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Eraser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Eraser (disambiguation).

An eraser, (also called a rubber in the UK, Ireland, India, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, from
the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing writing from paper. Erasers have a
rubbery consistency and come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Some pencils have an eraser on one end.
Less expensive erasers are made from synthetic rubber, but more expensive or specialized erasers are vinyl,
plastic, or gum-like materials. Cheaper erasers can be made out of synthetic soy-based gum.
Erasers were initially made for pencil markings, but more abrasive ink erasers were later introduced. The term
is also used for things that remove writing from chalkboards and whiteboards.

History
Before rubber erasers, tablets of rubber or wax were used to erase lead or charcoal marks from paper. Bits of
rough stone such as sandstone or pumice were used to remove small errors from parchment or papyrus
documents written in ink. Crustless bread was used as an eraser in the past; a Meiji-era (1868-1912) Tokyo
student said: "Bread erasers were used in place of rubber erasers, and so they would give them to us with no
restriction on amount. So we thought nothing of taking these and eating a firm part to at least slightly satisfy our
hunger."[1]
In 1770 English engineer Edward Nairne is reported to have developed the first widely-marketed rubber eraser,
for an inventions competition. Until that time the material was known as gum elastic or by its native American
name (via French) caoutchouc. Nairne sold natural rubber erasers for the high price of three shillings per
half-inch cube. According to Nairne, he inadvertently picked up a piece of rubber instead of breadcrumbs,
discovered rubber's erasing properties, and began selling rubber erasers. The invention was described by Joseph
Priestley on April 15, 1770, in a footnote: "I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping
from paper the mark of black-lead-pencil. ... It is sold by Mr. Nairne, Mathematical Instrument-Maker, opposite
the Royal-Exchange."[2] In 1770 the word rubber was in general use for any object used for rubbing;[3] the
word became attached to the new material sometime between 1770 and 1778.[4]
However, raw rubber was perishable. In 1839 Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanization, a
method that would cure rubber, making it durable. Rubber erasers became common with the advent of
vulcanization.
On March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia, USA, received the first patent for attaching an eraser to
the end of a pencil. It was later invalidated because it was determined to be simply a composite of two devices
rather than an entirely new product.[5]
Erasers may be free-standing blocks (block and wedge eraser), or conical caps that can slip onto the end of a
pencil (cap eraser). A barrel or click eraser is a device shaped like a pencil, but instead of being filled with
pencil lead, its barrel contains a retractable cylinder of eraser material (most commonly soft vinyl). Many, but
not all, wooden pencils are made with attached erasers.[6] Novelty erasers made in shapes intended to be
amusing are often made of hard vinyl, which tends to smear heavy markings when used as an eraser.

Types

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Pencil or cap erasers

Originally made from natural rubber, but now usually from cheaper SBR, this type contains mineral fillers
and an abrasive such as pumice with a plasticizer such as vegetable oil.[6] They are relatively hard (in order
to remain attached to the pencil) and frequently colored red.

Artist's gum eraser

The stylized word "Artgum" was first used in 1903 and trademarked in the USA in 1907.[7] That type of eraser
was originally made from oils such as corn oil vulcanized with sulfur dichloride[8] although may now be made
from natural or synthetic rubber or vinyl compounds. It is very soft yet retains its shape and is not mechanically
plastic, instead crumbling as it is used. It is especially suited to cleaning large areas without damaging paper.
However, they are so soft as to be imprecise in use. The removed graphite is carried away in the crumbles,
leaving the eraser clean, but resulting in a lot of eraser residue. This residue must then be brushed away with
care, as the eraser particles are coated with the graphite and can make new marks. Art gum erasers are
traditionally tan or brown, but sometimes are sold in blue.

Vinyl erasers
Quality plasticized vinyl or other "plastic" erasers, originally trademarked Mylar in the mid-20th century, are
softer, non-abrasive, and erase cleaner than standard rubber erasers. This was because the removed graphite did
not remain on the eraser as much as rubber erasers, but was instead absorbed onto the discarded vinyl scraps.
Being softer and non-abrasive, they were less likely to damage canvas or paper. Engineers favor this type of
eraser for work on technical drawings due to their gentleness on paper with less smearing to surrounding areas.
They often come in white and can be found in a variety of shapes. More recently, very low cost erasers are
manufactured from highly plasticized vinyl compounds and made in decorative shapes.

Kneaded erasers
Main article: Kneaded eraser
Kneaded erasers having a plastic consistency are common to most artists' standard toolkit. They can be pulled
into a point for erasing small areas and tight detail erasing, molded into a textured surface and used like a
reverse stamp to give texture, or used in a "blotting" manner to lighten lines or shading without completely
erasing them. They gradually lose their efficacy and resilience as they become infused with particles picked up
from erasing and from their environment. They are not suited to erasing large areas, as they deform under
vigorous erasing.

Poster putty
Commonly sold in retail outlets with school supplies and home improvement products, this soft, malleable putty
appears in many colours and under numerous brand names. Intended to adhere posters and prints to walls
without damaging the underlying paint, poster putty works much the same as traditional kneaded erasers, but
with a greater tack or lifting strength. Poster putty does not erase so much as lighten by lifting graphite, charcoal
or pastel off a drawing. In this regard, it does not smudge or damage work in progress. Repeatedly touching the
putty to a drawing pulls ever more medium free, gradually lightening the work in a controlled fashion. Poster
putty can be shaped into fine points or knife edges, making it ideal for detailed or painstaking work. It can be
rolled across a surface to create visual textures. Poster putty loses its efficacy with use, becoming less tacky as

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the material grows polluted with debris and oils from the user's skin.

Electric erasers
The electric eraser was invented in 1932 by Arthur Dremel of Racine, Wisconsin, USA.[9] It used a replaceable
cylinder of eraser material held by a chuck driven on the axis of a motor. The speed of rotation allowed less
pressure to be used, which minimized paper damage. Originally standard pencil-eraser rubber was used, later
replaced by higher-performance vinyl. Dremel went on to develop an entire line of hand-held rotary power
tools.

Fibreglass erasers
A fibreglass eraser, a bundle of very fine glass fibres, can be used for erasing[10] and other tasks requiring
abrasion. Typically the eraser is a pen-shaped device with a replaceable insert with glass fibres, which wear
down in use. The fibres are very hard; in addition to removing pencil and pen markings, such erasers are used
for cleaning traces on electronic circuit boards to facilitate soldering, removing rust, and many other
applications. As an example of an unusual use, a fibreglass eraser was used for preparing an archaeological
fossil embedded in a very hard and massive limestone.[11]

Other
Felt chalkboard erasers or blackboard dusters are used to erase chalk markings on a chalkboard. Chalk writing
leaves light-coloured particles weakly adhering to a dark surface (e.g., white on black, or yellow on green); it
can be rubbed off with a soft material, such as a rag. Erasers for chalkboards are made, with a block of plastic or
wood, much larger than an eraser for pen or pencil, with a layer of felt on one side. The block is held in the hand
and the felt rubbed against the writing, which it easily wipes off. Chalk dust is released, some of which sticks to
the eraser until it is cleaned, usually by hitting it against a surface.
Various types of eraser, depending upon the board and the type of ink used, are used to erase a whiteboard.
Dedicated erasers that are supplied with some ballpens and permanent markers are intended only to erase the
ink of the writing instrument they are made for; sometimes this is done by making the ink bond more strongly
to the material of an eraser than the surface it was applied to.[12]

See also
Ink eraser
Chalkboard eraser
Kneaded eraser

References
1. ^ Teiykai (1926). Kbu daigakk mukashibanashi (in Japanese). Tokyo: Teiykai. pp. 2526.
2. ^ See the footnote on page xv at the end of the preface to the following: Priestley, Joseph (1770). A Familiar
Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Perspective. London: J. John and J. Payne.
3. ^ Joseph Priestley (1769). A Familiar Introduction to the Study of Electricity. J. Dodsley; T. Cadell, successor to Mr.
Millar; and Johnson and Payne. p. 84.
4. ^ R.B. Simpson (ed.), Rubber Basics, iSmithers Rapra Publishing, 2002, ISBN 185957307X, p.46 "Rubber"

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5. ^ "Reckendorfer v. Faber 92 U.S. 347 (1875)". Justia. Retrieved 2014-03-24.

6. ^ a b http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Eraser.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. ^ Reg. No. 60496 & No. 435240, ERASERS OR ELASTIC COMPOSITIONS FOR ERASING MARKS FROM AND
CLEANING DRAWINGS, TRACINGS, PICTURES [1] (http://tmsearch.uppto.gov)
8. ^ US patent 2676160
9. ^ Piedmont-Palladino, Susan (Summer 2005). "The Invisible History of Erasing". Blueprints (National Building
Museum): 2.
10. ^ Rendering with Pen and Ink (The Thames & Hudson Manuals), Robert W Gill. 1984, p191-193
11. ^ Stecher, Rico (2008). "A new Triassic pterosaur from Switzerland (Central Austroalpine, Grisons), Raeticodactylus
filisurensis gen. et sp. nov." (PDF). Swiss J. Geosci. (Birkhuser Verlag, Basel). doi:10.1007/s00015-008-1252-6.
Retrieved 16 January 2015.
12. ^ U.S. Patent 3875105

Bibliography
Petroski, Henry (1989). The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance..

External links
Eraser: How Products are Made, Volume 5 (1997)
Wikimedia Commons has
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5205/is_1997
media related to Eraser.
/ai_n19124842) by Rose Secrest
Pearlstein, E. J.; Cabelli, D.; King, A.; Indictor, N. (1982). "Effects of Eraser Treatment on Paper".
Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 22 (1): 12. doi:10.2307/3179714. JSTOR 3179714.
Goodyear Rubber History (http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/history/history_story.html)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eraser&oldid=682826425"
Categories: Stationery Writing implements Art materials

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