I laughed when a client asked for a book bound with beeswax and string

A lady came into my shop in Asheville last fall with a handwritten journal and asked for a binding using only beeswax and linen thread, no glue. I thought it was just a weird hippie thing that would fall apart. I tried it on a test piece, and after letting it cure for a week, the wax-set spine was surprisingly strong and flexible. Has anyone else had a request that sounded silly but actually worked out?

4 comments

4 Comments

shanec611d agoTop Commenter

I used to roll my eyes at stuff like that too. Thought it was just artsy people trying to be different for the sake of it. But then I tried a wax binding on a notebook I use for work notes. It's been six months and the spine is still holding up fine. No cracking or falling apart like I expected. The old methods really do have something to them. Makes me wonder what else I've been dismissing that actually works better.

wendy322mo ago

Right? So many old ways of doing things got written off as just being quirky. Turns out they were just really smart.

lucast812mo ago

Totally. My grandpa used to do this thing with vinegar for cleaning that I thought was weird. Now I pay good money for the same stuff in a fancy bottle.

emma_rodriguez302mo ago

That beeswax method is actually a medieval technique.