Make Your Own Hinges

I received the August American Philatelist in the mail yesterday and I know it takes all kinds...there is an article by one fellow who makes his own stamp hinges...right stamp hinges...he makes them from stamp glassines...he admits its easier to take a hinge from a packet than to make your own..but he claims that his hinges are PEELABLE and do not damage the stamp !!

Perhaps not the best way for AP to demonstrate its continuing relevance to the hobby?

I was noticing last night that the June issue showed almost 3,000 non-renewals as of April.

I suppose it could be worse...he could be making mounts out of glassines.

This is a bit curious. How is it that an article about stamp hinges can claim them to be fully peelable and will not damage a stamp, when the equipment used by the major stamp hinge manufacturers have a hard time challenging that claim and no one that I know of has come up to the peelable quality level of the original Dennison hinges?

As a practical matter, I just bought a packet of 1000 Fold-O stamp hinges for $2. Being frugal on such things, I typically cut them in half, so I can get 2000 stamp hinges out of that packet, meaning the hinges cost 1/10th of a cent apiece. Perhaps it would be an interesting craft to try and make some stamp hinges (for lack of better things to do), but I doubt the work involved in attempting to make stamp hinges yourself would make it a profitable venture.

Hi

The most novel homemade "stamp mount" I have seen was in a collection that I was breaking down. The collector cut off the lower corners of a glassine envelope, the proper size for the stamp of course, and mounted the corner in the album with a hinge. He then put the stamp in the mounted glassine corner. Besides the work involved it had to cost more than a commercial mount.

Jerry B

I read the same article and was skeptical the whole way through. Sounds like an awful lot of trouble and time for what could be dubious results. I am sorry, but I just did not believe the claim that there was no evidence of a hinge on a gummed stamp. If there was that little moisture applied to the homemade hinge, I doubt very much that it would have held to the stamp.

But the author of the article apparently thinks he has non-detectable peelable hinges.

I have a "cringer" for you! I once knew a guy that made them out of regular envelope flaps! I can't even fathom doing that to a poor old stamp! He's cut the glued part off of a new envelope and fold it like a hinge...need I say more? "GASP!"

I'm so glad you mentioned this Phil.

I read the same article and it had me scratching my head all day. I also wondered about the APS "official position" on preserving and protecting stamps. Some people get very scientific with their analysis of everything that comes in contact with their stamps. I wonder how they reconcile this with using "post-it" notes and double-sided removable tape. We've all seen good tape go bad after a dozen years.

Anyway, it's not for me to judge how people spend their time, but the bottom line for me is I rarely have enough time to spend with my stamps -- I don't want to spend HOURS and HOURS making supplies I can purchase for fractions of a cent.

KirkS

I read the article also and I cannot believe that over the long term (decades) that this peel-able substance would not damage the stamp. Is their any archival evidence? Testing? Using this tape in scrap booking is one thing, on stamps, no way.

PP

Somewhere around here I still have my Aunt's stamp collection. She used scotch tape to mount her stamps. The tape is now yellow, of course. Regardless, she enjoyed her collections and did it her way.

Art

I read the article on the "homemade hinges". I am waiting to see what the "long term" effect is going to be on the stamps. The immediate peelability is ap"peel"ing but I don't know what effect the glue or glassine will have in the long run. I think I will wait and see!