You Get What You Pay For; Erasers Are Not All Equal

First of all, I cannot believe that I am writing about an electric eraser - of all things - much less touting the fact that I own one! I have been doing a lot more sketching recently - thanks to Paulette Insall's class. I am enjoying it a lot too! I am also needing a good eraser more than I used to. One of the books I have been reading recently is "Secrets To Drawing Realistic Faces" by Carrie Stuart Parks. In her book she recommends a Sakura electric eraser. I balked at the cost of it & opted to order a much less expensive Helix brand from Dick Blick. It worked for all of about 15 minutes. It had a cheap feel too. Dick Blick was very good about crediting the costof both the eraser & the refills I had purchased. I like Dick Blicks' catalogs & web site & I generally buy all of my art supplies from them. I was pleased to learn that they are good with their customer service! After some more thought about whether I REALLY just HAD to have an electric eraser (I am so weak!) - I sprang for the Sakura model - and yes, it is true, you definitely get what you pay for - even with electric erasers! It works so quickly, cleanly and evenly. No smudges, no lines. Terrifc little gadget!

In the photo above you can see the lines I erased (using some elbow power too) with my trusty Sanford pencil eraser (yes, I also did try a variety of other erasers I had on hand as well)and next you can see nearly the clean paper where I used the Sakura. Obviously, since it broke so fast, I can't compare the Sakura to the Helix! So,it is a foolishly small thing in the general scheme of life, but I am now a real convert to electric erasers - if one plans to do much sketching - and likes clean lines too - it's a good thing; embarrassed as I am to admit to that !