Appreciation post: My cheap bone folder vs my expensive one

Been using a plastic bone folder for years, figured the $35 Teflon one I bought last week would be way better. But my old $3 one from a craft store actually folds smoother on the spine. Anyone else stick with the cheap stuff for certain steps?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.quinn18h ago

I actually snapped a cheap plastic bone folder in half last year trying to force a stubborn crease on a thick leather cover. That never happened with my old metal folder I got from a garage sale for 50 cents. The metal one leaves a slightly different finish on the paper though, a bit shinier like you burnished it, which some people hate but I actually like for certain projects. So maybe the real question isn't cheap vs expensive but what material you actually want touching your paper. I keep all three around now because each one does something slightly different to the surface.

logan_mitchell6d ago

Nah, I gotta disagree here. My cheap plastic bone folder always leaves these faint little scratches on my paper covers after a while, and the edge gets dinged up fast. The Teflon one glides way smoother for me, especially when I'm doing tight creases on book cloth or tricky endpapers. Maybe it depends on your paper stock though. I've had a $3 folder that worked great for certain projects, but for the heavy duty stuff the Teflon one saves me from tearing the material.

aaron_mitchell6d ago

Those little scratches drive me nuts too. My cheap one from Hobby Lobby lasted maybe three projects before it got all chewed up.