Forever Object: The Staple-Less Oceanus Brass Stapler | Hacker News Reader

Forever Object: The Staple-Less Oceanus Brass Stapler

core77.com

17 pointssurprisetalk13 comments

Warning: this website froze my Firefox and I had to kill it. It started running at 100% CPU and then my browser stopped responding. I tried closing the tab but it kept running.

In my case, it looks like a memory issue - my ram and swap both filled up after opening the site

Core77 has the worst site, and it’s been like that for years. I guess they did a redesign 20 years ago, and it just limps along. I don’t know what their finances are like, but it’s clearly not going into the site.

Otherwise the content is legit design news.

This is not novel. They’ve had stapleless staplers for many years.

But the point is something well made, designed to last. I’ve already replaced my first plastic one when a small drop to carpet stopped it from working properly, and my second one isn’t very smooth out of the box.

It looks like the campaign is closed now though.

Aside from the fact that it's recyclable, nothing here indicates that the design is any good, or that it will last any longer than a $15 plastic and steel equivalent. Why brass? And more specifically: why that particular brass alloy? Same vibes as https://craighill.co/ style design: mostly vibes and a the smallest twist of mechanical insight.

"We CNC'd a public domain mechanism out of a billet of brass and you'll buy it for $100"

The number of sheets this item claims to staple (five) is hidden in the FAQ and not in the campaign page, a sign that it's not really a product intended for actual use. The campaign page does talk a lot about boats though.

Yes. Here's one on Amazon.[1]

I used to be into antique office equipment for my steampunk telegraph office. I knew about those. We had a Bates stapler which took in a roll of brass wire and made its own staples instead, though. Those are available on eBay if you want one.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Stapleless-Harinacs-Handheld-Portable...

Um... we need to hear more about the steampunk telegraph office

I've posted this before, but whatever. [1]

Steampunk was fun while it lasted. This video was made in 2014.

Attendees could text messages via SMS to the system which drove the Teletype machine. Messages were printed and delivered by the messengers. We had antique desk accessories - a Bates sequential number stamp from the 1890s, the stapler that made its own staples from brass wire, and lots of rubber stamps. You can see those briefly on the desk.

We did this at five or six cons. The guy and girl shown were drama students, refugees from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As experienced actors, they could bring all this off with more style than usually seen at cons. They're married now, by the way. Good people.

We gave it up when COVID hit.

[1] https://vimeo.com/124065314

Amazing. Thank you very much

Thirty seconds on Google Patents found a 1989 device that lapsed in 2016. I expected to see a patent from the early 1900's, so color me surprised!

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5024643A/en

Years back i was enamored with this concept and sought out various staple-less stapler solutions. Most were realistically only good for binding 3-5 sheets. My use cases required more, so i moved on. But I still admire them as lovely bits of engineering.

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