Staplers are an important office tool for gathering paper. Bindler clips and paper clips have their place, but whenever you need an inexpensive and secure solution, nothing beats the stapler. I have four staplers, myself. They are:
The ACCO 50
The Acco is my favorite because it’s so flashy — has a beautiful orange plastic top. Metal construction, full rubber base, and a stapler compartment that shoots out by pushing a button on the back. The compartment is attached to the stapler, so you won’t drop or lose a part. Here’s a video of someone showing an ACCO 40 with the same mechanism.
The ACCO 50 opens wide for tacking, by pulling the top part up and back — it took me a while to realize this because the stapler is kept in its normal position by strong friction (bent metal strip).
I also own two no-nonsense Swingline 711s — smaller versions of the classic 747.
Like its bigger brother, the 711s are the prototypical stapler: all metal construction with rubber pads, they’re the most ubiquitous (I’ve seen them all my life), and probably the design you think about when you picture a stapler. These staplers get the most use due to their sturdy, all metal construction. Like the ACCO 50, they have a decorative plastic trim. Compared to the ACCO, though, there’s less plastic to get damaged/scratched. The Swinglines opens up for tacking, with a press of a lever underneath. I had a 747 but it went missing, something I hope to remedy in the future.
Finally, I own a Bates 213HD, for when the stapling job gets real serious.
This one is designed to handle ridiculous amounts of paper. I use this to join my short stories when they get into the 20 some pages. The other staplers I’ve mentioned are iffy to unusable at this range. I have the 1/2 inch staples, which are supposed to be able to handle the 60+ pages, but I doubt I’ll ever need to staple that many sheets, but if I do… The Bates stapler is made in Japan, and is a beautiful chrome with rubber ends that also serve as a base at both ends. Mine was made in Sept 1998, which I like to tell myself was not over 20 years ago.
All of these staplers, like many other tools, have slightly different use profiles. They all do their job very well, though.
In terms of condition, staplers tend to fall into one of two categories: they are either workhorses, because they were used on a regular frequent basis, for example at a school, or they enjoyed a life of leisure and light use because they were used in a home or a person’s desk. I probably use a stapler once a week, myself; the Bates 213HD, I’ve only used a handful of times. On eBay, you can find incredible deals on like-new vintage staplers for the price that you’d spend on a modern (read: not very good) stapler.
Perfect Pencil 