KEVIN SHEBY

I spent most of today finishing up a small set of these four...

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:28:00 -0400

I spent most of today finishing up a small set of these four flap portfolios for the Vista Sans Wood Type project. My classmate and I have been slowly making about 8 of these, for their kickstarter campaign, over the course of the last year. They are actually really fun to work on because they are so much bigger than our usual scale. It’s fun to have to work out new problems and be innovative. The cloth is Canapetta and the label is made from cherry wood paper and carbon stamped.

Check out my first complete fine binding. Full black goat skin,...

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:53:00 -0400

Check out my first complete fine binding.

Full black goat skin, with hand-dyed goat skin craquele onlays made by the binder (ME!). With palladium tooling.

I had the opportunity over the last few months to work with a...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:48:00 -0500

I had the opportunity over the last few months to work with a really great photographer to produce this book of his work. I am really excited about the product.

Photos and layout by John Chervinsky

http://www.chervinsky.org/

Here’s a preview of what I will be working on when I get...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 09:06:00 -0500

Here’s a preview of what I will be working on when I get back to my bench

Man, it feels so good to keep updating this bad boy. Here is a...

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:35:00 -0500

spokeshave (bastard)

Man, it feels so good to keep updating this bad boy.

Here is a model we made of a very common 18th-century binding with a Cambridge Panel design. I don’t have any images of the process but this was a very interesting binding to make. These binding were made en masse during the 1700s. Our instructor says this was the last gasp of hand binding in any quantity.

We tried to stay true to contemporary techniques and speed. This meant that we didn’t do much layout for the tooling or titling; instead we worked quickly and by eye. All the historical examples we looked at were done very quickly and the tooling was obviously not perfect but was still nice. I found the process so fascinating because my approach is usually so calculated and measured, but it was fun to put my ruler away and trust my eyes.

This is my very first ever full leather binding! The leather is calf that we dyed and sprinkled. We used a spoke shave to pare the leather, which turned out to be a disaster because a little monster lives inside my spokeshave and he likes to eat leather for lunch. Asshole. For more info on the spokeshave, cruise around this blog. I have since made peace with the little monster and now the spokeshave works fine.

This is a Millimeter binding of The Bone Folder. The Millimeter...

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 16:27:00 -0500

This is a Millimeter binding of The Bone Folder. The Millimeter structure was invented during WWII, when leather was scarce, as a way to provide a clean elegant leather binding using a minimal amount of leather. There are several variations but this is the classic style of the binding. They almost always are covered in paste paper with only a millimeter of leather showing on the boards. I made this paste paper specifically for the project. The leather is from the Harmatan tannery. The top edge is decorated with graphite. I really like the refined simplicity of this structure; it’s probably my favorite so far this year.

Ohh man this year has been crazy busy but it doesnt seem like I...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:00:00 -0500

Ohh man this year has been crazy busy but it doesnt seem like I have a lot to show for it. We spent the first several weeks of school gold tooling, all day every day until our eyes hurt and we all wanted to give up, go home, and pretend that books are made by machines. Then we got into hand titling and it got worse. We digressed to a bunch of red eyed shells of people wandering around the bindery mumbling to ourselves about how the letter “L” is never straight. I think you learn a lot about yourself when doing things that are really hard. As an aside, For encouragement we are constantly told that it takes at least 7 years of doing this all day to be any good at it, and even then you might still suck.

So this project is a sampler of some the leather work we have been doing. From the top down a quick explanation of what you are looking at. The diamond pattern or diaper pattern is a very old design dating back to the incunabula period and is very common. Worked with a line palette (a one inch long line of brass). Next are two decorative tools one in carbon and one in gold. Then three circles made by taking a small section of a brass curve and working around until the two sides hopefully (say a prayer) meet. From right to left is a gold tooled onlay, a blind tooled onlay, and a tooled surface gilt circle. An tooled onlay is a very thin piece of leather that is cut precisely to fit a tooled shape. Our instructor says when cutting them out, and pasting them on, “persevere, that is the only way to make it beautiful.” Under that is a very thin inlay made using a stylus tool. Finally a basic square pattern. Expect more work soon

Its a tragedy of the first magnitude that millions of people have ceased to use their hands as...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:19:00 -0500

Its a tragedy of the first magnitude that millions of people have ceased to use their hands as hands. Nature has bestowed upon us this great gift which is our hands. If the craze for machinery methods continues, it is highly likely that a time will come when we shall be so incapacitated and weak that we shall begin to curse ourselves for having forgotten the use of the living machines given to us by God.

Mahathma Ghandhi

I’ve been playing around with some techniques that may...

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:23:00 -0400

I’ve been playing around with some techniques that may come into play later this year. Here is a lino cut pressed into suede. I’m really liking the texture and depth. Not sure how many impressions the linoleum can take.

Summer drags on & the bindery is closed. Here are a few...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:10:39 -0400

Summer drags on & the bindery is closed. Here are a few bindings by Paul Bonet.

Here is the book of Psalms in a quarter leather binding. I like...

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:23:00 -0400

Here is the book of Psalms in a quarter leather binding. I like this one so it will not be for sale.

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran This is also a quarter bound leather...

Wed, 09 May 2012 18:14:00 -0400

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran

This is also a quarter bound leather case binding. Bound in goat skin from the Pergamena tannery in upstate NY. The paper is another one of mine from the marbling workshop we did. The top edge is decorated with graphite. This book is for sale. Please let me know if you are interested

So this a variation on the same structure as the album. My...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:47:00 -0400

So this a variation on the same structure as the album. My intention was to make a sketchbook sort of thing to sell, but now I am too attached to this one. It is also a split board binding so this thing is extra durable. You can’t see it in the photos but it also has reinforced semi-hidden leather corners. The headbands are hand sewn with silk thread. I made the marbled paper during a workshop we did with the Chena River marblers. This marble pattern is called a “Get Gel” - it is very simple to produce a decent result with this pattern. I don’t think this one will be up for sale just yet.

Leather Case Binding We have very recently started working with...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:32:00 -0400

Leather Case Binding

We have very recently started working with leather, building on the standard case binding structure but adding headcaps (see close up shot). Headcap formation remains a constant source of aggravation in my day. I am ready for spring break.

Moby Dick in a full cloth case binding with parchment...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:40:00 -0400

Moby Dick in a full cloth case binding with parchment onlays

Making all these blank books can get kinda boring. Even though most of our training around the bindery is technical, it’s nice to get to put the creative side of my brain to work for a change. Despite the fact that Jeff is constantly reminding us that we are craftsmen, not artists, and this is not art school. I had a lot of fun making this; I know the design is a bit trite, but whatever. The onlays are done by cutting the design out of 20pt (card stock), then laminating that to the boards. The book is then covered in the usual way and the cloth is carefully worked into the design. The onlay has to be cut exactly to fit inside the impression and glued in place carefully. Then you, to quote my instructor, “press the shit out of it. ” Finally you go home and stay up all night worrying that maybe the onlay slipped out of position, or expanded too much from the glue while in the press. Stay tuned for fancy leather bindings, an austere existential rebinding and maybe some fun repair projects.

NBSS in Felt and Wire

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:18:35 -0400

NBSS in Felt and Wire

German Lapped Component ”The Ugly Little Duder” For...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:13:47 -0400

German Lapped Component ”The Ugly Little Duder”

For more info go here

http://henryhebert.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/german-paper-bindings-the-lapped-component/

I know, I know - it’s been forever but school is keeping...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:08:00 -0400

I know, I know - it’s been forever but school is keeping me way too busy to even think about computers and blogs. But I promise I have a bunch of photos to share. I am going to try and keep the next few posts from being too technical. Here is a photo album I completed a few months ago. The structure is called a split board binding, or a variation on a library style binding. It is not a very refined structure but it is built like a tank. It has a much stronger board attachment than the case binding structures we have been doing up until now. The sections are stubbed, as you can see in the photo, so that when pictures are added it does not bulge at the foredge and stress the spine. ~~This book is for sale. It is currently in the school’s gallery, but if anyone is interested let me know.~~ Sold

Ira Glass

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:55:45 -0500

Ira Glass

We spent the last few months looking at variations on the theme...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:24:00 -0500

We spent the last few months looking at variations on the theme of case binding. We looked at different endpapers, headbands, covering styles and so on. Our assignment here was to make a set showing all the different features. I found this assignment very helpful as a way of understanding when the different features are useful and most efficient. I also very much enjoyed thinking through production methods trying to figure how to get this done without spinning my wheels too much. I think I am just now realizing, while I dont particularly care for the case binding, it is a very important structure in the development of my skill.