Getting Started In Stamp Collecting.

Other then stamps, a stock book, tweezers, a jewelers loupe, and spare time. What other items do I need to look at getting as I start to collect stamps (I collected as a kid, but almost forgot all of it over time. )

Cash, brother; lots of cash

Honestly, I would rush to order too much more in the category of "supplies" but as your collecting evolves, your toolkit will too.

For example, a nice desk lamp, a scanner so you can post images here, etc. And I will wager, you'll be looking for more stockbooks or Vario pages.

Welcome,
Kirk

You will also need watermarking fluid (available for suppliers) or Ronson Lighter Fluid (which works too and is cheaper than watermarking fluid) to determine watermarks in the paper, plus a black surface, glass or plastic or a watermarking black tray and a good perforation gauge.
I'd also suggest stamp tongs (like tweezers but gentler on the stamps). Eventually you may want stamp mounts (plastic sleeves that hold stamps) and stamp hinges (if you start mounting stamps on pages or in a stamp album). There is also a UV light for detecting tagging and on and on and on........ Oh, and reference catalogue(s) too.

Ease into collecting. You'll determine what you need and when you need it as you get more in-depth into the hobby. Read up on stamp collecting and use sites like this for help and guidance. I've collected for a lot of years but I'm still learning a lot for the folks on this site.

If you've narrowed down your interest area(s), then literature/reference material is nice to have.

A set of Scott catalogues from several years back would not be too expensive, if there is no library nearby.

With all due respect to Gator, I think this one definitely depends on what country you collect. In 20 years of collecting USA, Canada, and the United Nations, I've used fewer than two drops of watermarking fluid.

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Zed, you mentioned "tweezers" so let me add a clarification...

In the USA, most of us use Stamp Tongs. As Gator said, they're sort of like Tweezers, but gentler on stamps. They look something like this...




Just to make things a little more confusing, our friends in other parts of the world (U.K. & Europe) often use the word TWEEZERS to describe the same instruments

So, bottom line, make sure you're using STAMP tongs/tweezers, not bathroom tweezers!

If you already know all this and I've insulted your intelligence, forgive me.

Kirk

Kirk, don't worry, that is a legit question, and I have stamp Tongs, not tweezers that you pull nose hair out of. Right now I am just sorting though tons of stamps and putting them into country of origin if I can determine which country it is from. As for my specializations its still too early to tell, though I suspect that Airmail, USA, Canada, Hungry, and Finland are high probabilities of keeping all of those stamps I come across. AS for the rest I am not sure, but hopefully the local club and perhaps here when I have enough posts will be a good way to trade away those that I do not want.