing products in Jersey City, NJ since 1889. We carry 5 verified American-made General Pencil Company products.
America's Artist Pencil Maker
General Pencil Company was founded in 1889 and has made pencils and drawing tools in New Jersey for over 135 years. The company's Kimberly graphite drawing pencils — available in grades from 9H to 9B — set the standard for American art education pencils for generations. General Pencil is one of the oldest family-owned pencil companies in the United States.
Based in Redwood City with production operations in New Jersey, General Pencil has maintained its commitment to domestic craftsmanship through decades of competition from lower-cost imports. The company's survival and continued success reflect the enduring demand for quality American-made art tools.
Tools for Artists at Every Level
General Pencil's product range spans the needs of art students and professional artists: the Cedar Pointe graphite pencils for everyday writing and sketching, the semi-hex drawing pencils for serious observational drawing work, and the carbon sketch pencils that produce the deep, velvety blacks that charcoal emulates. Their drawing class kits have introduced generations of American students to the fundamentals of graphite drawing.
The company uses incense cedar from sustainably managed forests for many of its pencil casings, continuing the American pencil-making tradition that made California and the Pacific Northwest synonymous with premium pencil wood.
Quick Picks
Frequently Asked Questions
Is General Pencil Company made in the USA?
Yes. General Pencil Company manufactures 5 verified products in Jersey City, NJ. General Pencil Company has handcrafted pencils and drawing tools in New Jersey since 1889, producing the Kimberly graphite pencils and charcoal tools that have equipped American art students for generations.
Where is General Pencil Company manufactured?
General Pencil Company is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. Manufacturing takes place in Jersey City, NJ.
What General Pencil Company products can I buy?
We carry 5 verified General Pencil Company products across Arts & Crafts. Every listing links directly to a trusted online store with verified American manufacturing.
When was General Pencil Company founded?
General Pencil Company was founded in 1889. General Pencil Company has handcrafted pencils and drawing tools in New Jersey since 1889, producing the Kimberly graphite pencils and charcoal tools that have equipped American art students for generations.
Where can I buy General Pencil Company products?
Every General Pencil Company product listed here links to a trusted online store — a major retailer or the brand's own shop — where you can purchase directly.
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