Stockbook Stamp Insertion Mechanics

I have a trivial but, to me, aggravating problem. I have a Lighthouse 9 x 12 stamp stockbook with black pages and clear strips to hold stamps. I have one annoying problem that I encounter whenever I insert the first stamp on any empty strip. I find it difficult to insert the stamp without some degree of difficulty. If there is already a stamp in that strip I can slip the new stamp behind the installed stamp and easily slip it behind the plastic. I am currently using the sticky surface of a post-it tape flag to slightly lift the plastic enough to slip the stamp under it. There must be a simple method of doing this that will be painfully obvious when it's pointed out by a more experienced collector.

My way: Inset tongs; lift strip slightlyly; insert fingertip; insert stamp carefully! Remove finger. Repeat action as required.
Good Luck!

Prinz Long Nosed pointy Tweezers (c$14) will end all those problems.
You can catch Mosquitos by the legs with those things.
Pick up stamps from scanner platens.

If you have the patience to master the long nosed pointies, the you will never look back.

With the Vario pages with sealed ends, the pointies can get in there and winkle stamps out easy as pie.
Never carry them on your person if not in a case.

I have the same problem. Sometimes flexing the page slightly helps, otherwise I use a thin stiff bit of card or plastic to lift the edge. It works but it is still awkward. If it was easy the stamps would fall out even faster than they do.

They are fiddly. I also flex the page, and/or raise the strip slightly with a stamp mount.

I use two tongs. First tong I simply insert behind the strip and leave it as I add stamps. When done, I pull the tong and move it to the next row.
Don

'
https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...38-or-H-1001

Only ten cents each in packs of one hundred (from Uline).

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Here is an example of how you can use 'hands-free' tongs to hold the sleeve open while you insert a stamp.
Don

You also might try a piece of card stock or a file card to lift the strip a little. Leave it there as you insert stamps. Sometimes flexing the page inward to create a tiny space for the first stamp to go into works. The greatest flexibility of the strip should be in the middle, so you might start there.

Nice thread. I prefer Vario pockets that are much taller than stamps (for safety and universal use) so using the long pointy tongs (tweezers).

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I have a pair of the needle nose tweezers but hadn't tried them for that job. The paddle tip tongs seemed to be too thick to slip under the strip in my book. I'll also try the razor blade. The post-it note does work but I sometimes can't locate one.

If the page is slightly convex, it will pin the stamps down. If slightly concave, it will be easier to remove stamps.

This may sound dicey, but I've done it for years with ease and without trouble. A small pen knife with a reasonably sharp blade will slip behind the plastic and lift it enough to insert the stamp. If you're looking to fill a row, however, the hands-free tong idea looks good, but generally I've found that ordinary tongs are too blunt to get behind the plastic easily.

imo pointy or sharp tongs work well when the page is flexed, tong inserted and moved as desired and stamps inserted by use of second pair (or insert gasp here) fingers. I would not use a razor blade or knife as the first miss will ruin a strip or worse.

I really like Studebaker's approach to this problem as I too often have moments of fright inserting stamps awkwardly into stock cards of various types, and into Vario pages.

I use Hal's technique. Many decades of using my tongs has worn the tip to a very fine edge. I usually have no problem getting them under stamps on a flat surface, or behind the plastic strip in a stock book or Vario page.

Robert