Hinges

After 40 years or so I'm reworking my childhood stamp album. Some of the stamps need to be rehinged . I purchased Prinz hinges. They don't seem to be as good as the ones I used as a kid. They roll up , not stick, and don't seem to be as thick as the ones years ago. Is there a better hinge on the market or could it be I received a bad batch?

Hi Wayneskow. If you have been a member of this forum for a while you may have seen plenty of talk about this subject! Good hinges are not made any more, but if you can find some Dennison hinges you will be OK. Having said that, you may have to take out a mortgage; they are not cheap any more.
Please make sure, if you go this route, that you get the right ones. There are hinges on the market that look much like Dennison but are not the real thing!

Peter

Thanks Peter! I looked them up on ebay and WOW most selling over 20 bucks per 1000.

I bought about 25 packs of Dennison's a few years ago and horde them like gold. But I recommend that you bite the bullet and do the same, there are simply no good modern hinges out there. You can cut them in half if desired.
Don

If you buy Dennison. Make sure they are "SON" not "sen". I have an old package of Dennison and an old package of Printz. I'm using Supersafe now from Hobby Lobby but they are not as good as the others. I will use the Supersafe up but they are so thin they curl. I don't recommend them (the Supersafe)unless you are desperate.

Well, I've just finished doing a similar job with all my old childhood world stamps - out of stockbooks where they've been for years, and into two now full albums. I used new Prinz hinges bought on ebay and didn't encounter any problems. I'm curious to know what the issues are.

The primary issue with some of the hinges is that they don't peel. When you try to remove them, they take a piece of the stamp with the hinge. No question that the Dennison hinges of yesteryear are the best. But, if you can find them they run $20-25 a package of 1000. Mel Goldberg of Subway bought the original machine and formula from Dennison, but was never able to duplicate the hinge. As I understood it, one or two of the ingredients in the gum were no longer available because of their toxicity.

The issues I had with the Prinz was, not sticking, curling. They seemed thin. I did find a few I had from 40 some years ago and they worked great. Not sure what brand they were but after all these years they worked better than the ones I just purchased.

This has been posted before, but it is still one of the better articles on stamp hinges and their evolution. It may be worth a re-read:

http://digital.ipcprintservices.com...=133838&p=30

I miss peelable hinges, but I still need too many stamps for my album to justify buying Dennison on ebay. After trying several different brands, I settled on Prinz. I take them out of the package and put them into a sealable plastic bag. As has been mentioned, the hinges are thin so you can easily have a couple stuck together that appear as one. When I'm working on my collection, I take out a bunch of hinges and rub them between my fingers. That largely gets rid of the clumps and separates most of the "two-fers." I haven't had a problem with not sticking (the opposite, in fact!), but every packet will have some curled hinges that I end up throwing away.

I think modern hinges are fine for cheap, common stamps, but I shudder to think of using them on something I paid real money for. The real key is to moisten them as lightly as possible. If you moisten them fully, they'll be more or less permanently attached to the stamp and the album page.

Since I use so many hinges ,I stock both Dennison Hinges and FOLD-O-HINGES , I have used both for 45 years with no problems ,I would say the best ones to buy now are the FOLD-O-HINGES.

I'm still completely baffled as to why someone can't replicate Dennison hinges?

Persevere with Prinz, I find them OK.
They certainly do not peel as the old Dennison, but they will peel without grabbing.
You have to learn a new technique.
The secret is to moisten with very little moisture,
If one is prone to slobbering on the hinge then it is doom.
A light tap with a moitened finger, should have you working,
but you will eventually learn your own technique.
Try a page of Dune stamps or others first till you get the hang of it.

I often remount my Prinz hinged, and they almost fall off, not that lovely smooth Dennison peel,
but a safe removal.

I am a fan of hinges and do have some old Dennison hinges but if I have to use another type I'll moisten it, blot it off by touching it to my wrist and then listening again. So far so good. Best of luck figuring out your method. You'll get it.

Agree, just make sure they are the FOLD-O-HINGE from Harold Cohn Co. and not the Unitrade FOLD-O-HINGE, the Unitrades are knock offs and are rated at at 250 PLF (pounds per lineal feet of shear value) they could be used for wall construction.