Finally figured out grain direction after 3 messed up rebinds

Kept glueing endpapers that wrinkled or cracked. Drove me nuts. Watched a guy at a leather shop in Portland last month. He showed me how paper fibers change how it flexes. I was just matching the edges instead of checking the actual fold. Now I rip a test strip every time before cutting. Takes 10 seconds. Has anyone else been getting this wrong forever or just me?

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lily51111d ago

I have a buddy who binds books in Seattle and he swears by this trick with a bone folder and a spray bottle. He told me once that paper grain is like wood grain, it has a memory. If you fight it, it'll fight back with wrinkles and warps. I ruined a whole stack of handmade paper last year before I realized I was cutting against the grain. Now I always check with that test strip and a quick bend.