Hide a USB Stick in an Eraser

USB drives make it easier to carry gigabytes of information in something smaller than an eraser. For a lot of us, we use these tiny storage repositories to file away sensitive information and so hiding it in a secure location is paramount.

But hiding a USB storage drive requires a sense of ingenuity. The classic cutout in a book is commonplace knowledge. Pen storage devices are the go-to device in almost every spy movie. But who would look at an eraser? Think about it, everyone has one somewhere in their house. Would you ever guess that an eraser in a pencil case contains a secret compartment? Unless you X-ray the pencil case, you might be able to find the USB drive. But how many of us own a functional X-ray machine?

Necessary Items

• Eraser with a paper cover. I recommend Staedtler (not a sponsor) because its paper covering is rigid and glossy, making it difficult to show the outline of the USB compartment.
• USB stick. I used 64GB but the ones on the Amazon link work well.
• X-acto knife**

Recommended Materials

• Cut resistant safety gloves (not pictured)
• Safety glasses (not pictured)

**If you are under 13, please have a responsible adult handle the portions of this Instructable involving the X-acto knife.

Draw the outline in an area covered by the eraser's paper cover. If you are using a used eraser, you can assume the area that is "whiter" is not covered by the paper cover.

Using the X-acto knife, score the outline of the USB drawing. This helped in keeping the overall shape of the USB while removing material (next step). **

**Again, if you are under 13, have a responsible adult help you out with this step and the next one.**

Initially, I created notches in the eraser using the X-acto knife. Due to the composition of erasers, it was pretty easy to remove material using my fingernails . In fact, towards the end of creating the eraser compartment, I was just scrapping the bottom with my nails.

If you are trying to make this project, do not worry about not following the precise outline of the USB while removing material. As long as the USB fits snugly into the eraser without distorting the overall shape of the eraser, you are good to go!

Every so often, I checked to see if the USB fit snugly into the eraser. My biggest fear was that it would slightly bulge outward along the long edge.

Just put the eraser back into the paper cover and now this project is all done! Whenever you need the USB, just push the paper cover down (as shown) and pull out the USB. Also the eraser still functions as normal!

For this project, I used an old eraser to hide the USB. Some ways to really play up the "hidden from prying eyes" mentality is to get a brand-new pack of erasers (like shown above) and use one of them to store the USB. Place that eraser at the bottom of the plastic covering followed by the rest of the erasers. Most people would never question that one of those erasers would contain a USB drive.

Another place to store a USB drive is a Lego. But that Instructable is for another day....

Try to guess which eraser has the USB drive. Put your answer in the comments below!