judith
Member 
currently everything and anything up to 1968
Posts: 121 
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Post by judith on Jan 24, 2018 19:46:38 GMT
Ive gone through my brother-in-law's box of stamps; soaking and sorting singles took a couple of months. Then there were the sheets and miscellaneous mint blocks that were stored on top of each other. Naturally after 30 or 40 years of humid winters they were all stuck together. I made a sweat box and slowly have unstuck them from each other. One such stack was 11 layers. Some I dried and put between pieces of wax paper in a big book too flatten; others are just in a box waiting for further attention. The current problem is that both the tops and bottoms have gum.
What is the best way to proceed? Sponge off the tops or just soak the gum off everything?
Any suggestions appreciated.
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,652 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 24, 2018 20:32:13 GMT
Ive gone through my brother-in-law's box of stamps; soaking and sorting singles took a couple of months. Then there were the sheets and miscellaneous mint blocks that were stored on top of each other. Naturally after 30 or 40 years of humid winters they were all stuck together. I made a sweat box and slowly have unstuck them from each other. One such stack was 11 layers. Some I dried and put between pieces of wax paper in a big book too flatten; others are just in a box waiting for further attention. The current problem is that both the tops and bottoms have gum. What is the best way to proceed? Sponge off the tops or just soak the gum off everything? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks for the update, Judith. It sounds like you are making some good progress! Both options you mention (sponge off tops or completely soak) are feasible, of course. If it were me, I think I would try sponging off the tops first, and see how well that works. If you are satisfied with the results, you are done. If not, then you can soak them completely. I think that you have nothing to lose by trying to sponge them off and preserve as much gum on the backs first. I hope this helps. |
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Post by dgdecker on Jan 25, 2018 5:44:47 GMT
Persistence and dedication does have have a payoff eventually. Keep us advised of your progress.
david
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Anping
Departed
Rest in Peace
Posts: 533
What I collect: Hong Kong, Aden & States & odd stuff I like.
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Post by Anping on Jan 25, 2018 20:53:11 GMT
What is the best way to proceed? Sponge off the tops or just soak the gum off everything? Any suggestions appreciated. Has anyone ever tried using steam in this situation? I have a number of souvenir sheets welded together along one edge but haven't been brave enough to try it. |
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judith
Member
currently everything and anything up to 1968
Posts: 121
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Post by judith on Jan 25, 2018 21:01:32 GMT
I tried steam once and all that happened was I burned my fingers.
Today I get out the sponge and a basin of water and see what happens.
I made a lot of progress on the box of stamps -- 2 binders of vario pages filled with world stamps. Haven't started on the U S ones as they are mostly modern and I still haven't located my old stamp albums yet. Very strange as I've found my box of plates blocks, the binder of first days, my mothers album, and hinges and mounts. Beginning to suspect they left with the ex.
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Jan 25, 2018 22:39:19 GMT
I've had some success separating stuck together stamps and sealed cover flaps using the rubbing technique shown in this video.
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,652
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 26, 2018 1:00:17 GMT
What is the best way to proceed? Sponge off the tops or just soak the gum off everything? Any suggestions appreciated. Has anyone ever tried using steam in this situation? I have a number of souvenir sheets welded together along one edge but haven't been brave enough to try it. Anping, I have never personally tried using steam to separate stamps, but a friend whose collection I eventually inherited, did do it. After closely inspecting his stamps, I can tell you that way too many were irretrievably damaged. I cannot absolutely swear that the steam was the culprit and it wasn't just poor technique on my friend's part, but I was so disappointed in the condition of his collection that I never attempted to use steam after I learned that that was what he had done. judith's comment that the only real result was that she burned her fingers also seems potentially spot on. |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,652
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 26, 2018 1:06:43 GMT
I've had some success separating stuck together stamps and sealed cover flaps using the rubbing technique shown in this video. Very interesting video, Steve, thank you for posting this. I never heard about this technique, but it looks really good. I would like to try it. The problem for me is that I do not currently own a pair of cranked-tip stamp tongs. So, I will either need to go out and buy a pair, or perhaps I could try using some other implement: do you think that the convex side of a teaspoon might work? Any thoughts, since you have had success with this method? |
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judith
Member
currently everything and anything up to 1968
Posts: 121
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Post by judith on Jan 26, 2018 1:10:38 GMT
Sure wish I had seen this a couple of months ago! I will remember it for the future; I still have the shoe box of US stamps to practice on. My efforts today produced mixed results. Sometimes gentle washing with the sponge removed parts of the picture, but most cleaned well enough. In some cases part of the top of one sheet transferred to the back and gum of the one below. Those were candidates for soaking, as were the ones with lots of gum on the front. In the case of whole sheets that had to be soaked I have a complaint.....  It would be nice if they would make the drying book an inch or so wider; whole sheets don't fit. Had to resort to paper towels and wax paper. my photo upload on internet |
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Anping
Departed
Rest in Peace
Posts: 533
What I collect: Hong Kong, Aden & States & odd stuff I like.
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Post by Anping on Jan 26, 2018 1:14:34 GMT
The problem for me is that I do not currently own a pair of cranked-tip stamp tongs. Neither do I but I've had success using my rounded tongs (best described as tear drop shaped), as these have convex surfaces. |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,652
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 26, 2018 1:21:59 GMT
The problem for me is that I do not currently own a pair of cranked-tip stamp tongs. Neither do I but I've had success using my rounded tongs (best described as tear drop shaped), as these have convex surfaces. Thanks for the comment, Anping. My tongs are all "spade-tip" type, and I don't think that these have much in the way of convex surfaces. I guess it makes the case for having different types of tongs on hand for doing different things. |
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Ryan
Member
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 2,720
What I collect: If I have a catalogue for it, I collect it. And I have many catalogues ....
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Post by Ryan on Jan 26, 2018 3:38:19 GMT
After closely inspecting his stamps, I can tell you that way too many were irretrievably damaged. I cannot absolutely swear that the steam was the culprit and it wasn't just poor technique on my friend's part, but I was so disappointed in the condition of his collection that I never attempted to use steam after I learned that that was what he had done. I've steamed plenty of stamps back in the day - I used to get postcards from friends or family who would want them back, so I would steam them off and then press the postcard back to a more or less flat state. Like Judith said, watch out for steamed fingers! But I never saw any damage to the stamps, as long as I would wait long enough for the steam to have its effect. This was all back in the day of water-activated gum stamps, though .... Ryan |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,652
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jan 26, 2018 3:48:50 GMT
After closely inspecting his stamps, I can tell you that way too many were irretrievably damaged. I cannot absolutely swear that the steam was the culprit and it wasn't just poor technique on my friend's part, but I was so disappointed in the condition of his collection that I never attempted to use steam after I learned that that was what he had done. I've steamed plenty of stamps back in the day.... But I never saw any damage to the stamps, as long as I would wait long enough for the steam to have its effect.Thanks for your comments, Ryan. Now that you have said it, I feel certain that your comment about waiting long enough is the key point. I would guess, then, that my friend's technique was more likely the problem with the poor results that he got. |
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tomiseksj
Moderator
Woodbridge, Virginia, USA
Posts: 6,263
What I collect: Worldwide stamps/covers, Cinderellas, Ohio Prepaid Sales Tax Receipts, U.S. WWII Ration ephemera
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Post by tomiseksj on Jan 26, 2018 13:10:06 GMT
I use a pair of spade tip tongs and believe any smooth metal surface would suffice -- the key is creating enough friction to soften up the gum without damaging the stamp. When I've had to rub on the face of the stamp I placed a piece of glassine over the stamp to protect the surface from damage. Work slowly from the outside edges of the stamp toward the center and you should eventually be able to lift the stamp -- the gum won't be pristine but it will still be present and you should have avoided creating thins in the lifting process. |
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