Curious Question About The Use Of Stock Books.........

I just got a really nice "Uni Safe" stockbook and am looking to load it up with my duplicates. I'm looking at a pretty sizeable job here, likely more than 5,000 stamps.

I've admired at how some folks have their stockbooks with the stamps in meticulous placement and order. Frankly, I'm struggling with trying to do that myself - even using a 6 inch angled tongs.

Do you all have any words of advice on the subject?

Opinion:
It is all about routine, and becoming proficient at it, with practice.

Firstly I would dump the angled tongs, go for the long nose pointy tweezers, they take a bit of getting used to, but when mastered, you won't use anything else.
Best investment you will make.

Secondly order your duplicates by year in envelopes, then place in your stockbook in order by following Scott.
Personally I only leave the valuables in the stockbook, the penny dupes I leave in the envelopes.

Good Luck.

Hope you got one of the big ones since 100 or so large stamps per page side is about the useful limit. Even then, the book may bulge somewhat.

My stockbook pages are arranged alphabetic by first letter only, with countries separate from each other, sometimes just by a small space. This is the holding pen before identification and movement to the final album. In the attempt to keep countries together, after a new purchase or reorganization of loose stuff, I'll often have to shift stamps around, quite bothersome. So if you decide to sort some way like this, you'll want to leave room for additions.

You can buy ID tags if needed, but you can also use cut down Post-its using a mount cutter. If you do, get the genuine article. I recently found several philatelic books I bought maybe 30 years ago with lot numbers put on a Post-it on an inside page. No adhesive stain(!) and the Post-its were still sticky.

EDIT: I agree with rod222, get and practice a bit with Showgard 902s or the equivalent. You'll find them to be much easier to use overall. The sharply pointed "pro" ones are dangerous to stamps and people.

Yes they are, I have used them for 10 years without bother. They remain on my desk at all times, I do not put them in my breast pocket, or take them to stamp shows.

Angle tongs can blunt perforation teeth.

Uses for the pro Pointy Nose Tweezers.

1. Easily lift stamps without damage off the scanner platen

2. Bought a Hagner with steel staples? slide the pointies up to about 2 inches from the join, and "pop" out comes the staple.

3. Don't like peeling hinges from the back of a stamp on a page? slip the pointies under the stamp and sever the hinge at the crease, fautless, no bending of the stamp. Pointies have a sharp severing edge.

4. Want to lift Davo or Hawid mounts off page without damage? slip the point under the edge of the mount and draw slowly across under the welded joint, they often just "pop" off (unless aggresive glue has been employed)

Pick stamps up off the leather desk with dexterity and no damage.

....and so on..........

I got pretty proficient using two hands/two tongs, one tong to gently lift the stock book sleeve and the other one to slip in the stamp.
Don

Well I use mainly same technique as Don except, I use my plastic perf. gauge to lift the glassine and place the stamp with the other hand under it . Then slip the gauge on the side and place another stamp. When I deal with CTO duplicates I don't use tongs, the stock book have more value than all those stamps together. Credit card will do the same

A little bit off topic, but still usefull when making classiication , then I put stamp in stock book, I often measure the perf. and use a pencil to write in the stock book . I put this kind of magnifier over the perf. gauge and move the gauge around the stamp, it's more easy to perfectly align the perf. With the gauge ( I should make a video , it' more easy to show , very fast and efficient )

Here we go

the thing on the stamp and the second pic is the thing in the air over the stamp ( when moving to another one )

I like the longest, pointiest Lighthouse/Leuchtterm tongs they make. I have never damaged anything with them. With Vario pages, I flex the page a bit to free up the tension on the strip. I am not putting things into stock books very often, but the two-tong approach can be very fast for loading pages.

Hi,
Just ordered the Showguard 902 off of ebay.
I was hesitant to start this thread as the question was pretty elementary. So, I was surprised with the positive response and I thank you for it. Obviously, the process is like applying hinges or mounts - it takes practice. But you all gave some helpful pointers and I will work with them accordingly.

Just got the #902 tweezers and find they work like a charm. I was reluctant to use tweezers as I thought they would crease the stamps. But these work just fine. Thanks all for the recommendation!

I use the 902 tongs. Perfect.

Damaged a stamp right off with the pointed tongs and never used again.