FAQs

My name is Kevin. I’m not a full-time rebinder—most rebinders have other jobs. I work full-time at my church as a Family & Youth Pastor and elder, a role I’ve held for over 15 years.

The best block to rebind is the one you want the most.

With that said, here are some things to consider:

For top quality construction + paper, Cambridge, Humble Lamb, R.L. Allan and Schuyler are the very best.

Crossway (e.g., Heirlooms; WM Ref; VBV Ref), Holman (e.g., Single Column VBV; Handcrafted Collection), Nelson (e.g., Maclaren Series; Premier Collection), and Lockman (e.g., Korea print LPUT, SCR, WM Ref) each have some blocks that have really good paper.

Generally speaking, I don’t recommend going cheap on your text block, unless you just love the setting or have sentimental reasons to rebind it.

In terms of construction, the best rebinds are a combination of the skill of the rebinder and the quality of all the materials, including the text block.

There are great Bible reviewers out there, too: Randy Brown (Bible Buying Guide), Tim Nickels (A Nickels Worth), Tim Wildsmith. Check them out to learn about just about every block that’s out there.

Edge-lining is a method where the Bible cover is glued directly to the edge of the book block using tabs from the liner. Another method, paste down, involves gluing an endsheet to both the liner and the book block. Edge-lined Bibles are more durable than paste down ones. All Redbird rebinds use edge-lining.

Yapp is “a form of bookbinding with a limp leather cover projecting to fold over the edges of the leaves, typically used for Bibles” (Oxford Languages). The term was coined in the late 19th century.

Functionally, trained generous or full yapp provides some protection to the gilding. I also think it looks great! Those are the reasons why you should want it. But, if it’s your custom Bible, make your order how you like it.

Glued binding Bibles use only glue on the spine to hold the pages together. Sewn binding Bibles have groups of pages sewn together, then the spine is glued. Sewn Bibles are stronger and last longer.

Hardcover Bibles are usually cheaper Bibles. They often have square page corners and no gold or colored edges. Changing a hardcover to a soft premium rebind means rounding the corners, strengthening the spine, and often adding color or speckles to the page edges. This takes more work, so it costs more.

My favorite leathers to work with are: Badalassi Carlo Waxy, Capra Granulosa, Derby, Minerva Box and Sokoto.

Allan’s Highland goatskin is an amazing Northwestern Nigeria style goatskin. These goatskins are deeply grainy and feel wonderful. The best Highland alternatives for rebinds, in my opinion, are Native and Sokoto. Each are like Highland in key ways; but each are also different in some way.

Yes, custom speckling is an option you can choose with a custom rebind order. I also highly recommend the work of Bezalel Book Art and Imperial Edges for speckled edges.

Not at this time.

We are not taking very worn Bibles right now. For old Bibles, try a restoration service. If you’re unsure if Redbird can rebind your Bible, please ask us.

Not right now. We usually use only the 10 leathers shown on our online order form.

We recommend the following, especially if you’re sending a premium or sentimental block:

Wrap the block in cardstock, then put it in a bubble envelope, then put it in a box. Fill any void with packing material. Then put the box in another box, filling any voids.

If the block is premium or sentimentally important to you, added insurance is recommended.

We are not responsible for blocks damaged or lost in transit.

If your rebind is more than 3 months away, you can cancel without a fee. Deposits are due 3 months before your rebind time. Deposits can’t be refunded or moved, so if you cancel less than 3 months before, you lose your deposit.