OFFICE

From X-Acto®, the folks who make the precision arts & craft knives, the "Bulldog" is an old-school crank pencil sharpener with a translucent blue, green or red case so you can keep tabs on your shavings and watch the menacing teeth grind away. Unit is roughly 5" tall x 4" wide (including crank handle) x 3” deep. The square rubber pad on the bottom provides suction when the side lever is pulled. Works best on a flat surface, but you knew that.

Pocket protectors are for nerds (like us) but sheet protectors are for smart and sensible people (like you). Not bed sheet protectors! The (100) sheet protectors in this package are for your important documents. At 11" x 9-1/4" with reinforced edges and (11) holes punched in them (so they’ll fit any binder), these things are priceless at less than five bucks for the lot. Acid-free and archival-safe, too. javascript:;

Because they gots more rubber content than your regular, non-superior rubber bands. It says so on the box. They're also slightly darker than "pale crepe gold" in color, which is your traditionally favored rubber band color. Our each is box of approx.(200) Alliance rubber bands, each a 7" long loop without stretching it, and 1/8" thick, in a tissue-style perf-top box. Really, really stretchy. Made in the USA!

Our each is a package of (2) steel tech rulers. One is 6” x 1/32” for the first 2-1/2” then 1/64” for the next 1/2” then 1/16” for the last 3”. The other is 150mm x 0.5mm. Both have sliding markers/pocket clips, and both have mm:inch tables on the reverse side. You’ll need excellent eyesight.

It’s a cornucopia of stencils. All shapes, no alphabets. You’ll get a profusion of (8) clear acrylic stencil sheets, including: a raft of ovals; a preponderance of squares; a farrago of circles, hexagons, pentagons and triangles; a collection of a bunch of shapes, including trapezoids; a roomful of interior design shapes; a melange of electronic symbols; and an assortment we can’t altogether identify, but might be for printed circuit design. All have mm rules along at least one edge.

They’re going to steal this in a heartbeat, so lock it in your desk. The PaperPro is the first engineering breakthrough in staplers since, well, the stapler. Push it with one finger’s worth of effort and a spring-loaded mechanism (like a center punch) drives the staple with 30 lbs of force through up to (20) sheets of paper. Doesn’t even feel like it stapled, but it’s foolproof. Use as a hand-held or desk stapler. Opens for use as a staple gun, and with as much power. Takes standard 26/6 staples and comes with (1) rack of them. Measures 7” long x 3-7/8” x 1-1/2” wide, in sleek and elegant black. 

We don't know why, but Bergamo, a town in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, has given its name to high-quality spiral-bound notebooks. They’re popular as journals or travel notebooks, and this one has (100) ivory pages lined on both sides. Also has a plain “soft-touch” cover (think suede-like). In a dark maroon/chocolate color. Measures 5-1/2" x 8-1/2". Jot down your thoughts and musings (you know you’ve got some good ones) or they might be gone forever.

Or enough mechanical pencils to write all the copy for our catalogs until the cows come home—and cows have been back-ordered for years. Our each is a dozen TEK Writer™ precision 0.7mm pencils with top lead-advance, soft grip and anti-roll barrel. Includes (48) extra leads and a dozen extra erasers because to err is human. In an assortment of (6) colors, so one will always match your outfit.

Our each is a half-pound bag of rubber bands in assorted sizes and equally assorted colors, and how many is that, you ask? Darned if we know. Looks like about a third of a gazillion, but that's just an estimate. You won't run out anytime soon.

What would you use to fill in those little circles? You’d use this extra-wide Scantek™ test-taking mechanical pencil? You passed! The lead in this beauty is the famous #2, and is .9 mm wide, like an italic pen nib. Comes with refill leads, a pocket clip and a large eraser. If our Tech Whiz Billy had had this pencil when he was younger, he'd have made double 800s on the SAT and wouldn't be working here today. Also great for doing calligraphy in pencil, which makes teachers swoon.

These miniature versions of the traditional floor fan say "Retro Mini Fan" on them, and the retro part is that the blades and cages are all metal. The handy part is that they're just 5-3/8" dia and the plug is a USB, ready to cool you off right from your (actual) desktop. Tilts 180° up and down and comes with a 4-foot cord. Super quiet, too. We'll pick one in red, blue or black.

InkJoy is the Paper Mate® name for a particularly smooth ink, but it’s the medium 1mm points that make these so pleasant to write with. Measure 6” long with black ink and pocket-clip caps. Our each is a pack of (8) pens.

Gel pens and mascara—the two causes of smear fear. Cure the first one with this pack of (20) gel highlighter markers. They’re not felt-tip highlighters, but a waxy, crayon-ish filler that lays down a day-glo translucent stripe. You advance it by twisting the top. Manufacturer says it won't dry out, smear or bleed through. You’ll get (10) neon yellow-chartreuse plus (2) each in pink, purple, blue, green and orange.

These easy-to-locate fridge or filing cabinet clips, 3-1/2” long x 1-1/4” wide, have big serrated jaws, and a disc magnet on the back. In white plastic with rubber grips in red, but possibly other colors, that we'll pick because who cares what colors your shipping lists hang from and that's the way surplus works. These things never go out of style. Stock up.

The low-profile, approx. 5" wide steel clip stands just 5/16" above the 1/8" thick natural-tan pressboard of this trim clipboard. Measures approx. 12" x 9". Made to slip conveniently into a briefcase, but also has a hole on the backside of the clip for easy hanging.

From Helix®, this 18" long aluminum U.S. Standard triangular architects' ruler/scale has color-coded facings and is divided into 3. 1-1/2, 1, 3/4, 3/8, 3/16, 3/32, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 inch per foot. Yes, you can use it even if you're not an architect.

If you can, we'll give you these (4) neon Sharpie® markers for under six bucks. if you can't, you'll have to pay $5.75. Either way, the markers--in orange, lime green, pink and alarming yellow--will fluoresce under black light. All have fine points and permanent ink.

This might be the smallest set of office equipment, and the cutest, in the known universe. You’ll get a 6” x 4” x 1" clear plastic case with a small ballpoint and mechanical pencil, a mini-scissors, (3) tiny plastic paper clips, an itsy stapler, itsier-bitsier hole punch (1-1/2” x 5/8”). There’s also a tape dispenser you could hide in a doughnut hole. Good for traveling sales-chipmunks. We give it six stars on the fun scale.