As a professional book binder based in Yorkshire in the UK, I am frequently asked about the tips and tricks I use in various aspects of bindings books. My channel is intended as a series of short videos highlighting specific aspects of bookbinding technique. I aim to add more videos over the coming months. If you have any questions about any aspect of the videos, please do leave a question or get in touch. I hope you enjoy my videos! Many thanks, Glenn Malkin, Signature Bindings
Glad you liked it! Yes, sharp knives are really important for bookbinding when using leather. Sharpening is a bit of a skill that develops over time and I have changed my approach on several occasions. I may do a video at some point, but meanwhile there is a good on on DAS Bookbinding's RU-vid channel: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rikTKtdF984.html Hope that helps!
Hi - the cloth I used was a random piece of paper-backed book cloth from my box of offcuts, so I couldn't tell you exactly what it was I'm afraid. I would probably have bought it originally from Ratchfords in the UK however.
Thank you Glenn, this video is extremely helpful to me. Can you please tell me: instead of using an French paring knife to pare down the back of the onlay, could one use a Scharffix?
Hi - I think it would be risky to use a scharffix and difficult if the onlay is in a large piece of leather. However, you could also sand it instead of using a knife, perhaps using something like a coarse 80 grit Abranet. It will take some time to get flat, but it certainly can be done if you are not comfortable using a paring knife.
Hi! Sorry, I'm not sure which blue tape you are referring to? Perhaps you mean the silicon release paper used to protect the pages beneath when pasting. This is just a waterproof paper which won't stick to the pages, but you can also use acetate or other materials for this.
@@mariomoretti9059 I think you must be looking at a different video - there is no blue roll here and we don't look at the covering or titling of the book at all. . .
Hi !! This is a very interesting video - it popped up when I researched how to tape tears in an old bible. For those of us who are less skilled, is there a particular brand of tape you recommend ?? For an 1870s family bible, it needs TLC, from an art museum. Thank you.
Hi and thank you. You should never use a standard sticky tape (such as Scotch tape or Sellotape) to repair pages because it will fail over time, the plastic carrier may lift and the adhesive browns and can soak irepairably into the paper. There is a conservation tape called Filmoplast P paper repair tape which is much better in the long term and not too expensive, though using good quality Japanese tissue and past as I have shown in my video is by far the best solution in most cases. Hope that helps!
@@bookbindingtips Hi ! Thank you very much for your kind help. I will put the Filmoplast P paper repair tape in my Amazon cart !! I look forward to watching more of your repair videos.
Awesome!! Question Though my friend 🤔🙆🏻♂️isss the leather tab/hinge on between the hand made paper folio and the marbled paper over it? I appreciate your time either way. God bless
Hi - you could certainly do it that way, but in this case the leather was attached to the back of the endpaper, glued to the narrow edge of the marbled paper that was folded around onto the back of the endpaper. I chose this approach because I wanted to sew through the folded endpaper, the marbled paper and the leather, to make very strong sewing points.
@@bookbindingtipsand I had the idea last (while I’m trying different techniques for edge lining bibles for rebinds) doing the same thing kind of and having a NARROW/THIN LEATHER TAB that’s functional, reliable & aesthetically pleasing without that big LAAB OF TAB haha in most rebinds ! So thanks again brother
Not necessarily using this method - it can be done with full thickness goat leather (ie: 0.7mm or so) and still look nice and neat but of course it depend how delicate you want the board edges to be. If you want nice thin edges to the boards then the leather does indeed need to be thinned in that area.
Could you be specific about your paste? What is the brand, type? What is it made of? Is it specific enough that you would have to order it from a specific store?
I buy my paste pre-prepared from a bookbinding supplier in the UK - usually Hewits. But it is basically a wheat starch paste. You can also get very good rice starch pastes. Some are in powder form, some you have to cook, some already made up and it is down mainly to personal preference which you would use.
It took me a day or two to build enough confidence to move forward with the corners. I'm working with 2 mil boards and did exactly as you demonstrated, yet my flaps still overlap each other. Is this normal? Initially, I noticed there was going to be a significant about amount of overlapping so I trimmed my faux leather fabric down to 2 mil instead of 3 mil. It reduced the overlapping, however there's still overlapping. Hopefully that 1 mil of trimmed fabric did not render my corners inferior. The corners required some burnishing and could've been better tbh.
Hi - sorry I have only just seen your message! Yes, this method is only really suitable for thinner materials like cloth and paper. Leather and other thicker materials do bring extra problems - you may like to take a look at my video on one method how to make neat leather corners.
Pretty crazy solution. I'd like to think there are other ways to fix warped boards, as a solution to restoring a old book, or a finished book that already has end papers. Plus if you do a bunch of layers isn't the paste down going to look weird?
it's not a sudden solution, this is kind of a principle - to paste a compensate sheet that is needed also to align with thickness of leather wraps. Otherwise the endpapers will be noticeably deformed (sure, this is only about binding new books)
You could make board by laminating paper and thin millboard together and the makes it quite stiff. If there is an extra piece of paper on the inside of the board it will pull it inwards a little so this will counter the pull of the leather to some extent. But you almost always have to correct warp a little after the leather has been secured.
Diese Art von Verwerfung führe ich auf eine falsche Faser Laufrichtung zurück… aber egal wie , man könnte es mit einem oder zwei zusätzliche Papiere in der innen Seite ausgleichen
I would never recommend using tape. In the video I am using strips of Japanese paper secured using wheat starch paste. And yes, sometimes the tear does lend itself to re-securing using paste without the need for additional support.
@@bookbindingtips Thank you for writing back. I tried using cornstarch and it peeled off once dried and left my surface bumpy. Perhaps I should work on the consistency even with wheat.
@@bookbindingtips I make Fore-edge paintings on the edges before gilding. So will this bleed the Watercolour paints into the book if I apply it on top?
I would apply the size before doing the edge painting. It is intended just to seal the fibres of the paper, though it isn't always necessary - depends on the paper.
I am an absolutely amateur bookbinder but I guess someone could use also bee wax in this same way you used it. There is a therapeutic(handmade) skin cream made of virgin oil and bee wax that could be used too, I suppose. Am I right? Anyway thank you very much for the lesson as paste is a traditional, safe easy and handy material (and a loved one too!)
Thank you! I hadn't thought about using a hair dryer. Do you reinforce the spine any further by making cross-cuts and gluing cords into the cuts across the spine? I'm hoping to attempt it on a glued Bible and see if the results are very flexible.
Beautiful! I love the look of the sprinkled gold edge. One question. Why do you sprinkle the weak adhesive on the edge, rather than brushing the adhesive over the entire edge? I have seen DAS do this same technique and he puts the adhesive over the entire edge rather than doing the sprinkling. Do you lose more gold by sprinkling? Is there an advantage to sprinkling the adhesive? Thanks. I love your videos. They are very informative.
Hi David, I find that by sprinkling the adhesive I get a more even effect. If the glue is brushed all over then there is a risk you may get larger clumps of gold adhering to the edge, and I'm not sure that I want the areas in between the gold to have a coating of PVA. But then there is always more than one way to do things . . .😊
sent this on to my son who is studying to be a bookbinder at North Bennet Street School in Boston. Hey, he is looking for an internship this summer if you or any of your friends that work with books will be needing an intern or help.!!!!!He is very focused and wow the books!!!!!
