Rant: I used to think a bone folder was just for creasing paper

For the first couple years, I only pulled mine out to fold signatures... that was it. Then I saw a video from a binder in Portland who used it to smooth down book cloth after gluing, working from the center out. I tried it on a small notebook project last week and it made a huge difference, no more tiny air bubbles under the cloth. Now it's the first tool I grab when I'm covering boards. Anyone else find a new use for a basic tool like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sarah25d ago

Yeah, that's such a good point. I started using mine to burnish the spines of my case bound books, just applying even pressure along the rounded shape. It works way better than my fingers for getting a clean, tight finish. Then I got brave and tried it to help set glued endpapers, smoothing them onto the board from the center to push out any extra glue. It's crazy how one simple tool can do so many little jobs if you just try it. Now mine is all beat up and covered in dried glue, but it's probably my most used thing on the bench.

craig.reese25d ago

Honestly, burnishing with a bone folder is great but you really should clean the dried glue off first to avoid marking your paper.