Stamps Stuck Together

I agree with stainlessb above that this is likely your best route for unsticking these stamps. Like you, I inherited a stamp collection not so long ago, but from a friend rather than a family member and he had a number of German mint stamps, souvenir sheets and blocks in envelopes (not glassine) that were all stuck together. In this case, gum side to face side so, in my case maybe the limited success I had with freezing them was what worked for me. The stiffened gum and paper allowed me to separate them by gently pushing my tongs in between, however, I had to do so quickly because once the stamps warm up it doesn't work so well.

This was the only time I tried this method and I had only limited success with it. Being stuck gum to face rather than gum to gum might have meant the difference and it was not successful in all cases. I also suspect your stamps have been compressed and stuck together longer than mine were.

I have a sweat box for such problems, but I confess I virtually never use it for anything except to flatten out insistently curly stamps during soaking - if I put the horrible curly stamp on my Formica countertop and put the sweat box on top of the stamp, I can get the stamp in my drying book at the last moment without it curling up.  Mostly I use it for hologram stamps - they spend the minimum time needed in the sink to get the envelope cutout off, then they get the Stamplift box put on top to keep the hologram from curling up.

The box is made of plastic.  There is a felt pad trapped under the perforated section - you soak the felt pad in water and place the stuck stamps on the screen, then you close up the box with its tight-fitting lid (which has another felt pad on its underside, to stop any condensation from forming on the underside and dripping on to your stamps).  Leave the stamps to sweat for multiple hours and eventually you can pry them apart when the gum softens.  The gum ends up considerably damaged, however, and then you need to let these moist stamps with sticky gum dry out, during which time they invariably warp all over the place.  Maybe wax paper or something like that would allow you to flatten them under a weight so they will dry flat, I don't know.  The only time I really tried it was with some Belgian corner blocks which were stuck together, and those were stuck gum side to printed side.  When I got them apart, I was left with a bunch of gum stuck to the faces of the stamps which had been underneath.  So, by the time everything was dry, I had ugly wobbly stamps with gum all over their faces and miserable looking gum on the backs.  I then soaked them in the sink - no gum whatsoever on them now, but at least the face looks OK ....



Ryan

I follow the following "routine" I start with warm (like bath water warm) water with a drop of clear liquid dish soap and let the stamps soak for 30 minutes or so, swirtling htem around periodically (longer if they don't come apart_ then I move to another soaking conatiner (in my case stainless steel mixing bowls I commandeered from the kitchen and I fill with bath water warm water as a rinse, where i let them soak for another 20 -30 minutes.

Any stamps that I can feel the gum/slime on the back, go backinto another soak in the tub with dish soak, then rinse.  Even a small amount of gum and they attach themselves to my blotter (aka paper towels).

Penny reds, I have left soaking overnight  or for a day or two, changing the water periodically until there is no tint to the water

as your's are mint, the only concern is non color-fast inks, in which case it may be wise to soak in a clear/Pyrex dish atop a white back ground to look for any tinting of the water.  Most of the stamps, even the very early ones are surprisingly durable

last comment, be careful not to try andf pull apart too soon as you may pull some of the ink the "underneath" stamp

patience is a virtue

Thank you all for the suggestions. After an appropriate period of mourning (these mint stamps are in a strip and from 1920s Hong Kong and China), I will attempt to soak. My grandfather zigzagged the strip together so at least the first and last stamps are still mint and I will need to sadly tear them off the strip.

THIS IS SO PAINFUL.

I have not yet soaked them! Still mourning, haha. I am almost positive none of my Edward stamps are stuck, it's some of the 1941 Centenary ones. Although, I have soaked a bunch of Edward and George stamps and have not yet noticed any ink fading. Should I not soak those?

Before you soak them, try the DEEP FREEZE! If the gum is only moderately activated, sometimes placing the stamps in the freezer overnight will separate them. Don’t use a sealed container or plastic so that the dehumidifying action of a modern freezer can access them. Best if you lay them out on a metal cooking sheet. I have had a fair amount of success with this method for partially stuck stamps. Experiment with a few. 

Kristy (oregon1234), I hope you don't mind, but I have combined your new thread with the one you started two years ago.  You received quite a bit of information from other members on this subject at that time, so perhaps seeing this again will refresh everyone's memory.

I am glad to hear that you didn't rush into soaking all of these.  As I mentioned in my posts at that time (please see earlier in this thread), you need to be cautious with some of the QV, KEVII, and KGV Hong Kong definitives, as many of them have fugitive ink that will fade when soaked.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing a photo of which HK stamps you have that are stuck together.

Hi oregon1234

If I remember correctly, a former member suggested putting the stamps in the freezer.  If Rod's post is still on TSF you can probably find it.

Jerry B

You could try the heat, placing the stamps in a small cardboard box protected on both sides by a piece of white cotton fabric, placing everything on a warm radiator. The change in temperature could change the structure of the stamps by detaching them. Proceed calmly, checking from time to time. The attempt may be successful.

Cold could also work, in fact both heat and cold would cause a variation in the structure by detaching them.

Without liability for failure or damage.
Ludovico

Your last two posts are interesting, Ludovico (rex).  I have not heard of using heat before to separate mint stamps.

Just out of curiosity, have you personally used these methods successfully for this purpose, or is this something that was recommended to you by someone else?

I am aware that the freezer treatment can sometimes work, as I have tried it myself.  I learned from Terri (philatelia) that it is important not to put the stamps in a sealed Ziploc bag, as that generally does not work, and it is what I did on my first attempt.  Another side benefit to the freezer method, at least in my case, is that even if it doesn't work, it generally doesn't damage the stamps.