Questions On Migrating Stamps From Album To Album.......

Hi!
In another thread I questioned the best (for me) world wide albums and I will hopefully pick up some Scott's off of ebay soon. I just won an old Scott Junior for the stamps (album is rough).

Please refresh my memory about removing stamps...
- If the old hinges don't peel off, should I soak the used stamps or leave the remnant and attach with another hinge?
- I've read here and elsewhere that today's hinges are no good, and that I should get the old style Dennison's (with an O) off of ebay. Is that correct?
- What other guidance can you offer?

Thanks again,
Mobilman44

mobilman sometimes the existing hinge remnant on a stamp is not worth messing with..you could cause a thin...if the old hinge does not effect the front of the stamp..i usually leave it be and hinge over it !

If it is used stamp I usually will soak the hinge off. Besides removing the hinge it will clean up the stamp a little. If it is a mint stamp then I don't disturb the hinge much unless it will pop right off. I've destroyed several mint stamps trying to get the hinge off.
If you are mounting used stamps then most hinges work fine. I use a Q-Tip with the least amount of water. Newer hinges have some potent gum and over moistened they can distort the stamp.

Hi

Sometimes rubbing a hinge with your tongs creates enough heat friction to "loosen" the hinge gum. If that doesn't work I will soak it off a used stamp and leave it alone on a mint stamp. One reason I like working with spade tip tongs. It provides a smooth instrument for rubbing and the edge cuts a hinge fairly clean.

Jerry B

I don't know what you may be looking for but I a 2 volume HE Harris deluxe Statesman albums that I'm looking at parting with. Pretty much in new condition.

Also, the Dennison hinges are wonderful but I am for leaving well enough alone if mint. If the stamps are used, I would just soak them in "luke warm" water and press. Good luck!

Thanks all for the info and advice.

Looks like I will likely be putting out the bucks for the Dennison hinges. By the way, I heard that a company called Subway was trying to get the Dennison formula and sell their own hinges. Anything to that?

It looks like I'll be soaking used stamps, and doing otherwise with any mint stamps I come across. As I'm looking to jump into international pre 1950, I doubt I will have many of them.

Thanks,
Mobilman44

Hi mobilman44

Subway bought the old Dennsion hinge making equipment. They are producing hinges but Subway hasn't been able to duplicate the original Dennison hinges. They still are not very peelable.

It's amazing that we can walk on the moon, send spacecraft to Mars and still cannot make a peelable hinge like the old days

Jerry B

I found this a plausible reason for the dilemma about today's stamp hinges not meeting the same standard as the ones Dennison came up with decades ago ... however, I can't testify as to whether or not this is more truth than fiction (or vice-versa):


"The best hinges -- I think everyone would agree -- used to be Dennison's. They were a charm, perfectly peelable: they stuck when you wanted them to, and unstuck when you didn't! Why can't you make them any more? Because the adhesive was a horse-rendering byproduct (you read that right) and the FDA opposed its use on something the human tongue could touch. In these days of prion diseases, that's probably very good advice."

Well, now that does make sense. I recall woodworking classes (Lane Tech / Chicago / 1958-62) and using "animal glue". It was great for lathe projects, especially face plate turning.

If that is the reason, I really don't think its valid. The hinges would be very, very dry, and sit in sealed envelopes for some time. Ha, I suspect one would be more prone to illness from licking chemical products as opposed to the old Dennison hinges.

So basically what you are saying that the best hinges to use are Dennison. But the reason that they are good is because there is a horse rendering adhesive. They stopped using this adhesive because of diseases. So if we use the old hinges would we get a disease.

By using the old hinges the only one I know have gotten is philatelic-itis

Don't forget however, there is a finite number of Dennison hinges in existence. Each package that is bought and used is one less existing. Eventually, and who knows how long that will be, every collector will have to face the the fact that they will either have to use whatever is available, or don't use hinges at all.

Hi

If you really get down to it self-stick stamps make a lot of sense form a health standpoint.

How many times has one bought stamps at the PO and then licked the stamp to put on an envelope (not counting licking the envelope to seal it). G-D only knows where that sheet of stamps has been or how many people have handled it. Don't even think about the draw that the sheet is in. It probably hasn't been cleaned since the PO was built.

Just some ramblings.

Jerry B

A "horse-rendering byproduct"? News to me and Dennison was out of the business long before prions were identified and bovine spongiform encelopathy (mad cow disease) and Kreuzfeld-Jacob (prion disease in humans) were causally linked. Anyone have any info on the specific name of this product? It may jog my memory.

We never sold the gummers; one was completely inoperable and was used for spare parts to repair the 2nd one for a final gumming operation. The master rolls of gummed glassine were sold to another party for presumed conversion into stamp hinges. My recollection is that both gummers were scrapped after this run and this was 30-40 years ago in the late 70s or early 80s.

I really wish I had kept a copy of the formula before we shut down the business!

Donald

I posted this old timer news article here quite awhile back but can't find it, so here's another copy:



Unsanitary though it may be, whether it be the type of gum used on the old stamp hinges or the lick and stick stamps (that still get minor usage today) I don't know that I have heard of anyone really claiming any serious illness from it. Of course, for those concerned about such things that what sponges and other moistening alternatives are there for.

This is reminding me of the Seinfeld episode when Susan dies from licking toxic wedding invitation envelopes. XD

Hi dlambert1

It seems that you have intimate knowledge and involvment with the Dennison hinges. Therefore, I have a question.

I have been told that the hinges were peelable because there were 2 layers of gum on the glassine. Is that true or is it a myth?

Jerry B