I thought they come with 4 semi-circles, not complete circles?
I heard the suckers were totally unsoakable.
I put all mine in envelopes when they changed the numbers. They're a pain in the derriere.
Yes, Jansimon, they are semicircles. But still, will they remain with the stamp?
As claimed by the P.O. they are meant so that people don´t take them off from the letters and reuse them...
I´ve already got some of them and am afraid to soak them.
Miguel
lighter fuel or white spirit then peel away from the side carefully not from the top.
Tim2
Ok! Dudes & dudesses. gonna put the Stampaholic's
method of soaking on the auction at $.01. it's actually free but I don't think I can get sales price of 0 on there and I can't send it to here.
Anyway check it out. works 99.99% of the time.
1. use methanol to saturate item ... 2-3x allowing 3 mins before attempting paper removal
2. with stamp face down on glass, carefully peel back the back paper - do not use tongs on stamp try to keep stamp flat on glass with a finger as lifted
3. be careful near the security cuts
4. clear any debris before placing on clear cellophane or a stamp mount - let dry ; cut to shape
" .... I thought they come with 4 semi-circles, not complete circles?. ..."
Yes, the security cuts are more like two pair of horseshoes, each pair set to resemble an interrupted oval. However some issues also have a gap in the cuts at the top and bottom of the arch.
Supposedly, the ovals will detach if someone attempts to remove the stamp from the envelope paper. That is a joke on Royal Mail
I soak the stamp for a few minutes in isoprophenol (Rubbing Alcohol available in most supermarkets inexpensively ) in a salvaged, short stubby jar that has a wide cap. Then I lay the stamp to be processed on a small black piece of marble that was once the base of a lamp.
Then using the #908 fine tip tongs, I carefully work the top of the stamp loose and then down one side. The tongs can be slipped under the security cuts from the side at the center of the horseshoes where the cut is interrupted towards the middle of the stamp. Depending on how long the soaking lasted it is surprising how quickly and easily the process takes.
Once the technique is mastered it is very simple an occasional stamp might be damaged.
I do not know how many thousand stamps with the security cuts I have separated from the paper but the number would be substantial. It is simple, inexpensive, fast and almost errorless.
Of course, the cap must be kept on the jar as much a possible and there should be good ventilation.
About the new Machins with security holes:
Has anybody tried to soak them off from paper?
DO they come off with the small circles in the holes, or do they separate?
Would it be acceptable to put them in the albums with the "windows"?
Any suggestion?
Miguel
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
I thought they come with 4 semi-circles, not complete circles?
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
I heard the suckers were totally unsoakable.
I put all mine in envelopes when they changed the numbers. They're a pain in the derriere.
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
Yes, Jansimon, they are semicircles. But still, will they remain with the stamp?
As claimed by the P.O. they are meant so that people don´t take them off from the letters and reuse them...
I´ve already got some of them and am afraid to soak them.
Miguel
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
lighter fuel or white spirit then peel away from the side carefully not from the top.
Tim2
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
Ok! Dudes & dudesses. gonna put the Stampaholic's
method of soaking on the auction at $.01. it's actually free but I don't think I can get sales price of 0 on there and I can't send it to here.
Anyway check it out. works 99.99% of the time.
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
1. use methanol to saturate item ... 2-3x allowing 3 mins before attempting paper removal
2. with stamp face down on glass, carefully peel back the back paper - do not use tongs on stamp try to keep stamp flat on glass with a finger as lifted
3. be careful near the security cuts
4. clear any debris before placing on clear cellophane or a stamp mount - let dry ; cut to shape
re: NEW MACHINS WITH SECURITY PUNCH-HOLES
" .... I thought they come with 4 semi-circles, not complete circles?. ..."
Yes, the security cuts are more like two pair of horseshoes, each pair set to resemble an interrupted oval. However some issues also have a gap in the cuts at the top and bottom of the arch.
Supposedly, the ovals will detach if someone attempts to remove the stamp from the envelope paper. That is a joke on Royal Mail
I soak the stamp for a few minutes in isoprophenol (Rubbing Alcohol available in most supermarkets inexpensively ) in a salvaged, short stubby jar that has a wide cap. Then I lay the stamp to be processed on a small black piece of marble that was once the base of a lamp.
Then using the #908 fine tip tongs, I carefully work the top of the stamp loose and then down one side. The tongs can be slipped under the security cuts from the side at the center of the horseshoes where the cut is interrupted towards the middle of the stamp. Depending on how long the soaking lasted it is surprising how quickly and easily the process takes.
Once the technique is mastered it is very simple an occasional stamp might be damaged.
I do not know how many thousand stamps with the security cuts I have separated from the paper but the number would be substantial. It is simple, inexpensive, fast and almost errorless.
Of course, the cap must be kept on the jar as much a possible and there should be good ventilation.