A Matter Of Hinges - Question.

So, I just reached another milestone - made it through my 1st pack of Supersafe hinges.

Im sure I've used more than 1000, but this envelope is now empty. WooHoo. So, out of curiosity, I know most have their favorite brand, but I now have 2 older envelopes of Fold-O-Hinge, A Dennison envelope and 2 newer - 1 Linder and a Prinz.

Use older 1st to use 'em up before they poof or what wold you do???

I usually bisect any hinges, which makes the packets go further and also minimises the contact with the stamps. I'd then save the better hinges for better stamps, rather than exhausting an expensive older type and being left with the Prinz.

Geoff's idea to bisect is a good one, and thanks for the reminder as I have done that in the past.

Stamps: I think your hinge usage depends on what your collecting plans are. How much hinging are you thinking to do? Even if you use up your three packages of the good, old style, hinges, they are still readily available. You'll just have to pay extra.

I did a quick check and I have 15 packages of the Dennison or Fold-O hinges. Since I'm looking at hinging at least 10,000 - 12,000 stamps, or re-mounting, if I ever get to it, I have ample. I think I paid about $14-15 per package over several years. I also have five packages of the Prinz brand.

good idea on the bisecting. I just put some small stamps in the other day and the hinge was about as big as the stamp!! good candidate for bisecting.... There is no doubt ill use them all eventually - was just curious as to whether there is a " shelf life " on them. From what I can tell there are a lot of folks with a lot of old hinges on hand. I have 5 Scott Intl albums that are good canidiates for re mounting, but it seems like a TON of work. I do get a little nervous everytime I pull one out to work in it...

@Stamps: "it seems like a TON of work."

Yes, I also have the Scott Intl. albums; 7 Jumbos and 2 regular size; that house my remaining ALREADY MOUNTED collections after I downsized the worldwide collection in recent years (I have a lot of spare binders after the downsizing). That's why I said "if I ever get to it."

My "problem" is that I have at least three collections of Mexico; three of Poland; 2+ from Portugal & colonies; one each from British East Africa/KUT and Nicaragua; all needing to be assimilated into existing collections.

Hinges don't age much. I use 50 year old hinges I've bought and they work as good as new. So age shouldn't be a concern. Better hinges like Dennison might be worth saving for better or more expensive stamps since they're easier to remove and will not damage stamps.

I always save the empty package as a way or "recording" the amount of my hinge usage. Just today, I counted 20 empty packages of hinges in my desk drawer, and I know I've thrown a few away accidentally. That's over three or four years, though, since I retired. That's times 1,000 hinges per package, of course.

are fold-o-hinge in par w/ dennison? guessing not as what little I've seen, dennison is the holy grail.

Stamps4life, old Dennison hinges are considered superior to Fold-O as they are much more peelable without damaging stamps. Old Fold-Os are still much better than modern Prinz-made hinges. This is under "typical" usage, where collectors were/are still able to weld Dennisons to stamps by wetting them too much. Prinz-made hinges can perform well if very little moisture is used but there is less of a margin of error there before a hinge can't be peeled off a stamp.

tks. the 1st pack I ever got were supersafe and the were in bad shape. lots squished together and lots and lots bent up. from the factory that way or poor storage by the seller - dont know. But I did tell them and they shipped me the prinz and threw in a linder I believe... thanks for the comparison, that helps.

If you buy modern hinges, they're all made by Prinz - only the branding changes. It's very difficult to find vintage hinges - Rapkin, Gibbons etc - on ebay uk. There are usually none on offer, although the empty tins turn up.

so I know I've looked before and I dont rememebr getting any hits. Maybe I used the wrong terms. But now I see all these....
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nk...ges&_sacat=0

but because im a glass is 1/2 mty person, I have to wonder if they are all legit? Seem like a lot to see for sale

Somebody else should weigh in. I seem to recall another thread relating that "Dennisen" hinges aren't the real thing. Spelled with an "on" should be real.

"Dennisen" (spelled with an "e") is a rip-off of the much earlier and much better "Dennison" (with an "o") hinges which are not made any more. They get away with it because, after all, it's a different name, isn't it? And because no company makes Dennison hinges anymore. If there were a company making the real Dennison (with an "o") hinges today, there would very likely be a lawsuit over the nearly identical name. It's a bit like you starting a chain of fast food burger joints and calling them "MacDonald's". Yes, you'd get sued.

I imagine many unwary collectors buy these "e" hinges and are disappointed that they don't work very well.

Stamp hinges today, as GeoffHa says, all come from a single manufacturer in Germany (is that right?) but are sold under many different brand names. Before I knew this, I did an experiment using every brand of hinges I could find, more than 20 of them, and I was surprised to discover that every single one acted just the same as all the others. None peeled off easily, all left large hinge remnants, and I couldn't imagine using any of them for my stamps. Now I know why they all seemed to be identical.

I had great fried chicken in Afghanistan a few years ago at KFC (Kabul Fried Chicken). It was excellent and tasted just like the Colonel's. Same style signage and packaging. Felt like I was back in the US of A. Kinda like the Dennisen.

Or the Saeko watch I bought in Okinawa