There have been a number of staplers featured on Cool Tools, but I think the Bostitch No-Jam Premium Half-Strip Desktop Stapler ($9) could give any of them a run for its money in terms of value, length of service and sheer reliability. It’s sturdy and has a very satisfying stapling action that, as promised by its ‘Anti-Jam’ label, NEVER jams. It’ll easily staple through the advertised 20 sheets of paper, and I’ve pushed it further than that and it still refuses to jam up.

In contrast, your average cheap stapler chews up staples for fun, and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve witnessed a co-worker almost impale their hand while trying to pry out a mangled staple using a pair of office scissors… I’m on my second example of this stapler. ‘Second?’ I hear you cry. ‘If it was that good, you’d still be on your first!’ Fair point, but let me give it some context: my first B600 stapler was inherited from a colleague who left when I started a job at a family business 20 years ago. Over the years, it’s become known in the office that if you want my stapler, you’ll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. That first stapler (which was secondhand when I got it!) served me well for years and years, eventually becoming intermittent due to the plastic casing simply wearing away from sheer volume of use. Heartbroken at its loss, I jumped on the interweb to see if it was still available and it is — a testament to the great design that it’s still in production. Yes, it’s several times the cost of a cheap stapler, but it will last you many times longer and along the way it will help to cut down on annoyance and stress in your office — that’s got to be a good thing, right?

-- Andrew Biddle 09/6/18