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I finally figured out why my leather was tearing on the spine

Took me three whole weekends of staring at my workbench before I caught the problem. Turns out I was using a bone folder that had a tiny chip in it from years ago. That little nick was catching the leather just enough to cause a weak spot every single time I rounded the spine. I replaced it with a cheap plastic folder from the craft store and my last two bindings came out clean. Has anyone else had a tool go bad on them and not notice for way too long?
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3 Comments
grantw41
grantw417d ago
A dull awl is even worse, it'll crush the fibers instead of punching clean through every time.
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nina_taylor
Never had a dull awl ruin my work like that before. A buddy of mine gave me a cheap one from a craft kit and I swear it just mashed the leather instead of poking through. Had to toss it and get a decent one from a leather shop. Crushed fibers sound horrible, makes the whole project look sloppy if you're trying to do something neat.
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troychen
troychen7d ago
You ever find yourself blaming technique before checking the actual tool itself?
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