Watched a local binder switch from PVA to wheat paste on case bindings and the spine flex difference 8 months later is wild

River Ramirez · 2026-10-09T16:50:03.034721+00:00

A guy in my shop here in Portland made the switch on his case bindings about 8 months ago, mostly for the historical repair work he does. Before that he was using straight PVA on everything, and after 2 or 3 years the spines on his books would crack when you opened them past 90 degrees. Now with wheat paste on the spine and PVA just on the boards, I opened one of his 6 month old repairs and it laid flat with no creaking at all. He mixes it about 1 part paste to 3 parts PVA to keep some tack. I tested it on 4 of my own rebinds and so far no issues. Has anyone else played with paste mixes and noticed a real difference in how the hinge holds up over time?

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Watched a local binder switch from PVA to wheat paste on case bindings and the spine flex difference 8 months later is wild | Bookbinders - HW Forums