Determining Paper Thickness

Thanks Poodle-mum! (Do you actually have poodles???)

Mike - I agree, I'd never thought anyone would want to measure the thickness of stamps, but wow, when I read that there was a difference between 'thin paper' and (I guess) regular paper (or is it 'thick' paper?) - I was astonished. Assuming the same die and same ink - how could anyone possibly tell the difference between the THICKNESS of one stamp and another!?!

I can't wait to hear other members' input on this!

L.

Well, I have never done any measuring of paper thickness on stamps or otherwise, but I worked for many years in the metal foil business, and I can tell you that there are certainly instruments capable of measuring the thickness of thin sheets of foil, so it would also be possible to use them for paper, whether stamps or something else.

A micrometer, which is a screw device, can be used, but is a bit risky as, if it is over-tightened, can damage the foil (or paper), and also give an inaccurate reading, because it is compressing the material while measuring it.  In the plant where I worked, we generally used a "drop indicator" which puts the thin sheet between two spherical surfaces, and then displays the distance between the two, showing the thickness of the thin sheet.

This sort of technology has existed for many years, although it has been improved, in my opinion, by the more recent addition of digital displays rather than the old dial gauges that we used to use.  So yes, these sorts of instruments definitely do exist, and if the relative thicknesses of the papers is known, it should not be that difficult to determine thick versus thin.

I love standard poodles! My cousin (in Alabama) has one and I'm sad that I don't get to meet her in person (being as I live in Australia).
We have three dogs, an Australian Koolie cross, a Kelpie cross (whose insane) and a 2yo Border Collie, who is my grandpuppy. My daughter says she's not having kids, just Border Collies..  lol  My daughter does obedience training with her and she's doing quite well, has points toward her first title! Hopefully she'll have that early this year. 
I, too, am in a wheelchair out of the house. Thankfully I can still walk a short way, so in the house I hobble from chair-to-chair. 
L. 

Paper thickness is not like perforation measurement or checking watermarks, there is no standard to go against.
What is thick or thin for one country issue is different for another.
If it was an exact science most catalogs would mention the measurements.
Older issue papers will vary a lot and gummed or not would give a different reading.
Unless you are a serious collector and thin vs medium vs thick paper has distinct production dates and values then it is not an important feature in listing basic stamps and may not be worth what you need to spend for a high quality digital ratchet (doesn't crush) type micrometer. Then you still need to find a listing that gives you anticipated measurements that are often in a range.
If it is a choice, there is a wide choice of micrometers from well known companies like this one which many collectors use or take a chance on an inexpensive China product for as low as $10.
Generally the accuracy will be noted on the product which has importance.

Most collectors probably gauge thickness from comparison, feel and experience.

Wow, what a great idea!
I could compare the red one to one of the other colours (which don't have a thick/thin variant).
I do have a smart phone, as do my kids, but I'll get my daughter to do it as her phone's camera's resolution is a lot higher than mine.
Thanks for this awesome tip, I will report back if it works! (Well, I'll report back even if it doesn't!)
L.

I wouldn't be worried about crushing the paper by using a spindle-type micrometer as long as it has a ratchet on the end.  Only the cheapest modern micrometers don't have a ratchet - this ratchet stops you from over-tightening the spindle, sort of like the gas tank cap on your car.  You can only get the gas cap so tight before it starts clicking without getting any tighter, and the ratchet on a spindle micrometer does exactly the same thing, giving a consistent level of tightness so the measurements are also consistent.

If you're only testing a stamp here or there then a micrometer is fine.  If you're testing a big pile of hundreds of them, a paper thickness gauge might be better.  To measure a stamp using a micrometer, you have to unwind the spindle far enough to allow the next stamp to fit between the anvil and the spindle, and eventually you'll fold up a stamp edge trying to fit it into a gap that is too small because you haven't taken the time to open the spindle enough (especially when the spindle has sharp edges, like on the micrometer shown in the picture below).  For rapid, over-and-over testing, a paper thickness gauge is far quicker because it's so easy to open up the gap rapidly.  A thumb lever lifts the spindle up enough to give plenty of clearance.  I'm a machinist and I use both, but for stamps I use the paper thickness gauge more often.  My paper thickness gauge has a rounded end, like the one in the picture below.  You can buy spindle micrometers which have a rounded edge, I have one I use for measuring engine bearing thickness, but they aren't as common and might be tougher to find / more expensive.

The micrometer is more accurate than the paper thickness gauge shown and since I have both I generally only use the micrometer when the paper thickness gauge is not resolving to a level of detail that gives me certainty about its measurement (my gauge is pretty old and is an analog dial gauge like this one, not a digital gauge available nowadays).





Ryan

WOW Mike I'll be awaiting the report on this one.At that price I'd jump too.I just ordered some replacement parts for my Husky 365 that was a victim of a large tree stump that fell on it,China seems to be the world's supplier for most anything.