I am sure some of you out there have noticed that the old tradional staplers have two settings. The normal one which turns the staple inward and then that funky one that turns it outward.
Anyone have a pratical use or explaination for why the latter exists?
For temporary fastening, the staples crimped outward are easier to remove.
Henry Petroski discusses that in a chapter of The Evolution of Useful Things - a great read I don’t happen to have handy, but is summarized here. The outward-pointing setting, derived from the straight pins used before staples, is not only more difficult to remove (which can be a benefit) but causes less damage to the paper.
At a guess, the outward-facing setting is for when you are temporarily taking some papers together, which you know you are going to want to separate later. The outward-bent staples are almost a straight line, so you can remove it easily with minimal damage to the paper.
That said, I don’t know of ANYONE who does this. Staple pullers work well, and don’t damage the paper significantly. It may be something that the manufacturer’s assumed people would want to do , without ever actually checking to see if they did…
Um, I see on preview we have differing replies requiring clarification. The conventional staple remover (a “grenouille” in France) can pull the inward-pointing style but not the outward one, not without some trauma, that is. The outward style can be removed by pulling it straight out, parallel to its axis, as if it were a straight pin.