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Came home from the NOLA bindery workshop ready to buy a $300 bone folder, then I used a $2 spoon
Six days ago I got back from a three day workshop in New Orleans and I was all set to order a polished bone folder for $300, the fancy kind everyone on the bench next to me kept passing around. But the teacher, a woman named Dot who has been binding since 1979, handed me a plain stainless spoon from her kitchen and said to try it on the turn-ins first. I folded eight signatures with the spoon and eight with a borrowed bone folder, and honestly the spoon gave me a cleaner crease because the bowl sits flatter in my hand. The bone one kept sliding off the paper whenever my thumb got sweaty, which happens a lot in my apartment since the AC is bad. So I went home, dug an old spoon out of the utensil bin, and spent the $300 on a standing press instead. Three books in and my spines look better than anything I made with tools from the craft store. Now I'm wondering if anyone else here has a favorite tool that came from the kitchen, because I keep eyeing my rolling pin.
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the_david4d ago
My mother in law gave me a marble pastry board years ago and it's the best thing I own for flattening signatures before sewing. The weight helps a lot and it never slides around like the cheap plastic cutting board I used before that. Rolling pin might work for light pressing but I'd worry about denting the paper if you push too hard.
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