Questions About My New Albums

You can use a hobby knife to cut the hinge from the page and leave in on the stamp. All of my old hinged stamps used the Dennison hinges, which come off nice and clean.

Trust me, I am being very, very careful. I have torn four or so stamps, though. I might try the hobby knife idea. I really don't like the thin areas left by those darn hinges. Thanks for the help!

That suxs, id leave them on now ir cut them off

I've had great success removing hinges from mint stamps.

1. First, carefully remove the hing from the album, trying to leave the hinge intact (so there's something to grab onto).

2. Hold the stamp near the hing and use stamp tongs to tug peal the hing off. If you meet any significant resistance, stop.

3. Then dampen a Q-Tip with saliva - somewhat damp - not dripping. Start conservatively.

4. Using the Q-Tip, moisten the hinge where it is attached to the stamp, rubbing gently back and forth. Try not to get too much of the non-hinged part of the stamp wet.

5. Wait a short bit (10-20 seconds) and try peeling again.

6. If still you have resistance, repeat steps 3 and 4 again. If the Q-Tip is moist enough, just rub the hinge again back and forth. Keep repeating until you get it. I usually need 1 repeat. Once the hinge is moist enough it will usually peel off with no problems.

7. Now hold the stamp up to your mouth and breath on it by going haaa. Your warm breath will dry the stamp. Do this a 2 or 3 times, as needed.

8. Then rub the formerly hinged part of the stamp, which might still be a bit sticky, on a piece of semi-hard (not too soft), clean, plastic. Rub it gently back and forth to smooth out/dry the sticky gum (be careful). I happen to have a plastic table cover on the dining room table that works well. I've also used my plastic US specialty gauge for this purpose.

This works like a charm for me. It is much harder to remove hinges that have had the loose part cut off with a hobby knife. However, I have even had good success cleaning those worst case situations using this method.

I abhor hinge remnants and generally remove them from even the more expensive stamps I come across (using some variation of this method).

But be careful. Do enough this way, starting with the less expensive stamps, and you will get good at it.

HungryForStamps...thank you so much for the detailed explanation on how you remove the hinges from mint stamps! I'm going to practice this method. I really appreciate this!

I am just getting back in to the hobby after 35 years and I too just got the Heirloom Albums. I've been on the fence about using mounts for everything, used, unused hinged, and mnh. Back as a kid I could not afford mounts and everything got hinged - but they were all used anyway

I've also been temped to go with White Ace and mounts for MNH and then just hinge all the rest in the Heirlooms.

The idea of using a glue stick on mounts is very intriguing. Does the glue allow for re-positioning easily? What about moving the mount to a different page/album?

I haven't yet tried it, so I can't comment on how good it is quite yet, but I recently went to a craft store (with a 50% off coupon) and purchased an item called "Tombo Mono Adhesive" which is basically a roll-on adhesive but is specifically rated as "removable", "acid-free", "photo-safe" and "leaves no residue". It goes on to say its removable bond "removes without tearing paper". Sounds like it might be an option for this application.

Some other SCF members have suggested using a stamp hinge to apply a mount to an album page, then if you desire to remove it later on it's a cinch to do so.

Of course, the whole idea of "mounts" is to "mount" the stamp in a reasonably permanent position. If you have full intention of moving the mounts/stamps around later on, the best option would be to go with Vario pages and simply slip the stamps into them in your desired pattern and then when you decide to change it, you can do so without damaging either the album or the stamp.

Using White Ace album pages for mint stamps makes for a very nice presentation, but in my opinion the pages are EXTREMELY expensive. When you rationalize the value of the stamps versus the cost of those White Ace pages (and the mounts, too) you will quickly overshadow the value of the stamps being inserted into the album in the first place.

Bottom line: You need to do what pleases you best. The beauty of stamp collecting is that there are no rules. The limitation is based solely upon personal preference and your budget. If price is no object, the options are virtually limitless.

(You could even go with Hingeless Albums, too, but that can get quite expensive.)

I've started using vario pages because of the low upfront cost and the clean look. I like the way the vario pages are turning out but they are a lot of work as well. Coming up with a layout you're happy with takes time and you have to plan which size pages to use based on your stamps.

For anyone considering the vario route: if you're particular, you're going to spend a lot of time moving your stamps around. But the more I think about it, stock pages make more sense to me than sticking stamps to an album that deteriorates.

Unless you're like me and want descriptions of the stamps. Then your choice comes down to Heirloom, Minuteman or White Ace.

My album as a kid was just the stamps on the page, a bound paperback affair if I remember. I just got a kick looking at the stamps.

Now I am also interested in the history behind the images. So the descriptions are the reason I went with the Heirlooms and may go with the White Ace.




https://tombowusa.com/craft/detail/62121

I may just have to check this out. I wanted to see what some of the options others have used since I have not started adding to the albums just yet.

All real good thoughts/comments.

I've also been temped to go with White Ace and mounts for MNH and then just hinge all the rest in the Heirlooms.

The idea of using a glue stick on mounts is very intriguing. Does the glue allow for re-positioning easily? What about moving the mount to a different page/album?

I like the Mystic or Scott mounts with the black background for my Mint stamps. I really think they are from the same source. The black really makes the Mint Stamps stand out from the used so replacing the used with Mint stamps is a no Brainer.I hinge all my used because they really have little value anyway unless they are extremely old. Like from the 1800's. I replace all my used with Mint anyway as soon I can find Mint and can afford to. I like the history about the stamps and the fact the Heirloom Album uses the Scott numbering system. So again the American Heirloom Album choice was a no brainer. $38.95 from Mystic Stamp Company was a bargain.

The Glue stick was My Idea and it works great. Yes you can move them before the glue dries but after that. The mounts will never move. My thought was why would you ever want to move them anyway? I think after they are glued on. With the Mystic Mount or Scott Mount you can still take the stamp out of the mount if you want to. You would tear the page before ever getting the mount off the page. I like the glue stick because you can control the Glue applied easier and not run the rick of water or saliva from getting on the stamp. By the way as I mentioned in another post. I've glue on probably 7 or 800 stamps and am still on the first glue stick. One caution though is the glue stick cover must be put on after every use or the Glue stick will dry out VERY FAST. I almost lost the use of a stick by not putting the cover back on for about ten minuets and the stick started to dry out. THAT FAST!

I don't know anything about the White Ace except White Ace is expensive.

I have been working on moving my stamps over to my new Heirloom album. When I started I thought I would never finish, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I need to order more mounts again, though. I bought all of the ones Hobby Lobby had in my town, I ordered two assortment packages from Mystic, and I'm running out of the comm. size again. I'll be placing an order today. That's what is getting expensive! It has been fun getting reacquainted with my stamps again and planning on which ones to buy. I am using glue sticks to move over the mounts that I already have to save money, and it working out well.

The Heirloom album has some stamps broken up that are connected together in the Minuteman album. Should I keep them together or break them up so it looks better in the Heirloom? The stamps in question are: 1489-98 Postal Service Employees 10 stamps. I have a complete strip which there was a spot in the Minuteman for that, but in the Heirloom there is not, they are broken up. I would like to keep the strip intact, but it's going to look strange in the Heirloom. Not 100% sure what to do. Hope this question makes sense!

Thanks again!
karen

Wow...is that ever an understatement! Take a look at this link. The way I read it is that the White Ace pages would cost $725.90 for commemoratives only; another $177.60 for regular (definitive) issues; figure (4) binders at $103.00; and another (4) dust covers at $75.80. Total bill: $1,083.20 (not including shipping)...and not including the cost for mounts, either!

https://www.washpress.com/showWhite...sp?themeId=1

At that cost, you're getting very near the territory of the top-of-the-line Schaubek Hingeless Album prices.

I would venture to guess that few of us have a US collection valuable enough to warrant that kind of expense for an album (or albums).

Karen breaking those stamps as well as others that you will run across is up to you. I didn't break them up at first then I finally caved in and all I can say is I'm not sorry I broke them up. So it's entirely up to you.

Karen breaking those stamps as well as others that you will run across is up to you. I didn't break them up at first then I finally caved in and all I can say is I'm not sorry I broke them up. So it's entirely up to you.