How to Remove Staples with Your Bare Hands

Last Updated: October 17, 2022

Everyone has that moment when you want to remove a staple without having to search through the clutter on your desk or ask a co-worker for a staple remover. This article describes how you can remove staples safely without hurting your fingers and without tearing the pages.

Steps

1
Keep in mind these instructions are best suited for removing a staple from a stack of paper that has been stapled only at one end and preferably towards one of the corners (usually most people staple the left top corner of the stack). This technique works best with a stack containing between ten and 50 pages.
2
Get a rough count of the number of pages in the stack.

Advertisement
3
Separate the stack into two stacks, starting at the bottom end of the stack. Gently peel the top stack from the bottom stack until you can no longer peel the stacks without applying substantial force and/or ripping the stacks apart.
4
Hold the two stacks of paper, one in each hand while they are connected to each other by the staple.
5
Move your hands towards the crevice formed by the two stacks of paper joined together by the staple.
6
Insert both your thumbs into the crevice (each thumb approaching the deepest part of the crevice from each side) and with slow,controlled force try to pull the two stacks apart. This will loosen the joint and allows for the sharply turned ends of the staple to become more rounded and ultimately straighten out.
7
If you do this right, you will feel a slight give as the staple ends begin to straighten out.
8
At this point you can increase the force you apply to complete the process. Some of the pages in your left hand (for a right-handed person) will fall off of the staple and you can ease the left stack off of the pin.
9
To remove the right half of the staple you can insert a pencil or some other sharp instrument under the staple on the topside of the stack and lift the staple. If you have have long fingernails you can lift it easily with your nails.

Warnings

You should be careful not to prick your finger with the open ends of the staple both during and after its removal.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 10 Not Helpful 2
Dispose of the removed staples safely.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 9 Not Helpful 4
Lifting the staple with your nails might cause chipping.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 7 Not Helpful 3