How to Make Eraser Putty

Gather your materials. You'll need a solid rubber eraser and a several sticky notes (½ dozen 3"x3" notes produced an amount twice the size of a pencil eraser). Keep in mind that your final kneaded eraser will be about the same color as the eraser you start with. A multicolored eraser won't produce a smooth, uniform putty eraser.^[5]

• The color of your sticky notes won't have any impact on the final eraser. However, since the sticky notes won't be usable after you're finished, consider using up a color you dislike.

Try to "erase" the glue off of the sticky note. Rub your eraser along the sticky part of each note. Use enough force to remove the glue from the paper but not so much that you tear the paper. When one sticky note runs out of glue, move on to a new one.^[6]

Collect your eraser shavings. After you've finished each sticky note, sweep the eraser shavings into one large pile. Keep rubbing your eraser against the sticky notes until you have enough shavings to make a new eraser. A pile containing about a tablespoon's worth of shavings is a good size to shoot for.^[7]

Knead the shavings together. The thin shape of the rubber makes it more malleable, while being coated with glue from the sticky notes will make the small pieces much easier to stick together. Carefully scoop the pile of eraser shavings into your hand. Squeeze the shavings into a smaller clump. Roll the clump around in your hand. Continue working it until the clump becomes nice and smooth. When that happens, your eraser putty is finished.^[8]

Gather your materials. For this method, you will two different types of eraser. The first is any standard solid rubber eraser you would like to turn into putty. This rubber eraser will make up the bulk of your final kneaded eraser, so pick one with a color you like. Softer rubber will make a better eraser putty. You will also need a "hi-polymer" vinyl eraser. It must be big enough that you can comfortably rub the first eraser against it. Only a small portion of this eraser will be in your final kneaded eraser, so its color doesn't matter as much as the rubber eraser's.^[9]

Drag the rubber eraser over the vinyl eraser. Keep the vinyl eraser flat on your desk. Vigorously rub the rubber eraser over it. Use the same motions as you would to erase pencil, but press down harder.^[10]

Sweep the shavings into a pile. The friction between the two erasers will create eraser shavings. These will mostly be made up of the softer rubber eraser, which will wear down much faster. However, you will also notice a crater begin to form in the center of your vinyl eraser. Periodically sweep away the shavings from this crater and into one big pile nearby.

• If you want a larger piece of eraser putty, you can always repeat this with multiple rubber erasers and combine the shavings together at the end.^[11]