8
votes
Accepted
How to remove charcoal droppings on an eraser?
You need to erase on a blank sheet of paper or a rougher surface to "sand" the dirty part of the eraser out. You can erase on your desk surface to get those dirty crumbles out. Your eraser is getting "...
- 906
7
votes
Signing a new credit card
Banks and financial institutions prefer the miserly thin line you dislike. Forgers love thick lines that disguise small irregularities in a bogus signature. It's VERY difficult to forge a signature ...
- 14.1k
7
votes
What to do with left over calendars of previous years?
If you can keep them until 2026, the days will be aligned the same as they are in 2015. ie Jan 1st is a Thursday and 28 days in Feb.
EDIT : More explanation. You can use a 2015 calendar as a 2026 ...
- 1,749
7
votes
Randomizing papers
Take a well shuffled deck of cards and paperclip a card to each one in turn. Then sort them into deck order A..K spades followed by A..K hearts, A..K diamonds, A..K clubs.
- 1,749
7
votes
How can I remove gel (?) Ink from a book?
If all your attempts at removal fail or you do indeed damage the paper in an attempt at doing so, I suggest what I would have probably done instead of writing directly into the book:
Use a matching (...
- 3,195
6
votes
How to deal with eraser shavings effectively
The two items you linked to are novelty items and are unlikely to work well. The tool professionals (e.g. draftsmen) use for this job is a drafting brush like this one:
(not recommending this ...
- 6,284
6
votes
Accepted
How to remove/hide/destroy senstive information written on paper without a machine?
Ripping it up is as secure as the obfuscation you can apply to the task.
A shredder is actually not a very secure method, unless your total shredded quantity is high. Re-assembly is just a jigsaw ...
- 2,231
6
votes
How to remove/hide/destroy senstive information written on paper without a machine?
Eat it
If it's a small amount of paper, then eating it would be very effective.
- 1,884
6
votes
Accepted
Stuck photos while inside an envelope
If they are gelatin-emulsion based, as used in traditional photography (or some coated ink-jet papers), hold the back side of the pack over a steaming kettle and let the steam slowly loosen the rear-...
- 5,993
6
votes
How to COMPLETELY peel off a sticky price tag or label on a book or item without the gunky residue?
Use a hair dryer and pull perpendicular. It softens the glue so that it stays on the sticker instead of the book. Glue residue can be removed with white spirits.
However, some glues are really hard ...
- 201
6
votes
Accepted
How to write with a pen upside down?
Good that you mentioned astronauts in one of comments, because this reminded me some myth that cosmonauts used to use pencils while NASA spent lot of money on creating spece pen
This article says ...
- 548
6
votes
Accepted
Fuse / patch two papers side-by-side without noticeable seam?
Turn the ticket over and work on the back.
First, clean the desk where you will work. Use good lighting in your work area. Wash your hands thoroughly.
Carefully match the two pieces and join them ...
- 14.1k
5
votes
Signing a new credit card
An engraver/Dremel. I just signed my new credit card with an engraver with a thin point, and it looks great and is visible (even without ink). I might use a thin sharpie to write over it.
A ...
- 51
5
votes
How to revive dried up pens
The idea is that the tip is clogged. And you want to allow it to flow again.
--
You may try to dilate the tip (and slim the ink) with heat to allow the ink to flow. Other answers have already ...
- 171
5
votes
How to seal envelopes without licking
Use a cool mist humidifier. I discovered this by accident one day. Stuffy nose & allergies so I brought a humidifier to work. Just run the glue part of the envelope back & forth across the ...
- 51
5
votes
How to remove/hide/destroy senstive information written on paper without a machine?
If you have a lighter or a match stick, burning it will be a good option. Off-course, it's better to burn it on a metal surface away from flammable substances. If you can't find metal surface, you can ...
- 244
5
votes
How to comfortably carry a pen drive in any attire without risk of physical damage?
Many flash sticks / pen drives nowadays have keyring loops.
I simply carry a flash stick on my keyring - like this...
As my keys are always in my pocket if I'm outside the house, the flash stick is ...
- 1,838
5
votes
Applying identification mark on a glass trophy
Even simpler than the clear tape mentioned in another answer:
Write or draw directly on the (bottom of) the trophy with a permanent marker, remove it with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover when ...
- 3,195
5
votes
Stop ink stains on hand when writing for left-handed people
Most left-handed people I know turn the page at an angle (which differs between individuals) that allows their left hand to slide above or below the line they just wrote.
This certainly needs some ...
- 2,976
4
votes
How can I sharpen pencils without a dedicated sharpener?
I like to use an emory board to sharpen or shape a drawing pencil. I don't expect it would work well for starting from scratch ; ) with a new pencil, but works well otherwise.
- 41
4
votes
How to remove/hide/destroy senstive information written on paper without a machine?
I often use your idea of writing over the letters with other letters. But I always write over every letter with an "8" and then an "X". That makes every letter look like exactly the same weird ...
- 11.6k
4
votes
How to write with a pen upside down?
Use a pencil, maybe?
(I don't have enough rep to put this in comments)
- 283
4
votes
Pen writes faint
You say it happens evey time with a new pen (I assume you mean regardless of the brand). From what I can see you are applying quite a lot of pressure when writing. I don't know if it is possible, but ...
- 41
4
votes
How do I enhance my handwriting?
The pen you write with makes a lot of a difference. Dark-inked and thick-pointed pen will make your handwriting look 'smooter', if that's what you are after.
However, I think that as long as your ...
- 41
3
votes
Signing a new credit card
Invest in the fisher brand of pens called "space pens". They truly live up to the hype, they write every time, on basically whatever surface you need to write on (within reason, obviously not concrete ...
- 31
3
votes
How to remove wrinkles from a crumpled piece of paper?
If you are looking for a faster but not as effective way to smooth out paper, you can run the paper over the edge of a desk. (Pretend like the paper is a string and the edge of the desk is a pulley ...
- 373
3
votes
How to seal envelopes without licking
To expand on the "wet sponge / cloth / finger concept":
As we are dealing with multiple envelopes, I recommend layering the flaps of the envelopes, slightly staggered, so that the sticky parts of the ...
- 3,195
3
votes
How can I sharpen pencils without a dedicated sharpener?
It is actually easier to sharpen a pencil with a box-cutter than a pocket knife (it is sharper, so you need to apply less pressure, which allows you to have more control over what and how you are ...
- 31
3
votes
How to revive dried up pens
There's one solution / it works all the time! Wet a napkin and take the ink cartridge and roll it up in the napkin/ place in mic for 20 sec !
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
How do I get a new ball pen to flow?
The one thing that helps me a lot with this issue is to use the pen against the sole of my shoe, I really don't know why or how it works. I was given this tip as a kid by an older friend and I've done ...
- 1,188
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible