How to Remove Staples Using Only Bare Hands

Removing staples with your hands

Sometimes it is necessary to remove staples without having a staple remover handy. Staples can be removed from documents quite easily with your bare hands. Follow these simple instructions in order to avoid the inconvenience of finding yourself unable to separate stapled sheets of paper without tearing or mangling the paper.

Things You'll Need

• Stapled paper
• Stable, flat surface

Instructions

1. 

   Hold the document flat.

   Place the document with the staple you wish to remove on the flat surface, ensuring that the lower part of the staple is facing upwards. Hold the document in position with your left hand.

2. 

   The "legs" of the staple are on the underside of the document as it is stapled.

   Place the thumbnail of your right hand under one of the two "legs" of the staple, ensuring that this leg is facing away from you. Then draw your nail up and away from you, raising the staple as you do. Repeat this until the "leg" of the staple is pointing vertically upwards.

3. 

   Use your thumbnail to pull up the staple.

   Rotate the document with your left hand until the second of the two "legs" of the staple is facing away from you. Place the thumbnail of your right hand under the second "leg" and repeat Step 2 until the second "leg" is facing vertically upwards.

4. 

   This technique is an alternative to using a manual staple remover.

   Turn over the document so that the top side of the staple is visible. Hold down the paper with your left hand and pull out the staple using your index finger and thumb of your right hand. The staple should pull out easily.

Tips & Warnings

• This article assumes you are right-handed; if you are left-handed, then simply switch the terms "left hand" and "right hand" in the instructions.

• There is a risk that the staple might damage the underside of your nail if you are not careful to move your nail in the same direction as the leg.

References

• BBC - h2g2 - Staple Removers; various authors; 2010

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish