Hot take: I finally tried wheat paste instead of PVA on a rebind and the hinge came out flexier

Henry Hart · 2026-10-19T18:25:03.896328+00:00

I've been using PVA on every spine I've done for about 4 years, but a binder at a meetup in Lansing kept going on about wheat paste for the hinge area. So I mixed up a small batch and used it on a beat up 1930s dictionary I was rebinding, and the joint opened way smoother than my usual glue job. I think the slower dry time gave me more room to work the spine into place, idk. Anyone here run paste on hinges for real books or do you save it for repairs only?

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Hot take: I finally tried wheat paste instead of PVA on a rebind and the hinge came out flexier | Bookbinders - Topic Shares