Your Pencil Cup Is Trash

A comparison of eleven different erasers on a Scantron form, showing marks before and after use, with varying effectiveness and eraser debris left behind.

In this edition of The Recommendation, we’re talking about a rabbit hole we’ve recently fallen down, involving erasers, Ralph Nader, and a Spiderman pencil case.

I have some unfortunate news. You should get rid of your pencil cup. This pains me to say, as someone who played “office” as a kid, neatly collating handmade invoices, organizing stacks of colorful Post-Its, and bathing in the satisfying clank of writing implements being corralled.

But a pencil cup drenched in sunlight is turning your supple, bendy erasers into hot garbage. (And, frankly, it’s not great for your pens, either.)

Why, you ask, do I know so much about eraser obsolescence? Well, Ralph Nader, the longtime consumer advocate, alerted me to the issue, of course. We share a curmudgeonly disgust for everyday objects that should work better than they actually do, and he has complained to me about the decline in quality of writing implements before. So when Nader asked me to look into the fact that his pencil erasers were smudging, staining, and simply not doing their jobs, I obliged.

The truth is, I also have a cup full of pencils where only half the erasers are usable. As part of my investigation into the problem, I committed to writing with my favorite Wirecutter-recommended pencil as much as possible, carrying it and a manual sharpener in a Spiderman pencil case. The Mitsubishi 9850 HB has, in my opinion, the best balance of smooth writeability and clean erasure for my needs (to-do lists, meeting doodles, notes about whether or not the dog has been fed).

I make a ton of mistakes when I’m writing by hand, which is where an excellent eraser comes in handy. To find the best eraser, I interviewed experts, then tasked over 100 kids to scribble, scrawl, and erase. And I did a bunch of longevity testing to see which of the kids’ favorites would hold up long-term.

What I learned is that, yes, some erasers do go bad over time. And yes, it’s infuriating. But — here’s the bright spot! — no matter what pencil-eraser combo you use, from a classic Dixon Ticonderoga to a super-fancy incense-cedar Blackwing 602, there are simple ways to prevent the erasers from turning rock hard and unusable.



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