We’ve talked about establishing a stapleless office, but if going stapleless proves too difficult or emotionally draining, don’t push yourself. Keeping a stapler in the office is often a good, if not essential, option. And with great staplers out there to help make stapling easier and more efficient, you may not need to get rid of your staplers entirely, at least not yet.
One of our favorites is the Swingline 747 Business Stapler. A close cousin to the classic Swingline 747, the business model offers some added panache, including an updated contemporary look with a solid reengineered die-cast metal base and cap. I tested it repeatedly on three separate stacks of paper of varying thickness. The 747 felt good in my hands, with a nice heft and a contoured design that leant itself well to stapling. I easily fastened each stack of paper, though on the thickest stack I had to use a bit more force than I thought should be necessary. On the third run through the papers, though, the Swingline jammed and I had to use a butter knife to pry out three staples, which were bent badly and could not be rehabilitated for future stapling. For tacking, I also stapled papers to the office bulletin board and, with its convenient unfolding spring mechanism, the task was easy and even a bit relaxing.
For added functionality, I tried hammering a nail into the wall using the butt end of the Swingline 747. Unlike the Stanley Bostich desktop stapler we tested in the past, the Swingline held up well to the hammering. A rubber non-skid membrane on the bottom, however, took a little bit of damage from the nail. Otherwise, a few swift hits and the nail went in smoothly.
For shooting staples across the room, the Swingline really has limited utility and pales in comparison to more powerful staplers, such as the Stanley Sharpshooter Heavy Duty Staple Gun, which packs some real punch. To test the Swingline, Amy and Ninja Dog ran across the room quickly while I tried to hit them with staples shot from the stapler. I managed to hit them only 30 percent of the time, far less than the 78 percent accuracy rate we registered with the Stanley staple gun we tested last winter. But if your practice does not involve shooting staples at your colleagues or support staff, the Swingline should work just fine.
Finally, when thrown across the room, it sails well through the air and makes a definitive and emphatic ‘thrack’ when it hits the wall. With its solid weight and aerodynamics, it flies straight and, in my case, ultimately shattered two highballs near my bookshelf. Damage to the wall was evident.
The Swingline 747 performs well and lives up to its name as an office workhorse. At approximately $35.00, it’s not cheap. But it will outlast most cheaper brands, such as the Universal or Max, and will even outperform some of its more expensive competitors, like the Akto Stapler by Blomus. We give it 4 1/2 stars.
Image from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomas-merton/3516912652)
The thing that distinguishes Big Legal Brain from other law practice management sites is that knowingly or unknowingly you folks force lawyers to think holistically about their law practice. For example, your posts for the last several days have made me ask myself:
1. What is the best location for my office?
2. How can I build and strengthen my personal brand?
3. What technological tools are a must have for me?
Although I would love to locate my office in my 82 year old mother’s basement, it would be tough to share the space with her. She is just getting her large animal aroma massage therapy business off the ground.
By a happy accident, I have been quite successful advising ethical businessmen how to creatively avoid the restrictive, nay unpatriotic, laws and regulations that deal with undocumented workers. Based on my contacts I have also been able to develop data that I sell to the Minutemen.
With this as the focus of my practice I have been using the local Paradise bakery/restaurant as my office. I found a cozy spot behind their dumptster where I can store my clear plastic floor protector, my pictures of my dog Enoch and a photcopy of the floor layout of my law school library. When I have a meeting I simply arrive a few minutes early, gather up my stuff and set up shop.
I know that this arrangement conveys a look of cool professionlism. But I had been thinking that I needed something else to boost my brand. And there you were, once again to the rescue, with your thorough, well balanced, review of the ‘747 B stapler.
As I read the review I was overwhemed with embarrassment. I suddenly realized that I was still lugging around a Hotchkiss 1a stapler. How unprofessional!
I’m totally sold on the ‘747 B. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it will upgrade my image. Do you know if it comes in other colors? When I was colorized the consultant discouraged me from associating with the color red.Also, I’m not sure how red blend in with the decor in the Paradise.
It’s awesome to hear about others and their practices. Sounds like you are on your way to a four-figure year! Yes, the Swingline 747 Business Stapler (but not the classic 747) comes in several colors, including its iconic “black,” as well as “green” and “blue.”
Gentlepersons:
You have correctly selected the Swingline 747 as a “favorite” but do not adequately explain why you failed to give it the full 5 stars (assuming you apply a 5-star scale). That very model sits upon my desk even now and is without question the finest stapler ever designed for personal use. Your criticisms of it appear to reflect either simple user error or attempted uses of the 747 in ways for which it was not designed.
The 747 is not a staple gun, and a 30% hit rate should be seen as remarkable for a model not intended for that purpose. If your goal is to discipline the staff, you should simply throw the stapler, a use for which you concede it is admirably suited. Trying to hit them with staples from a desk stapler will only erode whatever respect for you they may currently have in any event. Further, you do not specify the number of sheets you attempted to staple with the 747 — in my experience, it routinely binds up to 30 sheets successfully, which is the most one can expect from any non-industrial stapler.
Also, it is red. This is a good thing. The consultant employed by the previous commenter obviously needs to look into another line of work.
I trust that you will swiftly and upwardly revise your evaluation of this unparalleled stapling appliance that you have so unfairly maligned.
Sincerely,
Kevin Underhill, Esq.
http://www.loweringthebar.net
Staplers, in a color other than black? Somewhere, Henry Ford is rolling over in his grave — not to mention Abner Swingline.
More than the Swingline 747, I wish to call attention to the very endangered species – the Mini stapler. This stapler was perfect for fastening fewer than 6 pages, and used a special small staple called a #10. Swingline used to market them under the brandname Tots, then pulled them from the market, then issued a new Tots stapler which was small size machine but used the larger standard staples.
In recent years I have seen some Swingline minis for sale, and always bought them (the small stapler doesn’t last forever). There was a Chinese knockoff with a different machine (looked like a clothspin) that also used the #10 staples; I bought those for the box of staples that was included because, although the machine was worthless, it’s not easy finding more #10 staples.
Thanks! We’ll look at doing a review of the Mini. We may want to consider the essentials of a mini office set.