Finally gave in and tried Japanese bookbinding after swearing it was just a fad

I spent 3 years calling it overrated until I fixed a torn 1920s journal with a modified stab stitch and it held up better than my usual Coptic bind - has anyone else found a traditional style that actually outperforms modern methods for certain repairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_wilson8718d ago

My buddy swore by cheap Walmart tape for years until a library binding class finally convinced him to try a proper Japanese stitch on a water-damaged cookbook. Now he won't shut up about how it's the only thing that kept the pages from falling apart.

ivangrant14d ago

Wait, is your buddy me? Cause I went through the exact same phase. I used to think any tape was good enough, figured if it sticks it works, right? Then my mom gave me this old recipe book that got soaked in a flooded basement, pages all crinkled and stuck together. Someone at the local craft store showed me how to do a simple stab binding with thread, and honestly it changed how I look at fixing anything now. Tape just peels and leaves that nasty yellow goo, but the stitch holds even when the paper is all soft and warped. I've re-done like three of my own books since then, and it's so much more satisfying than slapping a band-aid on it.