Stapler of the Week Archive- Arrow JT-21 & JT-21M

Arrow JT-21 steel chrome and hammered teal finish 

Arrow JT-21M steel chrome and teal finish

In my first year of college, I bought an Arrow T-50 after learning how to stretch my own canvases.  It was the first stapler that I owned, years before they became an object of study.  The Arrow JT-21 is the light-duty version of the Arrow professional line of tackers.  After stretching several semesters of canvases with the heavy-duty T-50, my younger self probably would've much preferred the easier action of the JT-21.  

The Arrow Fastener Company was founded by Morris Abrams in 1929.  He sold staples from his New York apartment and later began to develop and manufacture staplers of his own design. The weathered version dates to the years when Arrow manufactured staplers in Brooklyn, NY, whereas the newer one to after they expanded to a larger facility in Saddlebrook, NJ.  I find it interesting how the design of the stapler has remained basically the same but the decoration gives a hint to the date of its manufacture.  Like kitchen appliances, staplers follow the tastes of an era. 

Patent drawing for JT-21

Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, April 16, 2020.

Stapler of the Week Archive- Arrow Commander

Arrow Commander steel blue and corroded finish

The Arrow Commander is by no means a remarkable stapler. Like the Markwell RX-45 and Neva Clog staplers featured March 2, 2008, the Commander components are punched and formed from sheets of steel. When I was in elementary school, my father was a punch-press operator for Tonka Toys in Mound, Minnesota. The simplicity of design and construction found in the Commander reminds me of those early Tonka trucks I played with in my youth. It's really quite interesting to wonder at all the products made of pop-rivets and sheet metal. One need only to add some real rubber wheels and my friend Gary in Duluth might add it to his annual Tonka window display.

Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, April 6th, 2009.

Stapler of the Week Archive- Arrow 210

Arrow 210 green and chrome finish

The Arrow 210 was introduced to me last fall by a fellow stapler enthusiast but I hadn't come across an example until recently. The 210 was most likely designed and manufactured in good old Brooklyn, NY and has a few really interesting features that sets it apart from other desktop models. The most interesting has to be the anvil plate which is triangular in shape and offers not just two but three staple settings: staple, pin and temporary staple. Staples load from the rear, the top opens with the release seen on the side and to top it all off, instead of simply hinging open for tacking, the entire top comes off. Another notable feature of this 210 is the area on top of the stapler holds a plastic plaque which could be engraved with your company name. On the whole it is quite a nice desktop stapler.

Excerpt from The Stapler of the Week, January 5, 2009.

Stapler of the Week Archive- Arrow P66 Plier Stapler

Arrow P66 Plier Stapler Chrome and Red Finish

I had always associated Arrow with tacker/staple guns. In college, when I was starting to stretch my own canvases, I went straight to Menards and bought an Arrow A-T50. At the time, I was of the opinion that everything had to be heavy duty. Since then, I've come to appreciate the old adage that less is more. The P66 fits in the less category. It lives up to its description as a "small convenient mini plier type stapler with a two tone finish that fits in your pocket." That perhaps isn't the best product catch phrase, but I think it could get stuck in your head if you put it to the right tune.

This stapler was a gift to the Stapler of the Week from John Anderson, friend extraordinare.

Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, July 17, 2007