Stamp Hinge Brands And Quality

Rod. Tongue or sponge finger method.

Hi Randy,
It's quite a routine
Pick up the hinge (folded) small tab facing up, in long nose pointy tweezers, resting on the desk top.
Lightly lick my finger ...sorry
"Tap" my finger on the hinge twice, then a gentle purse of air across the hinge
This is the trick, if you tap your finger again, the hinge will feel "Tacky" not wet. The breath of air and the feel is the thing.

Place it on the stamp and press.

Hold the stamp and the hinge again in the tweezers, repeat for the larger tab.
I usually mount a page at a time, I do the small tabs on every stamp first, then mount the stamps.

All sounds involved but with experience takes seconds.
The real test, do it on a piece of copy paper, adhere the hinge, and IMMEDIATELY pull the hinge off, it should not tear the paper.
Bet you can't do it

A Big pointer towards bad hinging, if your hinge becomes stuck together (folded) under the stamp, you are a slobberer.
As soon as I meet with this on an album page, I know I am in trouble with possible thins and perf tears.

Good explanation Rod on how to hinge for optimum peelability.

edited: to read more clearly.

Doesn't read well,
however, I hope those who break down my albums, appreciate the ease of removal.

That's being a good steward of your stamps, appreciated. I shy away from buying hinged collections now, due to many sad experiences trying to remove mint hinged.

Well, after reading this thread, I now know what the most valuable item in my collection is.

When using them I follow the printed directions.

A point about evidence for or against the claim that Dennison hinges used glue made from animal parts --

I, too, have never seen any evidence that Dennison used glue made from rendered animal fat (or whatever gluemakers used to use). But I've also never seen any evidence that they didn't. And since glue made from animal parts was fairly common a few decades ago, it is perfectly possible it was a key element in making their glue easier to remove. I have no idea, however, since I've never seen evidence either way.

I just want to caution people from making claims such as it's "absolutely not true" without evidence. Evidence could include someone who worked at Dennison years ago who might know one way or the other, a 'recipe' of Dennison's glue formula, or a chemist who could test hinges to determine what their glue was made of. I can't prove animal-based glue was used since I have no evidence for that, either. My point is that just saying something does not make it true.

The advice to moisten hinges only lightly is good advice. The problem is that one person's "light" may not hold the stamp on the page very well. Personally, I find using my finger often puts too much moisture on the stamp since I can't "feel" the water on my finger very well. I just can't be consistent that way . Hinges seem to have been designed to be moistened with our tongues, so that's the way I do it.

Using the old-fashioned method (!), I barely dab the hinge in one or two places very lightly with my tongue. I find it helps to swallow first or breathe in slightly to dry my mouth a little. You want barely moist, not "wet". It's NOT like licking a stamp or sealing an envelope. You get pretty good at it after a few hinges. If I do wet a hinge too much, I just throw that hinge away. Blowing on a moist hinge helps dry it, too. Wait a second or two before using a wet hinge to help evaporate moisture. Or wave it in the air. The moisture evaporates quickly that way. Less is better. If you think it might be too wet, touch the hinge with your finger to find out. If it's wet, you'll feel it. If it's slightly tacky, that's good. Touching the hinge won't harm the stamp or the album page at all.

After a few hinges, you get good at it.

Gum arabic, synthetics, horse hooves still unknown pertaining to Dennison hinges.

There is a second page to the article linked below. An arrow on the right side of the page by the first sentence. I do not agree with the last paragraph on the second page about multiple manufacturers though the article was written in 2012. Prinz is the sole manufacturer.

http://digital.ipcprintservices.com...231193%22%7D