Rant: I think we overcomplicate leather paring sometimes

I spent 4 hours trying to get a perfect, even taper on a spine piece for a quarter binding, and it still looked lumpy. I switched to a basic safety beveler and got a good enough result in 20 minutes. Is the perfect hand-pared edge really worth the extra time for every project?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_martin281mo ago

My teacher used to say chasing perfection is how you learn, but sometimes you just need the book to close. I still pare down for a fancy presentation box, but for a daily journal, a clean bevel is all anyone will ever see.

janaf911mo ago

Ugh, my first journal looked like a beaver chewed the edges. I got so obsessed with making it perfect I never wrote in it.