Bookbinding 101: Hole Punching Tools

For making largish holes in leather and book board you can use a hollow punch (shown at left), which has a sharpened tube shaped hole on one end, and a flat head on the other end. Ours has replaceable tips for different size holes, but some hollow punches come in sets with a different punch for a different size hole.

To make a hole, place something underneath your material, something soft but dense, such as a scrap of book board, or an old phone book or catalog. Make sure it's thick enough to allow the punch to go into without going all the way through. You may also wish to avoid punching holes anywhere that if it does go all the way through it won't leave a hole where you don't want one (kitchen table, etc).

Next, place the hollow end of the punch on your material where you want a hole, hold the punch vertical, and hit the flat head with a hammer. Hit it hard. Repeat as needed. It can be a chore, but, as it requires wielding a hammer, it can also be satisfying.

Crop-A-Dile I

Nowadays we use a Crop-A-Dile, which speeds things up considerably, doesn't wake the neighbors, and makes the chore of punching a lot of holes less of a chore. However, just like getting a dishwasher after washing by hand, it doesn't take long before the ease of doing dishes, or punching holes, becomes a chore again. Cure: use the hollow punch and hammer to punch a lot of holes, then the Crop-A-Dile becomes a dream to use again.

The Crop-A-Dile comes in three flavors, designated by a I, II, or III, only two of which are for hole punching. (The Crop-A-Dile III, or Main Squeeze, is not for hole punching, but for die cutting, embossing, attaching corners and setting squeeze tabs. What's a squeeze tab?)

Crop-A-Dile II

The Crop-A-Dile I (original) and II (or Big Bite) both punch holes of two sizes, 1/8", and  3/16". They also set snaps and eyelets, which is handy. The main advantage of the Big Bite is it has a 6" reach, while the original can only punch 1" from the edge of your material. The great majority of our holes are punched with the original, but sometimes we need that 6" reach.

There is one style of book, a quasi-longstitch, for which we use the Crop-A-Dile I to punch holes in signatures (a group of pages). But, for most styles of books we use an awl for this job. However, it could be used to punch holes in pages of other book styles too. Just depends on what you like.

With our Crop-A-Dile I we have punched tens thousands of holes in book board and leather. And it's still going strong.

Japanese screw punch

Another tool is the Japanese screw punch. Some bookbinders really love it. It looks much like a hollow punch, but instead of hitting it hard, you push down, and as you push, it twists on a screw, increasing its punching power.

Leather hole punch

One final hole making tool is a leather hole punch. We don't use one, but only because we don't have one, and only because we have a Crop-A-Dile.


Anything to add to the discussion? Please leave a comment.

Bookbinding 101: Needles

We use two kinds of needles, straight and curved (we'll teach you how to make your own curved later in this post). Which one we use depends on the book structure we're working on. Curved needles work very well when sewing a coptic stitch, while a straight needle works great on a long stitch. You can make either book with either kind of needle, but we find it much easier using curved for coptic, which we find also allows for the binding to be tighter, and we find it less awkward to use straight needles on something like a longstitch.

The curve allows you to "hook" around as you are sewing. The photo at right should get the idea across.

Curved needles are pricier in the U.S. than are straight needles, at least as far as we've found. However, for those in the U.K., Shepherds Falkiners sells straight and curved for the same price. Not sure what the sizing numbers mean over at Shepherds, but in the U.S. we use the darning #1, which we use for sewing 3-ply (3 cord) linen thread and as thick as 6-ply. In the U.S., both straight and curved needles are available at Hollanders and Talas.

You can also make your own curved needles out of straight ones. How to do this is explained after the jump.


To make your own curved needles, you just need a candle, and two needle nose pliers.

Holding the needle with pliers on both ends, bend it ever so slightly as the needle starts to heat up. It only takes a few seconds.

An angle that is slightly larger than 90 degrees works well. Remember that the needle will be hot, so place it on a heat-resistant surface to cool down once you've bent it to the angle you'd like.

The needle will have soot on it so remember to clean it off with soap and water before using it to sew your nice clean pages.

A little trick to help in pulling the needle and thread through a tight hole is to grab the needle with a balloon. We keep a bag of water balloons on hand for just that purpose. That's unfilled water balloons, in case you were wondering (you never know). You may also find it useful to use a pair of small needle nose to pull the needle through.

Anything to add to the discussion? Please leave a comment.

Book Art Workshops
Los Angeles, CA

May 7 - 12, 2012

Workshop details

For 2 weeks only or until spaces are filled, purchase the entire week (6 days, 8 workshops) for only $550!

To purchase, please click the button immediately below - offer ends April 14th:

Central Utah Art Center Book Art Classes

Upcoming Classes in April + May
Central Utah Art Center
86 North Main StreetEphraim, UT

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        Antiquing Paper + Leather

April 21, 2012

                                           Noon - 3pm

Create beautiful old looking books with new materials. Old books are lovely but most often are not sturdy. This workshop will show you how to antique the materials you work with to create an old world look on your newly bound books. Each student will have the opportunity to create small examples of different antiques to use for future reference as well as learn a variety of paper antiquing techniques.

Students need to bring the basic tool kit but everything else is provided!


Basic tool kit: Scissors, Pencil, Metal edged Ruler, Bonefolder, 1" flat brush for glue, Bookbinding Awl, X-acto type craft knife with extra blades and a Cutting Mat or old magazine to cut on

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Exposed Stitch Books

April 28, 2012

10am - 4pm

Celebrate the diversity of spines by creating 3 books in this 6 hour workshop! Accordion Spine Hardcover Book, Anne Goye's Secret Belgium Binding and the Double Needle Ethiopian Coptic Stitch.

Students need to bring a sack lunch and the basic tool kit but everything else is provided!

Basic tool kit: Scissors, Pencil, Metal edged Ruler, Bonefolder, 1" flat brush for glue, Bookbinding Awl, X-acto type craft knife with extra blades and a Cutting Mat or old magazine to cut on




Purchase the class for $60 now through Paypal by adding it to your cart or email KarleighJae@gmail.com to register and pay via mail/in-person.

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Cord Bound Books 

May 19, 2012

10am - 4pm

Create a Traditional Quarter Leather Cordbound Book using modern methods and tools. The cordbound book dates back to the 5th century and were introduced when Byzantium monks established their first scriptorium, Byblos, in modern Lebanon. The Arabs were the ones to bring this style to life with all sorts of decorative work, gorgeous gold embossing and clasp closures. They still make the most wonderful cordbound books in the world. With your choice of leather and papers from around the world, you’ll create and keep your own cordbound book.

Students need to bring both a sack lunch and the basic tool kit. Everything else is provided!

Basic tool kit to bring: Scissors, Pencil, Metal edged Ruler, Bonefolder, 1" flat brush for glue, Bookbinding Awl, X-acto type craft knife with extra blades and a Cutting Mat or old magazine to cut on


Purchase the class for $55 now through Paypal by adding it to your cart or email KarleighJae@gmail.com to register and pay via mail/in-person.

Bookbinding 101: Awls

An awl is used for poking holes in paper and leather (two alternatives are mentioned at the end of this post). There are a few book structures that don't require holes for sewing, but most do, and an awl is one simple tool that does the job well.

What we like is an awl that makes a hole about the size of a needle with thread on it. We also prefer that the diameter, or width, of the awl's "needle" is uniform along the length (except for the pointed tip). This allows us to punch as far in as we wish without being concerned about the hole getting bigger the further we poke through. See photo above.

Some awls (example at right) have a point that keeps getting fatter the further you get away from the point. When using this type of awl for poking holes in pages for sewing, it takes extra care not to punch too far, because the further this style of awl goes into the paper, the bigger the hole will be. With too big of a hole, the binding may be loose in some book structures. Also, a largish hole may or may not not be the look you're going for.

With this style of awl, it may also be difficult to make the holes of a uniform size, as the hole size changes depending on how deep you punch in. One way to solve this is to wrap a piece of masking tape around the awl point, marking a line on the awl point that indicates how far you want to punch in. However, it's often not so much of a concern when poking holes in leather, as the leather is more resilient and may "shrink" back down a bit. The hole is still bigger, but it can close up a bit, and may not visibly look larger.

While an awl isn't very costly, it can be even cheaper if you make your own. At left is one we made with a wooden peg, a drilled hole into the end, and a needle stuck in the hole with a dab of glue to help it hold in. Not as strong as the others, but gets the job done.

Corrugated cardboard is a tool of sorts we use with an awl, placing it under our pages or leather as we punch holes. It allows the awl to poke through deeper than just the point. Alternatively, you can use an open phone book as a "cradle" in which you place pages to punch them. There are also commercial cradles available, or you can make your own out of wood or bookboard.

Some alternatives to an awl include a Crop-A-Dile or a saw. A Crop-A-Dile makes large holes, and will be discussed in an upcoming post. A saw is used for making holes in pages for sewing, and requires a means of clamping the pages together, such as a lying or finishing press. A photo of Jeff Peachey "sawing sewing stations into his text block" may be found here.

Anything to add to the discussion? Please leave a comment.