My hand-sewn spine vs a glued spine on a repair job last weekend

I tried glue on a 1920s journal and it cracked within two hours... switched to sewing it back and the thing feels solid as a rock. Has anyone else had glue fail on older paper like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianawilson10h agoMost Upvoted

Try pre-wetting the spine first @robin896, lets the glue bite into brittle old paper.

robin89612h ago

Did you try any kind of prep on the paper before the glue?

the_felix20h ago

Wait, you said the glue cracked within TWO HOURS? That's insane lol. I've had older paper suck up PVA like a sponge before but never had it fail that fast. Those old 1920s pages are probably so brittle the glue just sits on top instead of soaking in right. I bet the sewing holds up way better long term cause you're not fighting the paper's natural stiffness.