Had a moment at Goodwill that changed how I trim my book cloth

Last month I was digging through a bin at the Goodwill near my house in Portland and found this old sewing book from the 1950s. The binding was wrecked but the cloth on the spine was cut super clean with a razor blade. I always use scissors or a rotary cutter and get frayed edges on my book cloth. I tried copying that razor approach on my next project, a set of 3 journals for my sister, and it cut way sharper and cleaner. Has anyone else used a simple utility knife for book cloth instead of fancy tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_carr2d ago

Old razor blades beat special tools every time... cheaper and sharper.

calebw502d ago

I was totally in the "buy the special tool" camp for years. I spent like 30 bucks on a rotary cutter and mat and still got fuzzy edges half the time. But last week I tried a fresh utility blade on some cheap buckram and it glided through like butter. No fraying, no dragging, just a perfect straight line. Makes me wonder if the fancy tools are just a way to sell us stuff we don't actually need.