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Was always against using a bone folder until my mentor made me try one at a workshop in Austin
I've been doing basic bookbinding for about 5 years now, mostly just repairing old paperbacks and making simple journals for friends. I always thought bone folders were just some fancy tool that old timers used to feel important. But last month I went to a workshop in Austin and the instructor handed me one and said, "Just try it on one spine." I did one book with my usual plastic folder and one with the bone folder. The difference was crazy. The bone folder gave me way crisper creases and it actually smoothed out the paper without leaving those little scratch marks I always get. I looked it up later and apparently bone folders are naturally antistatic and don't damage the paper fibers like plastic can. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a tool they thought was overrated?
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sethhernandez1d ago
Wait, plastic folders can actually scratch paper fibers? I always thought that was just me being too rough with my tools, not the material itself being the problem. That antistatic thing makes so much sense now for why my bone folder glides so smooth compared to that cheap plastic one I had been using for years.
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