Pencil Things

The great eraser race

I love our readers. The commenters we get from the pencil community are friendly, opinionated, and intelligent. And I'm not saying that just to butter them up -- since I've joined the Pencil Things blog, I've met other people who genuinely care about office supplies. I thought I was a freak. It's nice to know there are others like me out there.

One regular commenter and scribomechanica freak out there, Barrel of a Pencil, dropped me an email the other day. He said he ran across a vinyl eraser at a Dollar Tree in Lakewood, NY. It was sold in a blister pack of 8 for $1. Although it is comically generic, it erasers like a champ. (That's right, I used "eraser" as a verb. Anyone gonna challenge me on that?)

He wrote me this:

I post comments under the nom de pencil Barrel Of A Pencil.  If possible I would like to send you one of the little generic  white vinyl erasers I wrote about in my comment posted to Pencil Thing's ruminations on the timeless question Why The Pencil. (Check out the post here. -AW)  Ideally, I  would like to see you review this little gem either  on its own  merits or in competition with the usual name brand  suspects  (Staedtler, Pentel, Faber-Castell, etc.). I think its a  whiz-bang  of an eraser and a steal at 12 1/2 cents (8 for a  dollar).

Just so everyone knows, I usually prefer my eraser to be on the end of the pencil. It's easier to use, and I think the extra weight the eraser and the ferrule adds to the pencil helps me balance it. However, sometimes I just have to use my ferrule-less Palomino. That's when I want to keep an eraser by my side.

When I received Barrel's donation to The Cause in the mail, I did a little gleeful dance. Once I settled down, I opened it, and there was this somewhat comically generic little eraser wrapped in plastic cellophane. It said on it, "Erasers Extra Soft & Clean" and then, just in case we had no idea what to do with it, "Home • Office • School."

Whew! Now I have some direction...

I opened the cellophane, and was pleased by how soft it really was. It was sort of squishy, a little like those stress balls everyone has but never seems to use.

For the review, I pitted it against a Staedtler Mars plastic eraser (95 cents, Product Page), and just to shake things up a bit, an old purple Dixon rubber eraser I found at the bottom of my desk drawer (3 for $1.00 almost anywhere) just for contrast.

Please keep in mind that this is not a test of different eraser types — vinyl vs. rubber vs. mouldable, etc. That's for another review. For the purposes of this post, I tried to keep my subject narrowed to these particular erasers.

Both the Brand X and  the Staedtler Mars came in a cardboard sleeve, which doesn't really serve any purpose I can gather except to keep the rest of the unit from getting dirty. It's kind of like the little sleeve they put on ice cream cones. Eventually, you have to take it off when you start to use it up. In the meantime, they do make the erasers look nicer, don't they?

My test was conducted as follows (see picture below): I wrote on a piece of notebook paper in heavy HB graphite marking, "This is a test.". Then I erased it with each eraser, drawing the unit over the words exactly five times. I tried to take care to use the same amount of pressure for each. Take a look (and please excuse my crappy lettering and my equally crappy camera):

For 13 cents, I have to tell you and Barrel of a Pencil that the Brand X eraser worked like a charm. He definitely got his money worth. I usually gravitate toward plastic erasers because, unlike rubber erasers which get debris all over the page, plastic/vinyl erasers (which are both the same, aren't they?) just leave one little scrap, or roll, which can be picked off and thrown away. It was a smooth glide across the paper, and perhaps my only objection is that it is too soft. It did leave a bit of a mark left over, but after another couple swipes across the words (done after I took the picture), they were completely gone.

If price is no object, though the Staedtler 95-cent eraser was the best. Check out the fact that there is almost no mark left over. It was just as smooth as the Brand X, and it was firmer. I wasn't afraid the eraser would crumble off onto the paper.

The Dixon, as I expected, wasn't great. I can still almost read "This is a test" left over on the page. To be fair, much of this is due to the fact that the eraser is probably a couple years old, and dirty. I only put it in the test to make a comparison to most of the erasers out there.

To be fair to the Brand X pencil, the Mars is a good one-and-a-half times longer. Even if I were able to buy it smaller,  the eraser-to-price ratio would make it about 63 cents, nearly five times the price of the Brand X.

In a nutshell: If money is no problem, and/or there are no Dollar Trees in your area, get a Staedtler or another quality name-brand. However, pound for pound, Barrel of a Pencil's little find is worth it. You're sacrificing a bit of quality, but it erasers very cleanly, and you get all the benefits of a vinyl eraser -- no debris!

A note to our readers: Anyone recognize that Brand X eraser? Do you have any manufacturer contact info?

Thanks, Barrel of a Pencil! Anyone have any finds they want to pit against the name brands? Let me know!

-Andy Welfle

Pumice-based Erasers

Almost every office/school grade pencil has a pumice-based eraser, easily detectable because the eraser is fairly stiff and pink to brick-red in color. The Pink Pearl is the best known of the pumice-based erasers.

Pumice-based erasers ERASE! They will erase the toughest graphite markings, and they are particularly effective on hard papers, such as photocopy paper.

But be cautious about using them on softer papers! They readily abrade paper and leave very difficult-to-remove crumbs. Rub good and hard, back and forth, and you will alter the surface brightness, color and texture of the paper. Do you remember the inexpensive newsprint-quality papers used in grade school tablets, like the Red Chief? Use a pumice-based eraser on that kind of paper and what is left behind is a thin, dirty-looking spot on the paper.

Still, there is a place in your pencil box for a pumice-based eraser because it will get the job done. Try using it by rubbing in one direction only -- not back and forth -- and use lighter strokes than you are used to.

Do you have a favorite brand and/or information to share about your experience with pumice-based erasers?

Kneadable Erasers

Many pencil users prefer using kneadable erasers because they pick up erasing debris and leave surfaces clean. They smell great and are non-toxic. Artists use them for highlighting, and for cleaning chalks, charcoals, pastels and soft graphite.

One can mold them into any shape because the putty-like "rubber" is soft and pliable. In fact, one Web site has directions for making entertaining pencil top erasers. See http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10712.

The major component of the kneadable eraser is vulcanized vegetable oil, with mineral oil. rubber, antioxidants, pumice and colorants added.

Kneadable erasers are nicely self-cleaning. You simply pull and stretch the dirty surface to obtain a clean surface. They also pick up erasure debris and hold it. You can pat erasure debris and it will stick.

For artists: Kneadable erasers are said to be non-abrasive. If you use a loose-fiber paper, however, the desirable tackiness of kneadable erasers tends to lift some fibers from the paper. They do not abrade like a pumice-based eraser, such as the Pink Pearl, but they do abrade more than you might think. Make sure you lightly rub in one direction -- do not rub back and forth, as we tend to do with most erasers. Also note that kneadable erasers tend to reduce wetting, so bear that in mind when using water soluble graphite and aquarelle pencils.

All of the major pencil manufacturers offer kneadable erasers.

Do you have a favorite brand and/or information to share about your experience with kneadable erasers?