That time a retired bookbinder told me I was doing my spines wrong

I was at a shop in Portland last month talking to this old timer who was looking at the rebinds I had with me. He asked why all my spines were so tight and perfect, and I said because that's how I was taught to make them look clean. He laughed and said I was making my books harder to open and more likely to crack down the line. At first I blew him off because I thought tight spines meant quality work. But he showed me an example he had in his bag where the spine had a tiny bit of play in it and let the book open flat. I tested it and honestly the difference was huge. Now I'm trying to unlearn years of muscle memory. Has anyone else had to go back and fix a habit you thought was the right way?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_walker7612d ago

Bet the old methods made sense for mass production, not longevity though.

the_tara12d ago

You're forgetting that those old methods were built around materials that just don't exist anymore... better quality wood and actual craftsmanship that could handle being repaired instead of tossed. Mass production is fine until you have to replace everything every few years.