MONO Eraser White

The Tombow MONO eraser is the standard by which Japanese erasers are judged — the blue, white and black striped sleeve is one of the most recognizable objects in Japanese stationery. This is the PE01 size, a high-performance plastic eraser for office and drafting work measuring 17 mm wide, 11 mm thick and 43 mm long and weighing 11 g, with a body of PVC resin and a sleeve made from recycled paper. It lifts graphite cleanly with light pressure and leaves the paper surface intact, and the shavings gather into cohesive crumbs rather than scattering. The black version uses the same eraser formulation as the familiar white one, so erasing performance and feel are identical, but grime does not show on the body, and the pale shavings stand out against the dark eraser so they are easier to spot and sweep up. The MONO eraser holds a Good Design Long Life Design Award, given in 2011. Made in Japan by Tombow.

1. Peel the paper sleeve down as the eraser wears so the sleeve supports the block and stops it from cracking.
2. Erase with light, short strokes rather than heavy scrubbing, which is what tears paper.
3. Use a corner of the block for precise work on small marks and diagram detail.
4. Sweep the crumbs off with a brush or the sleeve edge instead of your hand, which smudges the page.
5. Rub the eraser on scrap paper to clean the working face when it picks up ink or heavy graphite.