Can we talk about how a $2 bone folder from a flea market in Tulsa beat my $30 one?
I was folding signatures for a rebind last Tuesday and grabbed the cheap plastic folder I got at a flea market in Tulsa just because it was closest to me. It creased cleaner than my fancy teflon one, no shine, no cracking on the spine. Now I'm wondering if I've been overthinking my whole tool setup this entire time. Does anyone else have a cheap tool that just works better than the expensive version?
The thing about cheap tools is they don't have anything to prove, so the maker just focuses on the shape working. Your $30 teflon folder probably has a coating that's supposed to stop sticking but ends up slick enough that it slides instead of biting into the paper. That flea market plastic one has a slightly rough edge that grabs the fold and presses it flat. There's also something to the wear on it, since a tool that's been used a bunch gets broken in the way a new one never is. Makes me want to hit up yard sales before I ever order from a craft store again.