It's called a "Kimberly Graphite Drawing Set #25" and they are manufactured by the General Pencil Company in Jersey City, NJ. I think it's the only thing I've bought at Walmart lately that was actually made in the US. They may be softer than the other brand, more likely the difference lies in my technique. But for the most part the test served my purpose. I was able to sort from hardest to softest and things I expected to be identical were identical. I did a search and found you're original post with a brief outline of how to do the test. I'll work on my technique and retest. I do like this test method. I started casting my own to save money. I just saved a bunch more $$$. I've already seen enough to know that I can get adequate data to manage my casting alloys for less than $10. Thanks!