I think PVA glue is overhyped for most bookbinding

Everyone swears by PVA for everything, but I tried using just wheat paste on a leather binding last month for a 300 page journal. The result was way more flexible and the spine didn't crack at all after a week of use. Has anyone else found that PVA makes their books too stiff for certain projects?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_wilson4929d ago

Honestly, I've been messing around with bindings for a bit and I'm curious - what kind of grain direction did you have on that leather spine piece? Because I've found that if the grain isn't running perpendicular to the spine, even wheat paste can make things feel boardy after a month or two. Tbh PVA gets a bad rap but I think a lot of people just don't let it cure long enough before they start flexing the book. Wheat paste definitely gives you that soft feel right out the gate but I've had some projects go floppy on me after a few months in a humid room. Ngl I'm wondering if you've tested that 300 page journal after like three months of daily use? That's usually when my wheat paste experiments either hold up or totally fall apart.

norag6613d ago

I read somewhere that old school bookbinders used to soak their leather in a specific way to control how it moves with the grain, and that might be why some of those old books feel way softer even with PVA. Makes me wonder if soaking technique matters just as much as the glue or grain direction.

campbell.tara29d ago

Honestly I was on the other side of this fence for a long time. I used to swear by PVA because I thought wheat paste was just too finicky and old school. But tbh you just made me realize I never actually tested my bindings after a few months in real conditions. Ngl I'd just flex them a bit right after gluing and call it good. Now I'm thinking I need to go back and check some of my older journals because I bet the ones with a perpendicular grain on the spine are holding up way better than the ones where I didn't pay attention. The fact that you've seen them go boardy even with wheat paste if the grain is wrong is kind of blowing my mind. I always thought it was just the glue type that mattered, not the actual leather cutting direction.