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The Binding of The Darkness
I
wanted to bind TDTCB, and thought the most economical way would be to do it myself. After many hours of research I decided it would cost too much to get the required tools and that not having an expert involved would likely make this turn out miserably. So since that didn't work out, I decided the next best thing was to get lessons. Below are the results of the process.
Beginning at the end, behold:
Full Album: The Binding of The Darkness that Comes BeforeDay 0: Its best to begin at the beginningFirst edition, first print, mint condition, cover in protective mylar.... It never stood a chance.
http://i.imgur.com/adXLlhK.jpghttp://imgur.com/XryJ2h3http://imgur.com/f6eFudGDay 1: MurderWhat remains after you cut off the covers and rip out the spine. The heart and the mind remain, to be reborn.
http://i.imgur.com/AUckxRe.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Sd1jhIx.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/kNsaLGq.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/sRpVN0R.jpgDay 2: BoredBoards pre-shaping. basically just flat, dense binder's board. Lots of sanding. Not an exciting day.
http://i.imgur.com/exjlrCK.jpgWe also replaced the spine, made a hinge (the black material on the sides) which will help it open nicely, and glued in the end sheets.
http://i.imgur.com/kmUemmE.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/2foouNA.jpgDay 3: We Can RebuildBoards attached. The all important text block now has some protection against those that would harm it. The cutout is where the label and artwork will end up, it creates a slight divot the thickness of a sheet of paper, hopefully making a very smooth transition from cover leather to label leather.
http://i.imgur.com/pbXQYBQ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/MANinhL.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/ClX6EpG.jpgDay 4: Rise and Rise againWitness, the leather is now in place, the book is almost done. The blind tooling (those squares on the front/back) is where the artwork will be.
http://i.imgur.com/oA0SOBq.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/RYSKjuB.jpgDay 4.5: To Die ForGot the hot foil stamps, aka dies, made. One for the front, one for the back. These are 11pt magnesium plates that measure about 4''x6''. The last picture is them sitting on the old boards.
http://i.imgur.com/D1b1qo4.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/bpgDot3.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/AfsqB5w.jpgDay 5: Bound and GluedBook is nearing completion. Today I affixed the book's hinge, that was previously glued to some pages of the text block, onto the cover, and set in some paper to smooth out the transition from leather to board. Basically another day for cutting and gluing. This can probably now be considered "a book", or pretty damn close. All that is left for the inside is gluing in one final sheet to make it look pretty when you open it.
http://i.imgur.com/RYSKjuB.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/oA0SOBq.jpgDay 6: FinalFinally found someone to finish this up. Here it is:
http://i.imgur.com/qOCSUE5.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/SHyjJ0v.jpgI will accept orders for those who think they'd like this done. Originally I thought that I would be able to do it myself, but this may not be the case. However, now that I have a relationship with a local binder, and she has an understanding of exactly what this will take, the price will likely be better than anything you could find on your own.
Quality, materials, and complexity drive up the price, and I used the most premium leather I could find and the artwork for the front/back came at a hefty cost.
For those willing to have me try to attempt one for you, I'll give you a cheaper cost, but I can't promise it'll be the highest quality thing you've ever seen.
For starters, I'd definitely go with more reasonably priced leather. Faux leather is neigh indistinguishable from the real thing, and I found that some binders don't even bother telling you its faux leather unless you specifically ask.
This book, finished, probably cost me upwards of $1200 for time and materials. It should have been closer to $800 but with the change in binders I encountered some additional expenses. It took nearly 5 years from start to finish, and was worth every penny of cost and hour of time spent.
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I *should* be able to make 1 person a nearly identical copy of this for ~$1000. PM me if you are curious. It will probably take 6 months to complete. - SOLD - For those curious, it turned out really well with the new binder.
In addition, I am looking into more affordable options closer to the $100 - $200 price range. New binder said he should be able to do something similar for $400. About half of the price difference from my original is because of using different leather, the other half is this place is just way cheaper than the last place. If $400 is closer to your sensibilities, send me a PM or email.
Still thinking about a $100 option, probably involving faux leather if I can figure out the possibility of laser etching it.
In all cases, interest/orders would provide me with a reason to expedite the process and will yield faster results if you want a book.