The smallest gear is assembling a stamp album to pursue the Scouts 'Collector' badge. Both Mrs. Gears and I collected stamps in our youth and for many years we've cut stamps off envelopes out of habit. Over the last few evenings we've tipped out the resulting bags of stamps and soaked them off for the smallest gear to mount into his album (which he's made himslef by downloading maps of each copuntry for which we have stamps, and adding a title and the usual list of facts that stamp albums traditionally have: capital, year first issued stamps, name on stamps, etc).
The older stamps soaked off wonderfully, just like the good old days. More modern stamps - especially self-adhesive ones - are well-nigh impossible to soak off: the stamps disintegrate before the glue lets go. Frequently, if you can get the stamp off at all, it splits in its thickness, leaving half its substance behind with the non-water soluable glue.
So what how collectors detatch used modern stamps from envelopes? Is there some nasty solvent recommended? Or have they given up and merely cut close around the stamps with a scissors - or even content themselves with mint stamps only for modern issues?
Any philatelists in this parish who have overcome this more-or-less crippling obstacle to collecting modern stamps?
