That old bookbinders trick I thought was just myth

I was at a local library sale last Saturday flipping through this beat up 1920s novel when I overheard an older guy tell his friend that you can tell a real leather binding by licking your finger and rubbing it. I'd heard that before but always figured it was some old wives tale. So I tried it on a couple books there and yeah, the one I thought was leather smelled totally different than the fake stuff. It got me thinking about how many little tips like that we lose over time. My grandpa was a bookbinder back in the 50s and he had all these weird tricks with bone folders and glue pots that I never wrote down. Now I wish I had paid more attention. Anyone else ever pick up some obscure tip from an old timer that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_holly16d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on that "tapping on knuckles" thing. That actually sounds like one of those watchmaker tall tales they tell new guys to mess with them, like how mechanics used to send apprentices for a left-handed wrench. I bet your uncle was just showing off and you've been convincing yourself you hear things ever since. With the bookbinder thing though, you're not tasting the leather, you're smelling it. When you lick your finger and rub leather, the moisture brings out that animal hide smell because real leather releases tannins and oils. Faux leather just smells like plastic or nothing at all. Your uncle might have been legit, but tapping watches on knuckles feels like something you do to look mysterious at parties more than a real diagnostic trick.

morgan89815d ago

@the_holly has a point, but tapping can work if you already know the watch.

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webb.ben16d ago

Man my uncle was a watchmaker and he had this thing where he'd tap a pocket watch on his knuckle and could tell if it was running right just from the sound. I thought he was full of it until I tried it myself one day. Turns out different metals and movements have this tiny little ring to them when they're out of whack. Its wild how much stuff like that gets passed down and nobody writes it down. I still don't get how bookbinders knew leather by taste though, thats a new one on me.