Question Regarding "Fold-O-Hinge" Color

Hi,

Over the last few years I've bought a number of Dennison and Fold-o-hinge packs off of ebay.

Typically, the Fold-O-Hinges are green in color. However, I did get two packs that were white. Frankly, I thought they were fakes.

My question is, did Fold-O-Hinge produce white hinges, or ???

Thank you!

The Fold-O-Hinges I have are clear (white?). I don't ever remember seeing Fold-O's that were green.

Don

All of the Fold-O-Hinges I have are white/clear, and the Dennison hinges are green.

Hi again,
All but two of the Fold O Hinge packets I got off ebay are a light green tint, pretty much like the Dennison, perhaps not as green. The two that are different are a milky white, and may well be Supersafe.

If you look on ebay, some of the sellers will state "green" in their description.

mobilman44,

I believe you, just telling you what I have. There may very well be differences in their various lots over the years? I have 5 packets sitting in front of me now, three of them have a red packaging and are "folded", two of them are "flat", one of which has a green colored packaging and one has a blue-green packaging, although they all stay "copyright 1955."

Only one of the "flat" type did I open and it is white/clear, all others are unopened.

I can't address the hinge color question, but you may not be aware that Fold-O-Hinges were produced in different places at different times which might explain the different colors. Even more to the point, hinges sold under this brand name are now sold in Canada -- but they are not the real Fold-O-Hinges like the older ones that were made in the U.S. Canadian FoldO's are just ordinary modern hinges of no special quality. But they are cheap. I bought a few packs, thinking I'd found a gold mine, only to discover they were the same as all other modern hinges. So use or avoid those, as you wish.

As for older "classic" FoldO's, the few packs I have are a clear greenish color similar to old Dennison hinges. Rather than worrying about the color, though, why not test them and see if they perform like the older hinges? My standard test is to attach ten or twelve hinges to an old album page, wait a day for them to completely dry out, and then remove them. If they tear the page, they're not old FoldO's. If they come off fairly cleanly, they may very well be. It's how they work, not their color, that really matters -- of course. Good luck.

I did exactly that a few years ago and only the classic Dennison hinges came off clean. My "vintage" fold-o-hinges were no better than the modern hinges. Easy enough to try..

I've found the old Fold-O-Hinge somewhat better than modern hinges, but definitely not as good as the old (sadly lamented) Dennison hinges. But maybe I'm just looking for them to be good hinges because I've heard they were. I did test them, as I described above, and without reference to brand names (which I covered up -- and I tested about 12 brands at one time), Fold-O was pretty good. Dennison hinges were superb because they held well but did not tear the stamp or the page when removed. So, Dennison "A," Fold-O maybe B or B-, all other modern hinges about a "D". But maybe I need to test Fold-O hinges again just to confirm I wasn't being biased somehow.

Test them blinded and try to test the "white" and "green" ones too.

It's inconceivable to me that peelable hinges are now impossible to make without Dennison's original process. There are innumerable ways to tweak things.

I guess the big question would be, is there really enough of a market to sell to?

I believe the white Fold-Os to be a more recent production than the green ones. Agree either were better than current hinges but Dennisons ruled all.


I've always thought that Dennison's glassine stock for its hinges was thin and flexible relative to others. And that factor was key in addition to the gumming process. If you've been buying paper generally over the years, you've found the selection has gone way down and favorites have disappeared. Certainly no current hinge is that thin. Is there more than one glassine envelope maker today, and can we buy less than a truckload at a time? The papermakers seem to have divided into companies that will make a massive amount of a few types and artisans that make a few sheets of mostly very expensive paper.

Further, since Prinz is apparently the one maker of hinges today, does that mean there is no working hinge-making machinery elsewhere?

Subway Stamp Shop in Altoona,PA has the original Dennison's stamp hinge equipment. They tried to produce the old original Dennison hinges with the name Dennis's hinges. The attempt was a failure.

Was it the glassine? Was it the glue? They did not have the original secret formula.

I have had improved results from Supersafe hinges. It is all about moisture - as little as possible. This is something a non-calibrated tongue can do.

I think this is the real issue. If you think that the "stamp collector" market is small, then think about all the collectors who only use mounts, hingeless albums, stock pages, stock books, dealer cards, etc., then the stamp hinge market would be even smaller.




I can't see how the particular paper type would make a difference on how the hinge stuck to the stamp? Its got to be the "original secret formula" of their glue.

Glassine from wikipedia

Glassine is a smooth and glossy paper that is air, water and grease resistant. It is usually available in densities between 50–90 g/m2. It is translucent unless dyes are added to color it or make it opaque. It is manufactured by supercalendering: after pressing and drying, the paper web is passed through a stack of alternating steel and fiber-covered rolls called a supercalender at the end of the paper machine such that the paper fibres flatten facing in the same direction.

Paper making can be an art.

angore wrote: "it is all about moisture -- as little as possible." Amen! I've lost track of the number of collections I've purchased over the years where even getting Dennison hinges off easily was work, due to an "over enthusiastic" hinger.