If you’ve ever used a pencil, you know how brittle and delicate the pencil lead is. Somehow, Japanese artist Shiroi is able to carve that fragile material into stunningly detailed micro-artworks.

Mr. Shiroi (@shir0003) took up pencil lead carving seven years ago, after watching a segment on renowned Japanese pencil carver Toshiyuki Yamazaki on TV. He was blown away by the level of detail the master lead carver could achieve, and decided to give it a try for himself. As you can imagine, simply keeping his hand steady enough to keep from breaking the fragile lead was a huge challenge in the beginning, but he kept at it. Today, Shiroi is a pencil lead carving master in his own right.

Photo: @shiroi0003/Twitter

The fragile nature of the lead is what makes this art form so challenging, but it’s also what originally attracted Mr. Shiroi. We’ve all broken the tip of a pencil at one point in our lives, so we can appreciate the work and patience that goes into making one of these tiny masterpieces. To the artist, the fact that it’s so difficult to make is what makes lead carving interesting.

One of Mr. Shiroi’s most impressive creations is a pencil lead carved into all the letters of the alphabet, from A to Z. It took several days to complete, and the Japanese artist recalls that by the time he reached the letter Z, he was so nervous that his hands were shaking. He managed to finish his artwork, but it was so fragile that after managing to take a few photos of it, the lead broke.

After sharing his AtoZ sculpture on social media, Shiroi was disappointed to read a critical comment that called his work wasteful, and although there were plenty of positive comments, this one struck deep and made him wan to improve so that people wouldn’t consider it a waste anymore.

Over the years, Mr. Shiroi honed his pencil lead-carving skills to a point where he is now able to carve almost anything out of a pencil, from tiny swords, to replicas of famous landmarks and even chains or car maker names and brands.

When working, Shiroi tries to control his breathing, takes frequent breaks to make sure he doesn’t lose focus, and is always on the lookout for new techniques to take his lead carving art to the next level.

To keep an eye on Mr Shiroi’s pencil lead carving, check out his Instagram and Twitter accounts. For more cool miniature art, take a look at the chalk stick sculptures of Sachin Sanghe.