Berry / Osborne Staple Pullers

[Stephen]

I have been using Berry (now copied by Osborne) staple removers for as long as I can remember. I've tried other types, but have always come back to the Berry.
However, in recent years I had thought that the Berry's Staple Removers had been bought out by Osborne, and I thought that I couldn't get the genuine Berrys anymore. (see my following messages in this message thread). The points of the Berry (look-alike) Staple removers have been changed and they don't work as well for me. As you can see from the pictures (If you look really closely at the pictures) the points are different.

(Click to enlarge picture)

In the above picture, the top staple puller (which is on the right in the below picture) is the most recent one that I got. The bottom staple puller, with the broken point, is one that I've used for many years. The points on it work great, they are smoother, longer, stronger and come to a finer point (and it obviously has lasted many years). After getting the new non-Berry staple puller, I went back to my old broken point one. It just works better. I'll be really sad when it finally wears out or breaks

Closeup Picture
Here is a close up of the tips of those two staple pullers, and a third (in the middle), with yet another shape of tip.

(Click to enlarge picture)

The middle staple puller has a shorter thinner tip. While better than the one on the right, it still doesn't work as well as my broken tip staple puller.

Notice how the newest one (non-Berry), on the right, has the points filed down. It came this way from the supplier manufacturer.

Closeup of Sideview
This side view shows thinness of blade of the original Berry Staple Remover ....

(Click to enlarge picture)
.... This thinness is part of the reason that the broken Staple Remover works so much better for me. I've used this very Staple Remover for many years. It has held up through a lot of rough use. I've never filed the points of the staple puller. Except for normal wear and tear, the point is the same as when it was new.

In comparison, as you can see on the tip of the Osborne, it's blades is much thicker and stubbier than the broken one. In addition, you can see that the tip of the Osborne was ground at an angle to give it a point. But that point wasn't sharp enough and just didn't seem to help much for me.

I would like to see the wholesalers selling the Berry staple removers  instead of, or along with the Osborne Staple Removers.

What are your thoughts and experiences with the Berry/Osborne staple removers?

Best Wishes,
Stephen

[Stacey]

Good point or no good point.  Little play on words there. 
I have used the Berry for as long as I can remember and each new one I got was a different design.
The points don't last as long as the original berry which I still have tucked in a draw some place. It is pretty well beat up. The newer one I'm still using but find it had too thick of a blade and the points didn't work as well so I ground to thin them  a little.  Work much better.

[Stephen]

After posting my message above, I decided to search the Internet to see what I could find about the . I Found website for the actual Berry Staple Remover. I talked to Bryan and he said that his father had invented and made the original Berry Staple Remover. When the patent ran out, Osborne copied the Berry staple remover.
On the website there is a picture of an actual Berry Staple Remover, with the good tip!. While he said that he doesn't usually sell directly, he said that he would sell them directly to me. (He asked me what price I was paying for them $15.50 ea. from B & H Upholstery Supply. Bryan that he would sell three of them to me for that price. He also said that he would send me the names of a couple suppliers. He said that he has (one or two) big suppliers in California.

My Thought: Since I found the original Berry's Staple Puller, I don't want to use any other. I much prefer them over the imitations that Osborne makes.

Best Wishes,
Stephen

[Joys Shop]

I was getting ready to order a new berry staple puller (I won't use anything else) because I had ground down the one I have from sharpening it over the years

I too would want the original one, not the newer

[Stephen]

Another update,
  I called my local upholstery supplier, (B & H Upholstery Supply in Eugene Oregon) and talked with Greg, the owner. I told him how I've been using the Berry Staple Removers for 30 or 40 years and really liked them, but that I didn't like the Osborne copies. I told him that I had found the website for those Berry Staple Removers and asked him to please start selling the Berrys, in place of, or in addition to the Osbornes. I told him that I'd send him the website and contact info. He said that he would look into it, depending upon the logistics, etc.

I just sent him an email, which includes the website and contact info for Berry's. The email also includes a link to this message thread. I suggested that Greg read these messages.

I also emailed Bryan Berry at Berry's Staple Removers and told him of my conversation with Greg at B&H and that I'd like for them to become suppliers.

So, now that I've stirred the pot, I'll see what happens.

Bests Wishes,
Stephen

[papasage]

my supplier  C&S upholstery suppy had a  Osborn  at one time . they stopped  carrying it .  he told me that berry  still had a patten on it and had  sued  or threatened  to sue  so the discontinued it. never asked hem  about them again .i now have a new berry and several old ones . i thought  about making my own  . now that  business  is slow i might have time to  try  . my soninlaw  has a forge  and  some  metal working tools  . he can make  $500.00 knifes   i think we could  make  a staple puller in his shop.may even make a better one

[Stephen]

I think that I let my frustration about poor quality staple removers get the better of me. I think that I made a mistake. I may have to rewrite my first message at the top of this thread. I'd thought that my broken staple remover was a Berry. In reality, the name has worn off the handle and I don't know whether it really is a Berry or not. In the picture with three points....
.... the middle staple remover has "Berry's, Lubbock Texas" stamped in the metal ring at the bottom of the wood handle. The broken staple remover has no remaining name or id of any type, so it's hard to tell what it really is.

However, the middle identifiable Berry's staple puller still has the thinner points. Although the points are not as long as the broken one, the thinner points are better for getting staples out. I just don't like that newest staple remover, that doesn't have a name either.
Hmmm. I'm wonder if its even an Osborne. Maybe it's time for a rewrite, as soon as I have some time.

Best Wishes
Stephen

[Dede]

Stephen, this is an important topic.  I would be willing to donate a new Osborne "Berry-style" staple puller if you think it would help with your research.  Whatever the final outcome - I have a professional interest in knowing how the Osborne compares to the true Berry.

[papasage]

i bought a berry  a while back .  it was stamped  with the berry logo on it . the  one i  had  didn`t have  anything on it  . the one not labled was  aprox. 1/8 shorter  but looked  alike . got it frome same supplier .

[Stephen]

Stephen, this is an important topic. 

Dede, Yes, I agree. Before I started looking into this and writing the first message, I wasn't aware of the difference or that we could have a choice of the Berry or the Osborne. I changed one of the pictures in the first message and rewrote some of it.

I would be willing to donate a new Osborne "Berry-style" staple puller if you think it would help with your research. 

That is very thoughtful and helpful of you Dede.

Whatever the final outcome - I have a professional interest in knowing how the Osborne compares to the true Berry.

Since I use a "Berry-style" staple remover so much, I too would like to know how they compare. Since the staple removers I've purchase recently don't have any name labels on them, I'd like to get an actual new staple puller of of each type and do a side by side comparison, like I did with the above.

I have another question. Are the Berry and the Osborne the only two "Berry-type" staple pullers that are made? I see in the catalogs and websites that both the Berry and the Osborne have their names on the handles. But the broken one and the new that I have don't have any names on them. Could there be some made by other companies, or is it that Osborne just sold some without names imprinted on them.

I have used the Berry for as long as I can remember and each new one I got was a different design...... The newer one I'm still using but find it had too thick of a blade and the points didn't work as well .....

Another thing I'm wondering is if Osborne has changed their points now and then. As Stacey indicates that "each new one ... was a different design", and I can see my last new one has a much stubbier point than the previous ones, perhaps Osborne has changed their points?

Best Wishes.
Stephen

[Buck]

 I don't know now after this discussion who the manufacturers were but I've had a number of "Berry-style" lifters with poorly ground tips. I figured it was due to sloppy workmanship in the factory. Most of the lifters I've had to replace fell victim to being dropped too many times points down on the cement floor, more so than wearing out from use. I've broken a few tips off as Stephen's pictures show. Most of the lifters I've purchased through Burch Company. I haven't paid any attention if they're marked with the Berry name.
 Later, "Buck"

[Dede]

Stephen, I'm putting one in the mail today.  I can't speak for past Osborne design, but this particular model is what is being sold today.

It's yours, by the way - no need to return it.  I'm very glad there's something I can do for you after all you've done for this site. 

[Stephen]

Hi,
  I received Dede's gift a while ago. In the mean time I have been taking pictures. I haven't had as much time as I had wanted, so am mainly just posting the pictures of how they compare with one another. I know there were some that wanted to purchase new staple removers and I hope that seeing the pictures of how they compare might be useful to you. So I've uploaded the pictures as a pdf file.

From the pictures, I think that my favorite old "Berry" staple remover was a NOT Berry. That surprised me. By looking at the pictures on pages 5-9 of the attached pdf file, you will also notice that the grinding marks on the blade of the Berry Staple Remover are a slight arc at an angle diagonally across the blade (as if the blade was ground like on a rotary grinder). And, the grinding marks on the New Osborne go straight up the length of the blade. The grinding marks on the No Name and my favorite broken Staple Removers also go straight up the length of the blade. So my conclusions are that the No Name and my Favorite Broken-Tip staple removers are more likely to be Osborne Staple removers.

If that is true, then that brings up another thought, that Osborned either has changed their tips several times over the years, OR, they don't have consistent quality. I really like the thin sharp shape of the tip of my broken-tip, but I very much dislike the thick blunt shape of the tip of the NoName Staple Remover.
 
I've never sharpened the tips of any of my Staple Removers (never thought about it). All the tips are original, except for wear and tear.
 

Best Wishes,
Stephen

[kmealy]

I think I have one of most types.  I am probably a little different in that I do a lot of repair so it's "open and close" re-using the same material.  So something that does not tear stuff up is important to me.  So my usual is an Osborne #121 (AKA 402 1/2?)
http://www.csosborne.com/no121.htm


A while back, one of my customers showed me a staple remover that he got back in the '60s or '70s, but apparently is not made any more.   It looks like the top parts of the Stanley Bostitch (without the pivot base).  I tried it and it worked well, but have not been able to locate one.  I asked the mfr. if they still made them or if I could simply remove the base and got standard answer 32b - "We do not recommend alteration of our products."  Pfffffft.
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Bostitch-Xtreme-Remover-G27W/dp/B00006IQCF

[Stephen]

I think I have one of most types.  I am probably a little different in that I do a lot of repair so it's "open and close" re-using the same material.  So something that does not tear stuff up is important to me.  So my usual is an Osborne #121 (AKA 402 1/2?)
http://www.csosborne.com/no121.htm

Yes, I've tried the Osborne #121. It's in my drawer with the others I don't use. Like you, I've tried many others, and keep coming back to the Berry. I've been using the Berry probably about since it came out in the late 60's or shortly after. I have not yet found a staple remover that does a better job for me than the Berry. I use it to remove both old covers and doing repairs (where I have to take of the cover carefully so I can put it back on.) The sharp points, as well as the spacing of the points from one another, allow one to precisely pinpoint exactly where to press the point under the staple, and then with a quick twist of the wrist the staple is easily removed in one motion.

Because of my respect for and appreciation of the Berry Staple Removers, I started this thread to focus on comparing and finding the best "Berry-type" design of Staple Removers. I've been concerned with some of the poor Berry tips I have found in recent years. So I finally started this thread and have been encouraged and blessed with all the comments. This has also inspired me to go beyond my "first grumblings" (of dull points) to a point of learning more about the Berry Staple Removers. To find a solution to many things in live you first have to research and clarify what the problem is.

Thank you for your thoughts.
Best Wishes,
Stephen