My mentor's bone folder advice saved my first leather cover

A retired binder named Edith at a workshop in Portland told me to stop using my metal bone folder on leather because it leaves shiny press marks, and I thought she was just being fussy. After I ignored her and wrecked a $40 piece of veg tan on my first full leather journal, I saw exactly what she meant, the crease lines looked like someone ran a spoon over the surface. I switched to a cheap plastic folder for all leather work, keeps the nap intact and no more gloss streaks. Took me about 3 ruined covers to finally listen, but now I keep two folders in my kit and swap based on material. Has anyone else had a mentor warn you about something that sounded silly but saved you a bunch of money later?

2 comments

2 Comments

val_ramirez2d ago

Wait, you actually saw the shiny marks too? That stuff drove me nuts before I finally got it.

miles_robinson202d ago

Honestly, "drove me nuts" is putting it lightly. I spent a solid week convinced I was losing my mind, squinting at my screen like it held the secrets to the universe. Tbh, I only finally got it when I accidentally zoomed in so close my face was basically touching the monitor and went "oh, THAT'S what that is." Ngl, I still half-expect to see those shiny marks every time I look at a screen now, like some kind of tech-induced trauma.