The Staple-less Stapler

Matt's mother gave me this little contraption some time ago.  I was sort of marveling at how clever it was the other day and thought maybe I'd show it to you.

It is a staple-less stapler.

I don't really do any stapling at home.  I can't think of a single time I've used (or wished I had) a stapler there, but I do staple at work every day.  Mostly interlibrary loan paperwork.

Align the corners of the papers and slip them into the slot and press down, very much like any traditional stapler. 

The staple-less stapler works by punching a hole and a slot in the paper.  The hole results in a small tab of paper which interlocks it into the little slot.  Ta da!  A paper "staple!" 

You can just see the tip of the white tab from the bottom sheet of paper sticking out of the slot in the top blue sheet.

While it certainly isn't as secure as a metal staple the device works very well for my purposes which is to just keep paper together in hanging file folder.  I am sure if you need to regularly use the papers (flipping back and forth) then the paper "staple" would eventually come out and papers separate. 

The backside of the "staple" as compared to the topside show in the photo above and below.

But if all you are looking for is something to keep papers together after being filed I think it is the bee's knees.  I use it every day.  It saves money and saves resources by skipping the metal staples as much as possible.  It is also very small, small enough to fit in your pocket!  I mean, you never know when one might need to staple on the go!  Okay....that never happens....but you COULD if you wanted to!

(I tried to take illustrative photos, using two colors of paper for clarity...so I hope it comes through alright.)