Binder clip

The handles can be folded down once the clip has been attached, and can also be removed for a semi-permanent binding.

An assortment of binder clips, with an AA battery for scale

A binder clip is a strip of spring steel bent into the shape of an isosceles triangle with loops at the apex. Tension along the base of the triangle forces the two sides closed, and the loops prevent the sharp steel edges from cutting into the paper. The loops also serve to hold two pieces of stiff wire, which are used as handles and allow the clip to be opened. The two slots cut in each loop are shaped so that the wire handles can be folded down once the clip has been attached, and the spring force of the wire holds them down on the surface of the paper. This holds the clip relatively flat, for easier stacking of paper. One handle can also be folded down while the other remains up to allow the stack of papers to be hung up. The handles can also be removed altogether by squeezing them sideways and pulling them out, allowing for more permanent binding. As compared to a paper clip, the binder clip is able to bind sheets of paper more securely, and is also resistant to rust.

There are several sizes of binder clips, ranging from a base size of 5 millimetres (0.2 in) to 50 mm (1.97 in). The sheet steel portion is customarily black oxide coated, but a variety of decorative painted color schemes are also available. The sheet steel portion is occasionally made of stainless steel, the more typical spring steel can also be finished in nickel, silver or gold. The handles are normally nickel-plated.

The binder clip is in common use in the modern office. It can hold a few to many sheets of paper, and is usually used in place of the paper clip for large volumes of paper. Various practical (and sometimes whimsical) alternative uses have been proposed. These include holding pieces of quilt together, creating a "beer pyramid" in a refrigerator with wire shelves, serving as a bookmark, a cheap alternative to a money clip or preventing computer cables from slipping behind desks.[1] Smaller sized clips have been commonly used as "quick fix" fitting and sizing solutions in the fashion industry.

In 1966, test pilot Joseph F. Cotton used the shiny metal portion of such a clip to short-circuit an electrical circuit panel to force the landing gear of the XB-70 bomber on a flight.

The object is such a common sight in offices that, in late 2020, when restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lowered and people started returning to their offices, some missed and enjoyed the feeling of using a binder clip, after months without doing so.[2] At around the same time, healthcare workers in at least one medical center used extra large binder clips as a cheap way to secure a plastic curtain between workers and patients infected with the airborne virus.[3]

In 1909, the method of binding sheets of paper together was to punch holes in them and tie them together with string or sew them, making it tedious to remove a single sheet of paper.

The binder clip was invented, and patented[4] in 1910 by Washington, D.C. area resident Louis E. Baltzley, grandson of Elias Howe,[5] to help his father, born in 1848,[6][7] twin to Edward Baltzley and son of Susan (née Howe) and David C. Baltzley, Edwin Baltzley, developers of Glen Echo Park and Glen Echo, Maryland,[8] a writer,[9] and inventor,[10] with thirteen patents,[5] hold his manuscripts together more easily. While similar-purposed designs have since been patented five times,[5] the most produced version remains the U.S. Patent 1,139,627.

Louis E. Baltzley, with more than thirty other patents,[11] initially produced this invention through the L.E.B. Manufacturing Company.[5] These earliest binder clips are stamped "L.E.B." on one side of the sheet steel. Manufacturing rights were later licensed to other companies.

Louis E. Baltzley, born circa 1885,[12] by February 1930,[13] had moved[12] to Glen Ridge, New Jersey married,[14] and had two daughters,[15] one marrying in 1940. [16]

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  Clip with golden loops
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  Colorful thematic binder clips
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  Colorful binder clips
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  Used to mark drinking glasses at a party
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  Used to hang a drawing
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  Used to attach a piece of paper to an envelope
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  Used to hold pages of a notebook
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  Used during restoration of a book
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  Used to close a package of cookies
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  Used as a DIY cellphone stand
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  Used as a cable tidy

• Treasury tag