Sherlock Holmes two-book hardcover set
This project was the first one I took at La tranchefile. It was the restoration of a two-volume hardcover set of the complete stories of Sherlock Holmes. It was in a pitiful state, bearing water stains on the covers, some torn pages and was generally looking quite battered. I started by completely dismantling the book, preserving the original spine lettering and cover pages (that were later used to complete the front and back covers).
The folio pages were trimmed and glued back together, then bound in cloth-covered cardboard. I’m really proud of how this came out, seeing as it was my first attempt. It’s a really strange experience to bash a book with a hammer and then take sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges of the pages. Now granted, paper is basically a wood-fiber product, but still, it’s not your day-to-day experience.
Split-open hardcover memo pad
This was the second project I did. I originally saw something similar at Omer deSerre for a ridiculous price, and shoddy workmanship. I decided to try my hand at making some for myself. I ended up making two (and gave one to someone without taking a picture first, d’oh!). The worst part was figuring out the angles to cut and fold the paper to cover the cardbord backings. The hinges are gray cloth, and the paper was bought at a wonderful paper store on Fairmount, near St-Laurent.