Why do some erasers get hard?

Pencil erasers are made from thick rubber that has the tendency to harden and become brittle when exposed to direct sunlight. Moistening them can make them work again.

Why do some pencils have bad erasers?

It is simply used for fixing small mistakes in art and writing errors. This depends on how much erasing of the pencil you will need. If you don’t need to erase often then the existing eraser will serve you just fine.

How do I stop my erasers from hardening?

If you have cleaned your eraser, you can rub some almond oil into the surface and let it sit for a day. It should keep it from further drying out and will prevent graphite from returning into the little pits and cracks.

Why are some erasers black?

Black and coloured erasers do not leave any colour from the eraser on the paper. They are dark so that when erasing on dark paper a white ghosting effect is not left as can happern with white erasers. They also look less grubby when they are dirty.

Are there different types of erasers?

Rubber erasers are generally colored pink, although I have seen them available in all different types of colors. The Pink Pearl brand eraser is a standard for most artists. It comes as a wedge shape and is colored pink. Rubber erasers are best suited for erasing pencil (graphite) on paper.

What are pencil erasers made of?

Precise breakdowns of materials tend to be guarded as company secrets. Rigoberto Advincula, a professor at Case Western Reserve University who has consulted in the pencil and eraser industry, said that erasers are usually made of some combination of rubber and plastic components.

How hard is it to find a pencil with a good eraser?

Finding a pencil with an honest-to-goodness, functioning eraser is much harder than it should be, and even separate erasers sold on their own often do a middling job.

What happens to erasers over time?

Advincula explained: “Over time, some of the rubber properties can be lost because of oxidation or chemical degradation. Some of the plastic can also soften or even harden because of different environmental conditions.” In short, exposure to air and light is doing your erasers no favors.

What if you could find an eraser from the 1770s?

Even if you did manage to find an eraser from the 1770s, it would be worse than useless by now. Think about the Pink Pearl erasers you had as a kid. The ones in your pencil case were soft and gave a little when squeezed between your fingers. They warmed the pad of your thumb when you rubbed it back and forth because it created friction.