How to Get an Eraser Out of a Mechanical Pencil?

There is one thing that might be very common among mechanical pencil users; the eraser getting stuck when it becomes too short. People use various kinds of tricks to get it out, like using fingernails, paper clips or some might even take it to extreme; use their teeth. Ewww… gross.

Most of the time, attempts like using fingernails or teeth might fail and make the situation even worse. Keeping these in mind, we made this guide on how to get an eraser out of a mechanical pencil, so that you can do it like a pro and yes, without doing any silly stuff.

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How to Get an Eraser Out of a Mechanical Pencil

Keep reading to find out the different ways to take erasers out of mechanical pencils in a breeze.

1. Twist, Twist, Twist…

This one might be the easiest way of getting a stuck eraser from your mechanical pencil. Follow the rule of Dory from Finding Nemo: “just keep twisting”. All you need to do is:

• Keep twisting until you reach a state when you see most part of the eraser is popping out.
• Then you can just pull out the eraser.
• If it doesn’t work that way, you can simply use a pin to dig out the eraser.

It’s that simple. And if you want to push in a new one, you should push the knob side down in the opposite way of taking out the eraser. Place the eraser on the slot of your mechanical pencil. Gently press it down until you can feel a slight “pop”. Now, you can keep it at your desired level by screwing the eraser down.

2. Fishing Hook

Fishing hook? For real? Smells fishy, right? Yes, probably a little bit, but you can use a fishing hook to get your eraser out. Though it sounds and smells fishy, there is a probability that you can actually succeed in the first attempt!

With a small and pointy fishing hook you can easily get the eraser out of the mechanical pencil. The mechanism is the same as catching fish.

• First push the point of the fishing hook inside the eraser.
• You need to make sure the “eraser fish” grabs the hook perfectly; the eraser gets stuck on the sharp point.
• And then just gently pull it out.

You may not be happy because what you pulled out is not a Tuna but I guess you would be satisfied after you see the face of that stubborn little eraser.

3. Paper Clips

Okay, just after catching fishes, now you are going to learn something close to what people from old movies used to do with paper clips.

No, I’m not going to teach you how to open the secret vault of the World Bank using a paper clip! But you will definitely learn how to remove a worn down eraser from a mechanical pencil using it. So, here is how you can do it.

• First take a paper clip and unbend it.
• Insert the clip inside the slot of the eraser maintaining a fine, steep angle.
• Grab the clip covering the most part of it; it’s for better grip and stability.
• Now, push it slowly and make sure it goes a little deep. Otherwise this trick might not work; the paperclip will come back without the eraser.
• Now, gently pull the clip upwards and the job will be done.

Phew, you just mastered another technique. We still got two more tricks on how to pull an eraser out of a mechanical pencil. Let’s check them out.

4. Thumbtacks

Another genius way of taking out a shortened eraser from your mechanical pencil, this one is cheap too. The technique is almost the same as the paperclip but the advantage is that thumbtacks are easier to handle and they give a good grip compared to paper clips. Check the steps to do it using thumbtacks:

• Poke the thumbtack inside the eraser.
• Now, bend the tack in a good, steep angle.
• Pull the tack up in the opposite direction and the eraser will be out.

A piece of cake. Not more rubble but less trouble!

5. Screws

It is the last trick on how to remove a stuck eraser from a mechanical pencil. And this is probably the worst barbaric attack on a worn down eraser of a mechanical pencil! Poor eraser. Without wasting time let’s check how you can do it using a screw.

• Place the screw on the eraser and screw it maintaining a downward pressure.
• Make sure you are screwing it in the clockwise direction.
• After the screw reaches all the way down, wiggle it in different directions like back and forth to make it loosen.
• Now pull the screw up and the eraser will come along with it.
• Now, to unscrew, hold the eraser and rotate the screw in the anti-clockwise direction.

That’s all, no more tricks left. Hope these help you on your tough times of figuring out how to take erasers off mechanical pencils.

The Bottom Line

Pulling out a worn out eraser from a mechanical pencil might look tricky at the first sight. But it’s actually simple; totally not rocket science.

So, if you see the eraser of your mechanical pencil making trouble, you can choose from any of these techniques that suit your skills and resources to take out the eraser from its slot.