While Stamp Collecting is not as flashy of a hobby for some, as let's say collecting Aston Martins, or early works of Picasso, it is a very rewarding hobby, and generally inexpensive.

So to put together the gear you'll need to handle and store your stamps, you don't have to become Donald Trump. All you need is a few small goodies you can buy in any household shop, and chances are, you've already got most of this at home.

Magnifying Glass

Unless you have a vision worthy of a super hero, you'll need a nice Magnifying Glass to inspect your stamps, from all the small details to a careful examination of the state a stamp is in.

Size is not so important, just make sure you take a glass that strong enough to see all the details, and light enough to work with for a while. Often an ordinary magnifying glass you find in school kits is all you'll ever need.

Tweezers

If they work for eyelashes, they'll work for stamps. Be stamp stockbook however not to use tweezers with very sharp or pointy ends, as there is a risk of tearing a hole in stamps that are still damp. While there are special tweezers with thin rubber padding available for passionate collectors, in the beginning you'll be fine if you just steal them from your girlfriend.

Stamp Hinges

These are small mounts for your stamps. Usually made of a special, thin paper that is gum coated for more sturdiness. This is what you will effectively place the stamps into, before it makes it way into the album.

They are either black or white, and sometimes dark blue.

Watermark Detector

The back of a stamp will ofter hide a specific pattern or a watermark. While there are special UV lamps to detect this, "old school" way is to drip a drop or two of benzine on the back of a stamp.

Just make sure you don't use diesel or kerosene or crude oil as that's a bit silly, and by all means don't do it by the candle lights ( it's bad for your eyes).