Quick working is an advantage of the Offenbach knife, which is due to the fact that less attention need be given to holding the leather on the stone and paring proceeds from left to right, the left hand at the same time helping to push the knife. The Berlin make pares from right to left; here the blade is held almost parallel to the edge of the leather, the point of the knife inclining to the leather; with the other the edge is cut over slantingly with the point outwards.

To use the French knife requires more practice; the cutting edge is almost at right angles to the knife, and, besides, the method of holding it is somewhat unusual. For paring all thick leathers or large surfaces it surpasses all other makes in execution. To make the leather more workable for paring it is previously manipulated, that is to say, it is turned flesh side outwards and rolled to and fro, whilst firm pressure is applied with the second and third fingers of the right hand, thus making it pliable.

In an ordinary bindery thin or split leathers are mostly used; these do not require very much paring, which is only necessary for pig skin and the finest morocco’s. The latter leather is narrowly pared about 2 to 3 mm. wide along the edge for half as well as for whole bindings. Only the back is pared the whole width, therefore 1 to 1 1/2 cm. has to be nicely gradated. Broken places, inequalities of the edge, or even holes to be filled in, greatly add to the difficulty of the work.

In the thicker skins also thick places often occur in the otherwise thin skins the joint must be thinned down. The packing is laid upon the wrong side of the leather and its position marked out with the folder. The leather is pared about 1 cm in width along this line, that is to say, it is pared so that 1/2-cm right and left along the mark the thickness of the leather is reduced.

As a rule, first class books are not provided with a cover made in advance, and even those described by publishers as "super extra" do not rise above morocco goat.

We have to do with the following leathers which are mostly used for the publishers' bindings: Goat skin (of oriental hybrid sheep), morocco goat, sheep skin (unsplit sheep skin), and split sheep skin for so called skivers. There is another goatskin, not Levanted, sold and used under the name" bastard" leather. "Levanting" means to imitate by pressing the grain natural to the skins from the Levant. Most kinds of our leather receive their grain by such process.

For whole leather bindings a narrow margin is pared down all round the edges, the turn in at the back is pared just as much as is necessary, and also at the corners. The leather corners are cut slantwise at the outset, and the paring is done so that the thinning begins exactly at the edge of the board.

In leather bindings the board, as well as the back packing, is glued on, rubbed down, and the edges then pasted and turned in, the leather is rubbed down sharply in the joint, the back, and on the edges; but a folder must never be used on the leather covering the board itself.

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