Dustless (dust-free) eraser crumbs are larger but can build up under the eraser in an interfering clump. A good eraser must be capable of completely removing pencil or ink lines without leaving smudge marks or roughing the surface of the paper. For vellum drafting paper, soft rubber erasers should generally be used. There are also special erasers designed to remove ink.

Specialty – fibreglass pen, cleaning cushion with eraser dust for cleaning up a whole sheet of dirty paper, erasing knife or razor blade and more Clean classical erasers by rubbing them with a cotton cloth or washing them in soapy water (don’t forget to dry them before using them). Staedtler Combi Mars Plastic Eraser White & Blue– (two sides – one for graphite and coloured pencils and the other for ink) (phthalate and latex free)Triangles are available in 45°-90°-45° or 30°-60°-90° combinations. For most work, trianglesshould be about 200 mm to 250 mm (8” to 10”) long. Triangles should be stored flat to preventwarping and not stored underneath other objects to prevent any pressure from causing themto deform. A compass (diagram 3) (or pair of compasses) is a technical drawing instrument that can be used for drawing circles or arcs. As dividers, they can also be used as tools to measure distances, in particular on maps. Compasses can be used for mathematics, drafting, navigation, and other purposes. 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. If you intend to erase small exact areas you might wish to try an eraser shield. A great little device, that is a good value in the drawing companion set.

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. How it performed: Was better when rubbed than 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. Great on removing the graphite under pigment liner pens without lightening the ink. Removed the graphite under the watercolour with only slight lightening of the paint, might be the winner for that task. As the name suggests, this is the ‘giant’ of the Milan family – the largest eraser of the collection. The eraser is made of soft synthetic rubber and it is suitable for removing strokes from graphite pencils on all kinds of surfaces. Because of its size (6.8 x 5.1 x 2.8 cm) we don’t recommend it for precision erasing.An eraser shield is a thin sheet of stainless steel or plastic with slots and holes of different shapes. They are designed to allow erasers to be used through them to erase lines and text without removing lines close by which do not need to be (or should not be) erased. What is the use of eraser in drafting? How it performed: Fine on light graphite lines and same as the others on coloured pencil. Fine on removing the graphite under pigment liner pens and didn’t lighten the ink. It lifted a bit more watercolour paint than the others but didn’t erase the graphite at all so was bad at that task. Faber Castell Perfection Pencil, Single Ended Eraser (soft for graphite, coloured pencils and charcoal)

Kneadable putty erasers work by absorbing colour, they do not wear away. They can be very soft or quite stiff, but are not abrasive.

But I found that if you use a two-step method you can erase coloured pencil quite thoroughly. I used Faber-Castell Polychromos Crimson thinking it would be a tough one to erase because it is oil and wax as well as red which is often a staining colour. This innovative and portable Jakar sharpener combines a reservoir sharpener with an eraser, which has a plastic cap to keep it clean. It is suitable for use with standard diameter pencils. An Ellipse template is used for drawing ellipse or oval shapes accurately. Diagram 9 shows 30/60 ellipse template. It is particularly useful for drawing ellipses on isometric drawings. Diagram 9 – Ellipse template