NKJV Thinline Rebound by McSpadden Bookbindery

Nick Potratz recently purchased an thinline NKJV and sent it to McSpadden Bookbindery for a rebinding. Here, in his own words, are the results:

I was browsing the latest selection at my local Christian bookstore a month ago, and I came across this Thomas Nelson NKJV thinline reference. It had a brown imitation leather cover, but what really got my attention was the superior sewn binding. In fact, I was really surprised to discover that most of the low-priced Bibles that I looked at that night had sewn bindings! I think they are finally catching on that they need to offer quality bindings now, even in the low-end products. Maybe this website is partly to blame!

Above: Nick's rebound NKJV nestled between two R. L. Allan's editions -- the Ruby KJV on top, and an NIV on bottom, both in highland goatskin.

I also really liked the verse-by-verse layout, because I need this format while following along with teachings, as well as sermons at church. So I purchased the NKJV Bible ($24) with the full intention of having it rebound by McSpadden. I had seen the photos of the NASB New Testament that Alan Cornett sent in to Mark, and was impressed with the color of the caramel calfskin that they used.

I sent the Bible to Gayle and Corry McSpadden the very next day, and then called them three days later to discuss options. Gayle was nice enough to send me 12 samples (nice size pieces too!) of different color calfskins they have so that I could be certain what I was getting! So I finally decided to go with what appeared to be the same caramel color that was used on the NASB NT. It was a hard choice between that and a gorgeous blood red with the same grain, but I decided to save that color for another project!

I specified raised bands, two gold ribbons, full-yapp covers ("turned edge" they call it), and "Holy Bible - NKJV" stamping on the spine. Gayle was very friendly and patient with me, as I no doubt seemed rather wishy-washy and annoying over the phone. Two weeks later, I received my Bible in the mail, sent USPS Priority.

I couldn't have been happier with the result. The quality of the work was immediately apparent as soon as I pulled it out of the bubble-wrap that it was covered in. The yapp wasn't as full as I had wanted, but I suppose it is better this way because the contrast of the gold gilding against the rich brown/caramel color of this leather is striking. The grain on this leather is absolutely beautiful. The color of the paper is actually a slight cream color also, which contrasts very nice with the gold stamping/gilding/ribbons and rich brown of the leather.

The lining used is a very strong synthetic material, and it is very strongly bonded to the cover - this is not going to peel away at the edges as can be expected from most other Bibles nowadays, including all the Cambridge Bibles that I have purchased lately. This is not the usual cheapo stuff most Bible manufacturers use. I was a little surprised at how stiff the covers are, but I actually like it because it allows me to hold the Bible with one hand and have both pages laid out for ease of reading (as can be seen in one of the photos I've provided). But at the same time, the cover is very flexible in its ability to open and drop down to the ground (again as demonstrated in one of the photos). I suppose you could request a thinner board to be used under the lining, but I didn't specify anything in that area.

Above: The "hinge."

Corry even went out of his way to reinforce the stitching of the Bible. The spine was a little tight at first, but with some work pressing the signatures apart in the middle, it loosened right up. He also uses a unique "hinge" apparatus as can be seen on the inside of the covers (presented in one of the photos), a little piece of the lining folded over on itself and bonded to the spine and endsheets. This, the McSpaddens explain, allows the Bible to open up without putting any pressure on the textblock, ensuring long-life of the binding and limpness of the cover. Truly excellent craftsmanship.

Thank you so much Mark for your website.  May the knowledge and interest in fine Bibles and bindings be spread far and wide!

And thank you, Nick, for sharing the results of your project.

Coda
After I posted Brian Fox's NET Bible rebind photos yesterday, Nick chimed in with a comment about his own Bible that is worth repeating, since it relates to the stiffness of the rebound NKJV:

While I was impressed with the workmanship and appearance of the Bible, be forewarned that you will essentially have your Bible turned into a hardback if you go with McSpadden. That was my beef with the rebind: a thin sheet of beautiful leather glued over super stiff boards and plastic lining. Don't even think about doing yoga with it, either.

I'm sorry to hear this. Hopefully with use some flexibility will be restored -- but of course, thick boards aren't going to thin themselves out. Why is it that so many rebinders focus on the stiff, over-engineered product? I have a two-fold theory. First, most of the info out there about bookbinding concerns the restoration of antiquarian hardcovers, so an aspiring craftsman looking for training related specifically to the classic "limp" Bible might have a hard time finding it. Second, the rebinding market emerged in response to Bibles wearing out, so delivering a drum-tight, indestructible rebind might have been seen as a virtue. Having a new Bible rebound for reasons of quality and aesthetics seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, I don't know of a single rebinder who specializes in the limp Bible. Our little community desperately needs one.

Comments

[Michael]

Those are really nicely done. What did the ruby NKJV cost to have done? And are the books being rebound or just recovered?

[Nick Potratz]

Michael,
The Ruby is the small black KJV Bible on top of the NKJV I had rebound. It was $79 for the leather I believe, and with the extra cost for raised bands it came out to $112 total.

[Michael Metts]

Did they rebind it for that much also?

[Nick Potratz]

The total cost (with return shipping charges) was about $120 US for the entire rebind.

[Nick Potratz]

The total cost (with return shipping charges) was about $120 US for the entire rebind.

[Brian Fox]

Nick,

Your Bible is truly beautiful. I hope God blesses you as you use your new Bible. At this point, I have 3 McSpadden rebinds. The boards could be described as stiff, but that doesn't prevent them from opening easily and staying open. Your review makes that very clear, and I am very thankful that you took the time to take such great pictures, and compose such a well written review.

Brian Fox

[David Bonnet]

I disagree in part with the coda. I just had two bibles gilded and rebound by McSpadden and the crimson goatskin was very flexible, and the navy blue calfskin was limper still, and like liquid. I sent Mark the photos; I hope he received them.

[Nick Potratz]

It's not a matter of how flexible the leather is - the calfskin samples they sent me and the actual leather they rebound my Bible with was extremely thin (1/16th inch) and flexible, just like thin fabric. But they glue it directly to a thick piece of cardboard and then line it with a strong and stiff plastic lining material, so it's almost the same as a hardback. Perhaps they used different boards and such on your goatskin rebind. Can't wait to see the pics, though.

[Ben Ting]

Need help: Comparing font size of RL Alllan KJV Ruby to Cambridge Pitt Minion - Which one is more readable? Which one has a bigger font?

[Christian]

I think the Cambridge pitt minion has a more readable setting, but i prefer the Allan ruby , it has a good concordance and is smaller, and it is a real leather lining. It is my take along bible, perfect size and the full yapp edges is so wondeful, acctually i love this bible :-) the only thing is i wish it had more modern typeface(font) i love the new NKJV from cambridge, but other then that , if you can live with the font being "old" style, then go with the Ruby. It is about the same size.

[Nick Potratz]

I must honestly confess that the Ruby does not have the greatest print, in my opinion. Almost no two pages side-by-side have the same darkness of print - some pages are very light, others dark. And many letters on each page have little spots missing from them. The printing job could have been alot better. But the other features make up for it.

[Lee Miller]

This problem of uneven printing is rampant in Bible publishing . . . it's a mystery to me why the density of the ink can't be controlled for an even product. I have some Cambridge Bibles from pre-1960 and earlier, and I'd say the printing is close to excellent in that earlier era. But starting in the 1960s and 1970s something changed with printing technology--or printers simply lost interest in producing an excellent product.

It's particularly sad with some of the high-end Bibles (price-wise) from publishers like Cambridge--when the paper and binding are high quality it's a disappointment to see poor printing on the page.

I think the big publishers like Nelson and Zondervan are the worst, but bad printing is really everywhere.

Lee

[Alan]

The rebinding looks great. As soon as I saw the picture I thought, 'that looks familiar!' From the pics your binding looks a little cleaner than mine, but the main difference is that you started off with a good sewn binding. Great job!

[Jennifer]

Hello All- I am a traditional bookbinder and enjoyed reading your postings-- I worked with the McSpaddens for about 2 years-- I can tell you that his quality is out standing! I just wanted to correct or clear up the questions on the stiffness of some bibles-- Corry McSpadden DOES NOT use boards on bibles (unless requested a hard cover). There is only the lining and a piece of binding paper(similar to construction paper) and the leather. What makes it feel stiff is the leather itself-- how its tanned, what part of the cow hide it was cut from etc. The leather will soften over time and use. What a wonderful experience I had there and the knowledge will forever be with me. Have a great day!

[Lauren]

Is there a number or email to where I can call about rebinding a bible?

[Tony]

Lauren,
There are a number of rebinders to the right of the page that you can click on and it will direct you to their sites...Mechling and McSpadden are two good ones.

[Gayle McSpadden]

This is Gayle McSpadden from McSpadden Bookbindery. The one that is being mentioned and I just was reading and happened to look at the blogs and noticed that Nick Potratz had mentioned on August 15th about us gluing the leather for bibles directly to a thick piece of cardboard and then use stiff plastic lining material.
I have to tell you , I am the binders wife and work with this every single day. We have never, ever used cardboard and never glue our leather to cardboard, For bibles we use what is called flex paper and we have two different types, one is more flexible than the other. Also our bibles are lined with bible lining, (not plastic) It is a bookbinding fabric.
I wish when someone is talking about what we do , they would pick up the telephone and call us and ask questions about what we do, instead of going on the computer and saying that we use cardboard and making statements that they don't have a clue what we use or how we do it.
A person is always welcome to come to our shop in Shawnee, Oklahoma and watch us work for a while. WE HAVE NEVER EVER USED CARDBOARD. On our hardback books , we do use what is called a binders board, which has been used forever, clear back to the 1500's.
AND NO OUR BIBLES ARE NOT THE SAME AS A HARDBACK.
I am sorry, but when someone talks about what WE use and how we do it and don't have a clue how we do our work and has never seen us or watched us. I just want to let people know the truth as I am one of the bookbinders and people can call us 1-866-919-7788 and ask us questions.

[sarah]

Hey i love the leathers and the look that you have with the bibles, but i was wondering if you had any darker brown leathers and if you have any thinline or snap over bibles? I hate things dropping out of my bible and the thin ones fit in my bags easier.