Erasers World

July 12, 2015 5:31 AM

A gallery of erasers from around the world. Included are school and office staples, such as from Eberhard Faber, collectibles from Iwako, and assorted oddities (e.g. 1, 2, 3).
posted by needled (26 comments total)

Related: World's Largest Pencil [Image]

This 76-plus foot, 21,500 pound No. 2 pencil was made and donated by Ashrita Furman, who is currently the world record holder of the most world records. It contains 4000 pounds of graphite and is the equivalent of 1,900,000 regular pencils. If you could lift it, you could write with it—and its 250 pound rubber eraser can do its job, too. "It took a crane to get this into the building," Erwin says. "It was in two pieces."

posted by Fizz at 5:53 AM on July 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

10 Things You Probably Did Not Know About Eraser Technology - The Atlantic ("Fact #1: Before rubber came along, people undid their mistakes using wadded-up bread.")
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 6:07 AM on July 12, 2015

("Fact #1: Before rubber came along, people undid their mistakes using wadded-up bread.")

MOM: "Did you pack your lunch?"
CHILD: "Yes."
MOM: "And your homework?"
CHILD: "Ugh...yes."
MOM: "And your bread, don't forget your bread, you can't do you math homework without your bread."
CHILD: "I'll just borrow Neal's bread."
MOM: "No you won't mister...you go upstairs and get your own bread. Do it, NOW!"
CHILD: *grumbles* "Stupid bread..."
posted by Fizz at 6:14 AM on July 12, 2015 [6 favorites]

Rubber Barber erasers.
posted by hydrophonic at 6:18 AM on July 12, 2015 [2 favorites]

That number three link. Yeah, no kid in the U.S. would get in trouble carrying grenade-shaped erasers, right...?
posted by ardgedee at 6:46 AM on July 12, 2015

The two iconic erasers from my childhood were the blue and red pen/pencil erasers every German stationery maker seems to offer, and the white plastic Tombow Mono pencil eraser.

Now I have a sudden urge to get a Muji white plastic eraser. Oh hey, they also carry the plastic sheets you put under the notebook page you're writing on so that you don't mark the sheets underneath. That's also another nostalgic item from my school days in Korea. Especially in elementary school, you had to get one printed with whatever anime or manga character was popular at the time.
posted by needled at 7:03 AM on July 12, 2015

previously mentioned, James Ward's book The Perfection of the Paperclip has a chapter on erasers! You gotta read this book! YOU GOTTA!!
posted by rebent at 7:13 AM on July 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

blue and red pen/pencil erasers

If they were like the ones I had, they served the dual purpose of either erasing pencil or making a hole in your paper where a pen mistake used to be.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:44 AM on July 12, 2015 [9 favorites]

I loved cute novelty erasers when I was little. If they were scented, all the better. I had a set of scented pastel sheepdog erasers, neon cat erasers, a relatively large Orko eraser, and a bunch more that I'm forgetting.

I had a habit of chewing on them, because they had such a nice springy texture. I never intended to actually chew them to pieces, but I'd inevitably bite a chunk off. And then I'd have a bunch of gross eraser crumbs in my mouth, and my only options were to attempt to spit out all the bits or to swallow them. It sucked, and yet I never learned.

These days I'm all about the Mars plastic eraser. It does a thorough job with no dust or damage. I have no idea if it's good to eat.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:11 AM on July 12, 2015 [4 favorites]

Rubber Barber erasers

I think Rhabarberbarbara would appreciate the rubber barbers.
posted by moonmilk at 8:21 AM on July 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

I looooooove Iwako erasers. I collect them. One of the best parts is how they all come apart in weird ways. Also they're adorable.
posted by limeonaire at 8:31 AM on July 12, 2015

I had a habit of chewing on them, because they had such a nice springy texture. I never intended to actually chew them to pieces, but I'd inevitably bite a chunk off. And then I'd have a bunch of gross eraser crumbs in my mouth, and my only options were to attempt to spit out all the bits or to swallow them. It sucked, and yet I never learned.

Me too! Also, sponges. (Maybe that was just me)
posted by billiebee at 8:38 AM on July 12, 2015

You can use erasers as little tiny printmaking blocks! I used to subscribe to Eraser Carvers Quarterly which is totally not a nerdy thing to do
posted by moonmilk at 8:45 AM on July 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

These days I'm all about the Mars plastic eraser. It does a thorough job with no dust or damage.

True, and it's my #1 for work but I also love what's on the opposite end of the dust spectrum. When I'm at home doing art, I have a thing for the gloriously crumbly messiness of an artgum eraser.

And btw, the Stabilo 1189/3 is a nifty bit of ergonomics!
posted by mal de coucou at 9:19 AM on July 12, 2015

("Fact #1: Before rubber came along, people undid their mistakes using wadded-up bread.")

Heh, when I was little I thought that people just simply didn't make mistakes before pencil and erasers were a thing, judging from the quality of penmanship in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century documents I learned about in grade school...
posted by gemutlichkeit at 9:27 AM on July 12, 2015

Best erasers I ever had were from Staedtler and Pentel

Worst had to be Pink Pearl, smudges everytime >:[
posted by extramundane at 10:04 AM on July 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

Erasers World

Didn't they just open an outlet next to Spatula City?
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:51 AM on July 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

The eraser you asked your mom for.
The eraser she got you.
posted by ardgedee at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2015 [2 favorites]

"He was poor but he worked tirelessly to subjugate rubber."

--about Charles Goodyear.
posted by Earthtopus at 12:21 PM on July 12, 2015

> I had a set of scented pastel sheepdog erasers

That seems like a really strange choice of scent.
posted by contraption at 2:57 PM on July 12, 2015

I love how she made the website background the exact shade of Staedtler Mars blue.
posted by Dr. Sockley McThrowaway at 4:39 PM on July 12, 2015

In this environment, erasers do the same thing as rubber bands; dry out and crumble, usually in 90 days or less. A collection like that would need humidity, temp and insect control like a major museum.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 5:07 PM on July 12, 2015

FOR REALLY BIG MISTAKES
posted by chococat at 5:15 PM on July 12, 2015

Eberhard Faber

Oh, I love his work! Especially the late piano concertos.
 
posted by Herodios at 5:27 PM on July 12, 2015

"I used to subscribe to Eraser Carvers Quarterly which is totally not a nerdy thing to do"

I went from "WTF?" to "This is an excellent and noble pastime" in a matter of seconds.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 6:51 PM on July 12, 2015

I love Papermate Arrowhead Pink Pencil Cap erasers. They're the only ones that cling tightly to the end of my writing implement of choice, the Dixon Ticonderoga pencil.
posted by marsha56 at 7:17 PM on July 12, 2015