Spindle (stationery)

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A spindle (or colloquially, a spike) is an upright spike used to hold papers waiting for processing. "Spindling" or "spiking" was the act of spearing a paper document onto the spike. Spindling of Hollerith cards is unwise as it can render the cards unreadable.

Spindling served the twin purposes of accumulating paperwork in a way that would not permit it to be blown about by the summer breeze common prior to the advent of air conditioning, along with the hole made by the spindle being indicative of some sort of processing when the paperwork was viewed subsequently.

Many spindles come with a plastic safety cap to prevent injury. Many early spindles have bases that are quite decorative. Another colloquialism arising from the use of this device was "spiking", which meant a de facto killing of a controversial newspaper article.