My old shop teacher told me to skip the thread wax on linen, and 300 signatures later I still say he was wrong

Anthony Lane · 2026-10-18T17:30:05.889649+00:00

Back in 2019 I took a bookbinding class in Kalamazoo and the teacher, a guy named Dale who had been binding for 30 years, told the whole room to skip waxing linen thread. He said it only gums up the needle and slows you down. I listened for about two books and then switched back to waxing on my own. My first un-waxed Coptic on 80 lb paper had stitches pulling loose after a week of the book sitting open, and the thread frayed at the needle eye on two separate signatures. Since then I've sewn about 300 signatures with waxed 18/3 linen and had maybe three breaks total. Dale's advice might hold for thin thread and tight paper, but for anything over 100 pages it does not. What thread and paper combo have you all found where wax really is a waste?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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My old shop teacher told me to skip the thread wax on linen, and 300 signatures later I still say he was wrong | Bookbinders - Pinecone Attack