Glue vs. sewing on a leather journal, which side are you on?

I spent a whole Sunday last month putting together a leather journal for my sister's birthday in Portland. I had all the materials laid out: nice goat skin, some 80lb text block, and two options staring back at me. I went with glue-only because I was short on time and figured a good PVA would hold just fine. It looked great when I handed it over, but two weeks later she texted me that the pages were starting to pull away from the spine. Now I'm wondering if I should have taken the extra hour to sew the sections in, even if it meant a bulkier build. Do you all stick with one method for personal projects, or does it depend on how the book will actually get used? Has anyone else had a glued binding fail on them after a few weeks of daily wear?

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the_logan23d ago

Your sister's journal failing after two weeks tells me the PVA alone just wasn't going to hold up to daily use. I mean, glue has its place for single sheets or quick repairs, but for a whole text block that gets opened and closed constantly, sewing is the way to go. I've made maybe a dozen journals over the years, and the three or four I glued are the ones that eventually sagged or split at the spine. The sewn ones are still flat and tight even after being tossed in bags and read on the bus. idk maybe it's just me, but I'd rather take the extra hour upfront than get that text message later. If you're giving it as a gift, you want it to last longer than the excitement of unwrapping it.