What to do with hinged stamps in a stamp album book?

I like  stamps to be "clean" of hinges, so I soak a great many, with the few exceptions  vikingeck noted.  For unused stamps with hinges, I will test the hinge with a small tug , (as some hinges almost fall off, leaving a small disturbed gum)  if secure, I have a single edged razor blade with a single layer of scotch tamp on one end so the blade is not sloped down (like a wood plane as an example) and I use this to cut the hinge flap off.  If the hinge seems secure, do not peel off as you may take gum down to the paper, causing "thins"

Soaking is preferable on used stamps (IMHO) as it is too easy to cause thins by just pulling off the hinges

and nothing wrong with getting a bath, but I recommend soaking with a small drop of clar dish soap, and then placing in another bowl once th ehinge is off in a rinse bowl.  Stamps with the gum remaining will need longer soaks, and some staining/discoloration/oxidation can be alleviated using some hydrogen peroxide in your soaking regime.  There are several discussions elsewhere, so if interested in this, search and read first. Some stamps may have "white paper" but also duller colors form using H₂O₂ 

I also just use paper towels  (the "industrial type have little to no pattern) and weight down with a couple pieces of stainless steel I gotfrom work, but heavy books, etc work fine also!  I have looked at the drying books, but haven't yet been curious enough to get one and try.

Great answers everyone. The idea here is to ultimately better view the stamps to identify which types they are (ex: 554, 554c, 554d, etc) and make decisions on which ones are best candidates to get certified for possible sale (if any turn out to be worth doing that). It’s hard to do all that, especially measuring them, with stamps hinged in a book.

I don’t know for sure which ones fall in the 5% - 10% category where removing hinges in a regular water soak may cause damage...though those which are not used ate pretty obvious. I won’t soak those.

All these stamps are pre-1950 and a few go back to 1880 or so. We’re talking about a collection that totals about 3,000 different stamps. So it’s not huge.

I learned somewhere and tried a little bit myself the technique of gently applying the flat handle side of the tweezers to the hinge and gently rubbing. The stamp of course is already removed from the album, and just the part of the hinge on the stamp remains. After short time, the hinge just gets of, without "thins" or hustle.

I have a little box called "STAMPLIFT." Put water in the bottom part that houses a sponge & place the stamp on the grill that sits above, cover and wait. That way the hinge can easily be removed without soaking the stamp. Of course using this method on a collection of 3,000 stamps would be very time consuming! I don't think they make an industrial sized versions, although if you are handy...