Shoutout to the binder who called my corners 'sloppy' at the guild meetup

I was showing off a leather journal at our local guild meeting last month, feeling pretty good about it. An older binder, Sarah, picked it up, ran her thumb over a corner, and said, 'Your paring is off, the leather's too thick here and it's creating a bulge.' I was annoyed at first, but she was right. I went home and spent the next two weeks practicing on scrap, focusing on getting that taper perfect before the turn-in. My corners are now tight and crisp, no more lumpy edges. Anyone else have a piece of harsh advice that actually made your work better?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiesingh1d ago

Honestly, that's a solid lesson. I used to get so defensive about my edge painting, someone told me it looked like I'd just glooped it on. They were right, I was rushing the layers and not sanding between coats. Now I do super thin coats with a tiny brush and sand with like 800 grit paper in between. It takes forever but the finish is glassy smooth.

the_derek1d ago

Yeah, the "glassy smooth" finish is worth the extra time. I had to learn that the hard way too, @jamiesingh. Switched to a similar method with thin coats and it changed everything.