Rapesco 1356A Porpoise Classic Stapling Plier with 10,000 Type 26/8mm Staples, 45 Sheet Capacity, Candy Pink

good quality, great price

I ended up returning it because it's very big and heavy, not what I was expecting. I didn't use it, so cannot comment on the stapling function.

This Rapesco Porpoise Plier Stapler is of all metal construction - so is quite heavy. If you have weakness in your hands I think you'll struggle to use it for any length of time. It comes in a rather attractive dusky pink colour, (stapler is also available in plain steel and a light blue). As part of the set you also get 10,000 26/8mm staples to start you off.It is a plier stapler, so you use it in your hand rather than on the desk, it has a hand grip on the end so is useful for sealing packaging, jiffy bags etc. It will staple up to 50 sheets of paper and uses 24/6-8mm or 26/6-8mm staples and has a throat depth of 59mm. You can use it to staple or pin, but changing the anvil from one to the other is a little fiddly, you have to lift the anvil itself and twist it round (there is no button underneath to help you move it).The one thing I really didn't like is the loading mechanism for the staples. Rather than the magazine popping out at the front or the top part of the stapler lifting up, you load the staples at the back of the stapler using a spring and hook mechanism. Staples slide over the open part of the magazine at the back, you then take the guide and spring, push it forward and hook it over the bottom of the magazine to secure in place. I dislike this for two reasons - firstly staples usually jam at the front of the magazine and there is no way to get to them in this stapler, secondly because the guide and hook are completely removable it's entirely possible that at some point they're going to go missing (especially in a work situation where you might be "borrowing" staplers) or someone will use your spring and hook to repair theirs because theirs is broken/has gone missing. I just don't think the loading mechanism is as well designed as it could be.It does feel well made and robust, and as long as you take care when loading the staples you shouldn't have any problems. But I find that of the two plier staplers I've used, I do prefer the Rapesco Whale Plier Stapler.

When it works it is OK, but I have had mixed results with the flow of staples, having to adjust after one has fired successfully as the next one needs pushing forward. In my experience so far, this happens on an ad hoc basis whether the stapler cartridge is fully loaded or just a few are inserted.It is not a quick fix, requiring the removal of the spring-loaded centre bar, as the fixed ‘jaw’ does not allow a correction from the front.♦ RAPESCO®♦ 'PORPOISE' CLASSIC STAPLING PLIER, complete with 2 BOXES of 5000 x 26/8 mm GALVANISED STAPLES♦ ALL-METAL CONSTRUCTION♦ 59 mm FIXED STAPLING HEIGHT♦ REAR SPRING-LOADING MECHANISM♦ REF: 1345COLOUR : CANDY PINK ~ ‘A percentage of sales from this product is donated to The Pink Ribbon Foundation (Reg. Charity No. 1080839).’✽ ‘RAPESCO® Porpoise’ etched on one side.Exactly as pictured in the stock images above, the pretty pink stapling plier & the two boxes of staples come in a cardboard box and in a cardboard outer for safe transit. The plain cardboard, inner box measures around 23 cm x 19.5 cm x 6.75 cm.The stapling plier is packed in a plastic-type bag neatly in its own rectangular box, which measures around 17.25 cm x 9 cm x 2.5 cm.There is a small hole in the front of the box with the colour showing through, the other current ones being: POWDER BLUE (1346) ALL-CHROME (R81000A3) The PORPOISE STAPLING PLIER size (all approximate based on my own):✽ LENGTH : 17 cm (maximum)✽ WIDTH : 2.5 cm (maximum)✽ HEIGHT : 8 cm (maximum)The robust stapling plier is a fairly weighty piece of equipment. It can stand on a flat surface but to staple needs to be in hand, as you would a set of pliers.The way the screws are set makes it look a bit like a beady eye on both sides and the 5.5 cm long x 1 cm width gap (maximum) where the envelope or paper goes in looks like a ‘mouth' or 'jaw’.As this one doesn't come pre-loaded, the first challenge is loading some staples.There are no instructions supplied with mine (and the above video is just a showcase, at the time of writing). Granted, this is common on staplers but whereas some are relatively obvious and based on previous experience to a point, this one isn’t, IMO. Once worked out, it is straightforward enough but on the fiddly side especially if limited for time, a bit like till-roll replacement when you have a queue!The process is harder to explain than do, but it is basically push forward & up at an angle on the spring-loaded centre bar to unhook & release the little hook at the end. Completely remove & load up a quantity of staples. Replace the spring unit with the rectangular end following in behind the staples, angling at the end to return the little hook to its position.The stapling plier is a fixed unit, i.e. doesn’t open to fix e.g. staples to a notice board and, because of the limited jaw space, it is not that easy to get fingers in to lift and pivot the anvil depending on which way you want the staples splayed.The galvanised staples supplied are  5000 x 26/8 mm (Code S11880Z3) , with the various order codes noted on the back of the box for 26/6 mm. The size of the staples is also usefully embossed on the stapling plier if the box isn’t to hand when that initial stock of 10,000 supplied starts to run low.The suggested main use is for stapling closed e.g. 'JIFFY' mailing envelopes etc, although it is hard to get a neat line, if more than one is required. It is similar using paper and hard to keep the sheets square, unless pushing right to the back of the ‘mouth’. Between the current product information and the stapler box, there is conflicting advice re the maximum number of sheets of paper the PORPOISE is capable of stapling. The product information varies between 40 & 50; the box shows 50 sheets but no grade is indicated.That said, for me, its primary function is not for the regular stapling of several sheets of paper, being too tiring on the hand & time consuming with squaring up the sheets. The  RAPESCO® 'SPINNA'  is good for that sort of task.However, to test the PORPOISE claim, I had no problem stapling 50 sheets of  'Every Day' paper  with a single staple through and closed at the back of the last sheet (last image refers). The process works equally well with just a couple of sheets, so it is handy in that respect, if nothing else is to hand.

This is a large ' stapling plier' which means it's a heavy duty machine that enjoys large volume stapling jobs.Rapesco themselves talk about the depth of its throat and point out that it's ideal for work in the post room - stapling Jiffy bags and the like.That it's well-built is not in doubt - it's a heavy, nicely engineered piece with an all-metal construction; so it's up to regular use on big jobs. Pity about the colour - but if you don't like pink staplers, order another colour!The company have named it the 'porpoise', and they also have a 'whale' stapler, a 'beluga' stapler and a 'stingray' stapler.Following this naming convention, how about naming a small, pocket stapler a 'shrimp'? - then they can make one that can staple eight separate stacks of paper at the same time and name it the ... well, you work out the name yourself! Just a thought.If you do wish to use this for 'normal' stapling tasks it will manage to up to 50 sheets of paper at a time.Throw in two large boxes of staples that come with it, and you've got yourself a well-equipped stapling set.