Drawing Companion Set. A set of drawing tools for sharpening, blending and erasing. Includes a putty rubber and an erasing shield. (This product has now been discontinued – this is a close alternative Jakar Drawing Companion Set) Interesting fact no. 1: the original eraser was a squashed up piece of soft bread. You can still use bread if you don’t have a rubber, just pinch out the centre of a slice. Whether you need an eraser for school, for the office, or for arts and crafts , we have you covered. Our range is complete with all of the pencil case accessories you'll need for school, work, or home, from some of the top brands like Serve, Staedtler, Derwent, and Helix. c. Plastic/vinyl erasers– the firmest eraser. The most popular eraser, these modern erasers usually give the most complete removal of graphite. If you are like me the word ‘plastic’ might make you think they wouldn’t work well, I mean you can’t erase with any of the other plastic items on your table, right. But you need to remember two things: plastics come in a huge variety of formulas and also ‘plastic’ can means ‘pliable’ as in ‘the plastic arts’ meaning sculpture. Many plastic erasers come with paper sleeves that you can use to hold the rubber. ‘Dustless’ means that the eraser residue particles clump together for more complete removal, leaving fewer tiny particles that are actually still on the paper but you don’t see… until you take a close-up photo. They can be heat-moulded into many shapes, both for finger grips and for sharp edges that allow the erasure of fine lines.

Dustless (dust-free) eraser crumbs are larger but can build up under the eraser in an interfering clump.However, our erasers can do more than just erase pencil markings. We also offer combi erasers with a rough, blue side. Pumice is added to the STAEDTLER rasoplast combi. This makes it possible to carefully remove the surface of the paper, so that even mistakes written in ballpoint pen can be corrected. The blue side of the STAEDTLER Mars plastic combi contains a special solvent in addition to pumice to remove India ink from tracing paper and matt drafting film. This product is therefore ideal for technical drawing. Most people assume they know all there is to know about erasers. But there are different types for different jobs and you are more likely to get the result you want if you use the right tool. After testing different types of erasers, different brands and different methods I have discovered a few things that might help you get the most from this small but important drawing implement. You can carve into firm erasers to create a printing stamp similar to lino cutting but with the carved eraser you can print just by pressing down, like a rubber stamp.

Blistercard containing 1 mechanical pencil, line width 0.5 mm in assorted barrel colours and 1 lead tube Mars micro carbon 250 05-HB free of charge

Eraser

This eraser has a strong absorption capacity for charcoal and graphite. It erases easily with no need to press hard on the paper, forming smooth eraser dust. It can also be used to erase or smudge marks made in charcoal drawings, adding a useful dimension to your artwork. Made from synthetic rubber. First kneading: a bit stiff, had to twist it to get it to move, held together like gum except when I stretched it more than 2cm then would form fine threads that had little bits caught in it that fell out like snow, so I felt I was losing bits of the rubber. This was prevented by only using a twisting or pressing motion, not a stretching motion. Then it was fine. Second kneading of small piece next day: fine.

I like these but found the brushes on the ends weren’t very good, for a small area a soft paintbrush works better and for a large one a dusting brush is better. Caran D’ache Artist Soft Eraser – Recommended for Drawing Paper (phthalate free) – extra soft, non-abrasive, not for ink Thanks to its ergonomic triangular shape, the pencil sits comfortably in the hand ensuring relaxed and easy writing. It is particularly suitable for those who spend a lot of time writing with a pencil. How it performed: Fine on light graphite lines and worst on coloured pencil. Fine on removing the graphite under pigment liner pens and didn’t lighten the ink. It didn’t remove too much watercolour paint but didn’t erase the graphite at all so was bad at that task.STAEDTLER erasers, which are made from plastic, are a different story. For our “made in Germany” erasers, we use the following materials:

How it performed: Worked moderately well when rubbed or when pressed and lifted. Best on the light lines of graphite, not so well on the dark. Fine on press and lift for coloured pencil lightening. Fine on removing the graphite under pigment liner pens and didn’t lighten the ink. Removed the graphite under the watercolour with a bit more damage to the paint than the one above. Felt abrasive. Dark graphite and coloured pencil can best be removed by using two steps: press/lift with a putty rubber until no more will come off and then finish with a plastic or rubber eraser. Faber Castell Latex Free Eraser, Red and Blue (two sides: one for graphite and colour pencils and the other for ink.) Kneaded erasers are not very good for completely erasing an area. If you need to completely erase an area – first use a kneaded eraser to lift as much graphite as possible to prevent inadvertently pushing dark graphite farther into the paper, then use a firmer eraser to finish erasing completely. Our products are available in a variety of designs, colors and sizes. In our product range you will also find multifunctional combi erasers that can erase not only pencil markings, but also different kinds of ink. All STAEDTLER erasers ensure excellent erasing comfort, convenient handling and clean erasing. Spare erasers for our mechanical pencils are also available in this category.

Specialty – fibreglass pen, cleaning cushion with eraser dust for cleaning up a whole sheet of dirty paper, erasing knife or razor blade and more