Corner protectors for your book covers?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Over on the Shadowdark Facebook group, there's a bunch of people talking about putting little metal corner protectors on the cover of their hardcovers. Is this a thing people do, and I somehow missed?

Back in the day, I remember people putting on old paper bag book covers on the 1E books, which weren't terribly well bound and got a ton of use, but it would never have occurred to me to put metallic corner protection on modern RPG books.

Is this something you're all secretly doing and no one told me? (I mean, I know some of your secrets, like the thing you do when you're alone in the car. Also, gross.)

 

[R_J_K75]

Over on the Shadowdark Facebook group, there's a bunch of people talking about putting little metal corner protectors on the cover of their hardcovers. Is this a thing people do, and I somehow missed?

No clue about corner protectors, but I did notice last night while playing that the Shadowdark book binding doesn't look like it is to sturdy. It's the first time I've used it at the table, and I don't think it's going to make it for the long haul. I could be wrong but seems like it will start to fall apart under even moderate use.

 

[aco175]

I mean, I guess. Mine never get that beat up, even in the older editions. They do give a bit of specialness.

I do recall using the paper bags on my school books in elementary school. Gave up something to draw on but did not protect them.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

No clue about corner protectors, but I did notice last night while playing that the Shadowdark book binding doesn't look like it is to sturdy. It's the first time I've used it at the table, and I don't think it's going to make it for the long haul. I could be wrong but seems like it will start to fall apart under even moderate use.

It's a Smyth-sewn binding. If it's falling apart, that's a defective copy that Kelsey will replace.

 

[R_J_K75]

It's a Smyth-sewn binding. If it's falling apart, that's a defective copy that Kelsey will replace.

It's not falling apart as of yet. I'm not a book binder so I can't tell one type of binding from another and if a Smyth-sewn binding is a superior binding than most I'll take your word for it. I just noticed that no matter what page I turned to I could see the binding between the pages and I felt like I had to handle it more carefully than with other books. I think I mentioned this about the Modern AGE books in another thread, so perhaps this is a newer binding style than I'm used to seeing and actually more durable than I think.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's a sewn binding that is intended to last decades. That said, screw-ups do happen and you might have gotten a defective copy. If it looks like it's falling apart, email Kelsey @ ArcaneLibrary.com with pictures; she's been personally intervening on issues with the books.

 

[R_J_K75]

It's a sewn binding that is intended to last decades. That said, screw-ups do happen and you might have gotten a defective copy. If it looks like it's falling apart, email Kelsey @ ArcaneLibrary.com with pictures; she's been personally intervening on issues with the books.

Thanks, I'll see how it holds up over the next few months. Maybe it just needs to be broken in a bit and also a case of me not knowing exactly what I'm looking at.

 

[MNblockhead]

Back in the 80s this was a lot more common. I bought metal corner protectors for all of my hardcover books after a lent my 1e DMs guide to a friend and it came back with all the corners smashed in, bent, and splitting. I've always been protective of my books.

Since I've gotten back into TTRPGs back in 2014/15, I've never bought any corner protectors, but I don't lend out my books. Also, I came to rely on D&D Beyond when running my games, so my books don't get the heavy use I put my game books through as a teenager in the 80s.

 

[el-remmen]

But the wear and tear is part of the history of the book! I don't try to beat up my books and tend to keep pretty good care of them (though I do write in them), but when they eventually do get a little beat up it makes it feel more like its mine.

 

[tetrasodium]

Over on the Shadowdark Facebook group, there's a bunch of people talking about putting little metal corner protectors on the cover of their hardcovers. Is this a thing people do, and I somehow missed?

Back in the day, I remember people putting on old paper bag book covers on the 1E books, which weren't terribly well bound and got a ton of use, but it would never have occurred to me to put metallic corner protection on modern RPG books.

Is this something you're all secretly doing and no one told me? (I mean, I know some of your secrets, like the thing you do when you're alone in the car. Also, gross.)

I remember getting something like those from the school store for textbooks fairly cheap one year way back. Sounds like an impulse buy from office Depot or Amazon and am excuse to talk about a thing someone thought felt cool to use