All, Until recently I've applied graphite to various mold surfaces with a soft pencil, sometimes a carpenter's pencil. However, since those mold surfaces are larger than you think and the pencil routine gets old real fast, I began searching for a better way. (Yes, I know about Mold Prep, et al.) While looking for soft lead pencils in an honest-to-goodness art supply store in town (not Michael's), I found a package of graphite sticks, 4 to a package with each being ~1/4" around x 3" long. "Aha!" says I (to myself), "they're just the thing to rub on my molds!" They cost maybe $3, work like a charm and will last a long time. This is "the better way." ...Maven