Most of you reading this blog know how much I love bookbinding equipment. One of the special things about this profession is all the extremely specialized tools and machinery we have at our disposal, when we can find it! And usually it seems to take care of itself, once you learn to use it properly. Acquiring a piece of old bookbinding equipment is like receiving a postcard from a simpler time– remove a little rust and a little tape goo, plug it in, and there you have it: a perfectly designed labor saver with steel and cast iron parts machined precisely to thousandths of an inch. Well, finally, it is my time to receive such a gift from the past. This very day with the help of my friends I un-shrinkwrapped a lovely, cherry-red Kensol. It is not (yet) as nice as some I’ve used, better than many others, but at last it is mine. Enjoy some pictures of the new baby and some other examples of titling I’ve done lately.
Bright red paint makes it heat up faster!
Setting brass type for heat stamping
First strike a little deep. so I make some height adjustments to the table
Now we’re starting to have some fun
Dos-a-dos (back-to-back in two parts, but bound together) Student Portfolio. The only font available that seemed appropriate was too small and narrow for this large field, so I used large spacers between each letter to make the words take up more space. The result is a modern, minimal appearance that complemented the student’s content nicely.
These were done with two dies, one in English and the other in Russian. Scarcely 4 mm tall, they had to line up exactly with each other, yet they were upside down from each other.
Leather labels: one stamped with type, the other with decorative leaves (done by hand)
Type was hand-set and stamped on a Kwikprint; all other decoration done with hand tools
Welcome to Book Island 
Can see you’re using white foils for at least some of it – any good suggestions as where to buy these foils? I’m not native English-speaking so I’m not sure what the correct term is (what to look for in web shops). I have a (lot) smaller piece of machinery – that I would love to use more :o)
Hi there! I buy my foil from the Kwikprint company in Jacksonville, Florida: http://www.kwik-print.com/supplies.html#2
Another favorite US supplier of mine who has foil is Ernest Schaefer in New Jersey:http://www.ernestschaeferinc.com/catalog_i6691919.html?catId=383902
Both of these companies have been in the business for many, many years, and have excellent customer service, so call or email them if you have any questions.
In the UK I would order from Hewit: http://www.hewitonline.com/category_s/51.htm
In France there is Relma, though I can’t tell from their website if they carry foil:http://www.relma.fr/pages/17achome.html I would just email them and ask.
I’m sure there are lots of great suppliers in Germany that would have foil, but I’m not as familiar with the German-speaking world of bookbinding. I would contact the Centro del bel Libro Ascona for information: http://www.cbl-ascona.ch/index.html
So lovely! Congrats Juliayn!
This is way more helpful than anyhitng else I’ve looked at.