For most of my life I spent very, very little time thinking about staplers. Very little. About as much time as it took to push on the thing and staple a couple pieces of paper together five times a year. All that changed when I took over running the elementary school book fairs. Now I think about my stapler for several hours, twice each year. This is exponential growth in my stapler interest.

Our stapler is an ACCO Swingline Classic Series Desktop Stapler. Who knew it had such a long moniker? I can’t tell you how we chose it because, honestly, I don’t think we did. It’s like fly swatters or laundry lint – it has just always been here. If I’m not mistaken, this beautiful stapler is at least 30 years old and still staples like a champ.

One of the reasons I suspect our stapler of being among the more geriatric of our household office supplies is its styling. It is the stapler equivalent of a wood paneled station wagon. While it has the sturdy metal body and non-slip plastic/rubber bottom layer one expects from a quality Swingline stapler, it also has plastic faux-wood grain accents along the top and on the sides. It’s like stapling with a little mini version of my dad’s car. And it shows almost no wear whatsoever! A nick or two along the edges of the base is all, after all these years of service.

We have the standard desktop model, which is about seven inches long and two and a half inches high. It opens easily for staple loading by simply pulling up the top and holds about a gajillion standard staples (it’s actually more like 220; it just looks like a gajillion). You can use it to staple in the standard fashion or open it up by pressing a little button on the bottom so you can use it on bulletin boards and the like.

But what I use it for, those two times per year, is mass stapling of between four and eight hundred packets, letters home, flyers and other goodies relating to elementary school book fairs. The number varies depending on our output of information, but is never less than four hundred. I tend to do these all at once, so the stapler and I have considerable chance to commune. It’s been six years now since we started spending this special time together and I can count on one hand the number of times my Swingline has jammed. Even when it has, it has been a simple task to remove the errant staple and get back to the job at hand. The Swingline fits perfectly well in my hand when I decide to staple with gusto (and my hands are fairly small) and performs equally well when my mood is mellower and I decide the stapler can remain stationary on table or floor.

My Swingline Stapler staples like the pro it is. The staple edges are not rough after stapling; it can handle a whole lot of pages (I’ve done more than thirty with one standard staple – I know, impressive) and those pages stay together. I highly recommend the purchase of an ACCO Swingline Classic Series Desktop Stapler for anyone interested in serious long-term return on their office supply investment. We have never replaced this, it may well have been around since the dawn of time, in the classic form still available today. With its surefire performance, durability and classic good looks, this is one groovy stapler.


Recommended: Yes