I keep seeing people skip the rounding step on book spines and it drives me nuts

I was at a small craft fair in Portland last month and looked at a few hand bound journals. Three different sellers had books with flat spines that looked stiff and would not open well. I asked one of them about it, and she said she thought rounding was just for looks. That's not right at all. A rounded spine, done with a backing hammer after sewing, makes the book open flat and last longer by spreading the stress. I learned this the hard way when my first dozen notebooks started to crack at the hinge after a few months of use. Now I spend that extra ten minutes per book to shape it properly. Does anyone have a favorite method for getting a nice, even curve without a fancy press?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_sanchez883mo ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I've used plenty of flat spine notebooks and they open just fine for me. Maybe it only matters if you're really rough on your books. Feels like a lot of extra work for something most people won't even notice.

betty1441mo ago

That old "just for looks" excuse gets me every time though, @barbara_sanchez88. I learned that lesson the hard way with a $50 sketchbook that fell apart after two weeks because the spine wasn't prepped right. Most people might not immediately notice the difference, but it's the difference between a notebook that lasts a year and one that cracks open after a few months of regular use. It's like skipping a step in cooking - you might not taste it right away but it shows up later. Do you really want to risk a whole project or set of notes on saving one little step?

evah403mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that "just for looks" thing is wild. My friend's whole batch of sketchbooks split right at the hinge because she skipped that step too.