Rebinders Breathe New Life Into Battered Bibles

Even in these digital days of Bible apps, many treasure holding the Word of God in their hand.  These keepsakes can range from your very first Bible or one handed down through the generations.  Depending on age and use, however they can wear out. That's where artisans step in to restore these personal treasures.

Like many of us, David Duncan recalls loved ones whose Bible served as their most prized possession. 

"Growing up, my mom, always had her white King James Bible," he told CBN News. 

In it, she recorded generations of family births, marriages, and deaths.

"My whole life growing up, that was the Bible that I remembered my mom carrying, and my mom using," David said, "And the Lord took her home, it'll be 17 years this coming December."

David especially enjoys seeing his own childhood scribbles in it. 

"Being a good mom, I think she let me draw over her notes on one page," he said. 

When the cover fell off, David took it to Daniel Thrailkill at Logos Rebinding for restoring.  Thrailkill told CBN News why he named his business "Logos." 

"'Logos' is in the book of John. 'The word became flesh," he explained, "'Logos became flesh and made his dwelling among us.' The thing that I'm rebinding is the word of the Lord, and of course, His word endures forever, so it's something special to work on always."

Daniel seeks to glorify God through his Bible rebinding. 

"If your Bible's falling apart, it can definitely be a tough thing," he said. 

Made the Old-Fashioned Way

As an artist, Daniel does almost everything by hand, starting with repairing the pages, then removing the outside.

"I actually cut out the Bible," he said, "We call it the Bible 'block'. So the pages itself is called a 'block,' and I cut that out of the old cover." 

He reinforces the spine, adds custom ribbons, then fashions the new cover.  He is able to use exotic materials like ostrich and python.

"I've also used shark skin, and that's a fun one to use. It's very interesting," Daniel laughed. 

However, most customers prefer goatskin or cowhide. 

So the goatskins I use are, some of my favorites are ones called Sokoto goatskin. It comes from Sokoto region of Africa," he said, "And the cowhide I use, it's called Badalassi Carlo, which is an Italian leather. It's kind of got this waxy, almost marbled look to it that people really like."

Daniel prefers super-soft lambskin for the inside cover. 

He hand-chisels tiny holes around the perimeter of the cover.  Customers choose the thread color that Daniel then hand-stitches around the border.  Despite the beauty of the finished product, Daniel says the last thing he wants is for his Bibles to sit on the shelf.  So, he tells his customers the best way to show their appreciation is by reading it as often as possible.

"I definitely tell people, 'Don't abuse it, but use it,'" he said, "'Don't just let it sit.'" 

The only modern piece of equipment Daniel uses is an electrically heated stamp machines to emboss words like, "Holy Bible" on the cover, or names, scriptures such as "The Lord Is My Shepherd" and designs like the Alpha and Omega. 

"It can definitely be a meaningful thing for the right people," he said. 

In addition to his mother's white, King James Bible, David also cherishes other family Bibles, such as his late grandfather's old preaching Bible. 

"I think there's maybe 15 or 16 sermons that have been typed on Bible paper and inserted into the inner liner of the Bible in such a way that when you close the Bible you can't tell there's extra pages in there," he said. 

Sometimes customers ask Daniel to restore their own, personal Bibles that have special meaning, such as the ones used when the person first came to Christ or one that helped them endure hard times.

Making New Keepsakes

While Daniel rebinds lots of old Bibles almost half of his business involves rebinding new ones that were just purchased, for people who want to create new, personalized, family heirlooms, something David is taking advantage of for future generations.

"The Lord has been so kind. All of our children are believers," he said, "So when certain blocks come out that I know this is a block I want to have, I want to use, I want to mark it up, and they can go back and see what was going on in dad's life, in the life of our family where he was taking solace in the scripture."

With Bible rebinding surging in popularity nationwide, Daniel has a long waiting list.

Meanwhile, more people are also choosing electronic versions of the Bible, like the CBN Bible App.  It's a convenient way to always have the word of God right at your fingertips.

Research shows Americans under age 60 report using digital Bibles nearly half of the time.  

And while all Bible reading can improve our spiritual health, research shows comprehension is six to eight times better with physical books compared to digital.

So while some might gravitate toward the convenience of reading scripture on a phone, others find nothing can replace that keepsake of paper, ink, and leather, which in many cases only increases in value.