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I keep seeing people skip the rounding step on book spines and it drives me nuts
I was at a small craft fair in Portland last month and looked at a few hand bound journals. Three different sellers had books with flat spines that looked stiff and would not open well. I asked one of them about it, and she said she thought rounding was just for looks. That's not right at all. A rounded spine, done with a backing hammer after sewing, makes the book open flat and last longer by spreading the stress. I learned this the hard way when my first dozen notebooks started to crack at the hinge after a few months of use. Now I spend that extra ten minutes per book to shape it properly. Does anyone have a favorite method for getting a nice, even curve without a fancy press?
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barbara_sanchez885mo ago
Is it really that big of a deal though? I've used plenty of flat spine notebooks and they open just fine for me. Maybe it only matters if you're really rough on your books. Feels like a lot of extra work for something most people won't even notice.
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betty1443mo ago
That old "just for looks" excuse gets me every time though, @barbara_sanchez88. I learned that lesson the hard way with a $50 sketchbook that fell apart after two weeks because the spine wasn't prepped right. Most people might not immediately notice the difference, but it's the difference between a notebook that lasts a year and one that cracks open after a few months of regular use. It's like skipping a step in cooking - you might not taste it right away but it shows up later. Do you really want to risk a whole project or set of notes on saving one little step?
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evah405mo ago
Yeah, that "just for looks" thing is wild. My friend's whole batch of sketchbooks split right at the hinge because she skipped that step too.
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