How a Leatherbound Book is Made | Dragonsteel

Get the Words of Radiance leatherbound here: www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...
Team Dragonsteel takes a tour of Bindtech to find out how our leatherbound books are made.
#howitsmade #brandonsanderson #saythewords #books #cosmere
Chapters
(0:00) - What is a book?
(4:06) - Touring Bindtech
(17:01) - Creating Beautiful Books

[@omegaminoseer4539]

Bindtech's owner saying how Brandon Sanderon's Dragonsteel helped the workers keep their jobs was so precious. There was something completely pure about how much respect he gives for the decades of support Brandon and his team have given.

[@illusions97]

This is EXACTLY the kind of content I adore. Thank you to the Dragonsteel team for making this incredible behind the scenes video!

[@user-gv9tt2hx6p]

Think of it more about this content, and how you love here leather bound book that cost so much of your saved up money. You’re also just absolutely doing so many horrible things to the environment as well. Just stop stop stop stop stop

[@rmsgrey]

@@user-gv9tt2hx6p How many mass-produced paperbacks does it take to match the environmental impact of a leather-bound? How about ebook versions? Of course, every read of an ebook consumes more resources, so you need to consider lifetime reads of one, and if someone's using a dedicated device, then that cost needs to be considered too (using an app on a device you'd have anyway, you can ignore the device's cost, but not the app's). How do environmental costs compare per dollar spent?

[@iNoMadv]

Fully agree just very fun to see this transparency from Brandon and his team. Always nice to feel like they actually do this AND they like the product.

[@DeedlyDood]

@@user-gv9tt2hx6p Doesn't cost much. Not a large impact. Poor education strikes again.

[@nazimelmardi]

@@user-gv9tt2hx6p or you stop using platforms like this. You think we store data as KZbin on nothing? Data warehouses need cooling. That hurts the environment. Depends on user numbers. You are one of those. Log off.

[@NickMoresco]

Wow I knew it was an involved process to make, but showing the sheer amount of specialty machines required is really impressive.

[@TheIgle]

And the amount of hand work. Wow!

[@RobertFletcherOBE]

It means a hell of a lot to see you working with smaller businesses. It makes the product even more special to know that the books in such good hands.

[@hawkfu]

As someone who has recently gotten into book binding, this is a dream come true to see the process

[@sburbtube6766]

Even the process how animals are tortured and killed?

[@michaelrosa700]

Bro that’s so crazy I was about make this exact comment! I recently started bookbinding as well (specifically Sanderson books too) so it was so cool to see this process!!

[@hawkfu]

@@sburbtube6766 i use faux leather for my own stuff but just because it's cheaper.

[@hawkfu]

@@michaelrosa700 nice!! Yeah I saw someone on Reddit make their own leatherbounds and it inspired me. I've made a few with books from the thrift store but they're not quite to the quality I need for Stormlight yet but I'm getting there :)

[@WalterReade]

How did you learn? I'd be super interested.

[@chelseafrazier1175]

Love the leatherbounds. SHOW US THE STAINED GLASS IN THE BACKGROUND IN FOCUS THO!!!

[@_pandurata_]

I absolutely adore Jian Guo's art style and have some of their Middle Earth-inspired prints on my wall. An acual stained glass window from them would be an absolute dream....

[@DeedlyDood]

It's Brandon's home. It's quite beautiful.

[@aswinanil3390]

Sanderson, you sir. I’m genuinely happy for you, you are changing the industry in every way

[@Thehouseofwren]

The man explaining everything loves this! You can see it on his face.

[@karlsnilsson]

that big gold block and 9:24 and the room full of them at 16:42 are just about two of the coolest things ive ever seen

[@j.p.7309]

I haven’t been a field trip for a long time! Thank you!

[@MarinaMeoli]

Someone needs to do this for the wheel of time. It deserves true premium editions.

[@nietlasse5864]

I couldn’t agree more. My wallet though 😂 Imagine the cost of 14 leatherbounds 😂

[@stevet7522]

​@@nietlasse5864no cost is too high for perfection.

[@FragmentedTV]

@@nietlasse586415* or 29, depends if they split them or not :D that sounds even worse

[@barbarakeyser6415]

​@@nietlasse5864 Based on what Stormlight costs at least 3k

[@andrasbiro3007]

After seeing these books I looked for more, starting with Wheel of Time, and was shocked to learn that they don't exist.

[@jonathanyaloussa]

As I grow old, the more respect and i appreciation I have for craftsmen and craftswomen. To see people work meticulously in and day out, with so much respect and reverence gives the end product much value and imbues it with a soul.

[@adamborst]

Oh man, this is fantastic to see. I feel as though the guy giving the tour to Isaac has a ton of passion to create a quality product. Dragonsteel team, great selection!

[@Omnicrola]

This was incredibly fascinating. I had no idea how much extra human effort went into making the leatherbounds, I assumed it was mostly automated. Now I appreciate the quality of them even more than I did before, which was quite a bit.

[@ryansurv]

I love this because I've never had an interest on how to make a leatherbound book before, yet this video had my attention the entire way through!

[@This_Is_My_Handle]

Feels like I'm watching an episode of Mr. Rodgers 😂 Love it!

[@SunRayz3r]

Thanks to EVERYONE involved in this project! Glad this project is in the right hand to deliver this beautiful, gorgeous product to us. ❤️😍

[@danielcull5054]

Pledged for the signed WoR and WoK books. 500USD plus shipping is not cheap - but seeing the quality of these books, being able to support Brandon and the people who are making them is worth it to me. I will get every edition of the Stormlight Archives in these leatherbounds. They will be a centerpiece of my office and bring me joy for many years. Thank you Brandon and the hard working folk at Bindtech.

[@ManSeekingMeaning]

Absolutely love ya’ll giving business to smaller, local companies and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for mass high-fantasy quality production. Really enjoyed the detailed tour highlighting all that goes into its creation. The gentleman thanking yall for the business at the end of the tour was also so heartwarming. Blessings to Brandon and team and all of their families.

[@paralicular3927]

As someone who has manually bound a book in leather and worked in an assembly line, I loved seeing this beautiful blend of the two things I've experienced.

[@TheRenegade...]

I know it's probably not what you meant, but I'm amused by the idea of bookbinding and working in an assembly line being the two things you've experienced, like those are the only things you've ever done in your life

[@paralicular3927]

@@TheRenegade... that's just weird.

[@calebmauer1751]

@@TheRenegade... And now they can add being confused by your pretty straightforward comment to their list. Now they've done three things!

[@plumbooks]

I love this! He was passionate, enthusiastic, and proud of the work and of his employees throughout the entire tour. It was such a pleasure to watch. To hear him say how Brandon's team has supported their incredible work in the past decade made me tear up. So much respect & appreciation on both sides. My goal now is to afford one of these well-made beauties. Thank you for this awesome video!

[@lukethomas8573]

This is insane, I am from near Church Hill and have met several of those people, had no idea they even did bookbinding. Very cool to see!

[@davidkeithley3650]

This is one of my favorite Sanderson videos I’ve seen. Gives me a greater appreciation for all the work done both leatherbound books and sprayed edges

[@bruceh9780]

I'm amazed at how much manual handling, checking, refining and rechecking is involved. No wonder these things are so amazing.

[@EmpressNoriko]

This was fascinating. When I was getting my undergraduate 30+ years ago I had a friend getting her Masters in Book Arts. I saw a lot of what she did. I guess I assumed a mass printed book would have been much more automated by now. It’s incredibly moving to see just how many people literally had a hand in creating the beautiful books on my shelves. I have never questioned the pricing of these books. After all I don’t NEED them to read the book, but now I’m amazed they don’t cost even more. I’m a lifelong reader, but I wasn’t able to collect special editions until the last 8-10 years. Just yesterday while out to lunch with my nephew and his girlfriend I showed them the Words of Radiance edition. I felt bad when I realized after their reaction that I was paying almost one month of his rent. I get it, I was in that position for many years so I am very grateful I can now afford luxuries. When we got home I showed him my Way of Kings leather bound plus some of my other special editions. He will inherit my collection some day and hadn’t realized that a many were more valuable than he thought. Do I have to have them? No. But this video also showed me how many jobs my hobby supports and that makes me happy. I’d love to see more behind the scenes content like this.

[@GavinTheMistborn]

My sentiments exactly. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

[@JoeAuerbach]

I'm an amateur bookbinder, and this was so fascinating. I really appreciated how this respects the process of what I would be doing by hand and just moves it to a larger and a faster scale. But they're not leaving anything out. If anything, they are adding more steps that make things a better product. I really liked this.

[@juaningles996]

Now I’m going to be tempted to take off my cover to see if my book has hand drawings 😀 This is awesome content - as an engineer, I love watching how things are made. Thanks to Brandon and everyone else to the love, attention, and craftsmanship that everyone obviously applies to all levels.

[@rilain2231]

Great video!! Please continue to make your leather bounds at this factory :)

[@BarefootDani]

I find it amazing that a book, which is such a solitary work, passes through so many hands being published- especially in cases like this. It's a marvel and a work of art. Well done to every single person that worked on in, you can feel the love :)

[@yasuchika]

No idea the process took so many steps, the guys at Bindtech do great work.

[@HmaniDPaiN]

I’m so glad I became a fan of an author with a team that go all out for his products and his fans. Watching this video makes spending my money a whole lot more worth it. Than you and your amazing team.

[@reneerobertlancaster8714]

Makes me feel better about spending so much buying these books over the years. I’ve read them over and over.

[@SegginsProductions]

Man, I love seeing stuff like this. How it’s made is one of my favorite shows. Thanks for everyone involved doing amazing work!

[@marlabakes]

This makes me appreciate EVEN MORE how quality and beautiful these books are. I love knowing all the behind the scenes details. I hope one day we see some more details like this behind the Secret Projects, the warehouse and art development. I want to see everything 😁

[@nazimelmardi]

Quality content, ladies and gentlemen. 👏 More of these, Issac and Brandon, pls!

[@ochoheido]

I've never put my face so close to the screen before when watching a video. This is fantastic! And whoo-hoo Tennessee! They make my favorite luxury/practical pencils (Musgrave Pencil Co.) and my favorite luxury books!

[@LzyBn1987]

This is amazing. So awesome that you are supporting American businesses in this way. Makes me more proud to back this and future projects

[@janiethereader]

Oh, my goodness! I had no idea about this process, and it was so amazing to get to learn! Thank you for doing this the way that you do - it's so obvious how much care Bindtech puts into their bindings, and the products are gorgeous 💛 I'm so excited to grow my collection!!

[@abhimac27]

My southern fried production minded heart burst into flames (in a good way) when I saw the books are made in Tennessee!!!!

[@NemisCassander]

Can you tell me where in Tennessee they are located?

[@lenanana8]

As a an amateur bookbinder I'm geeking out at seeing a large scale machine production of a leatherbound book. I've made a leatherbound only once before with spine pleats (but not as nice as the Stormlight oness here) but it took me so long to complete it! Although machinery will never replace human hands, it does make the tedious steps easier and faster! The slight rounding and backing by machinery was perplexing, but probably because I'm more familiar with doing it by hand. Bookbinding and physical books are a work of art necessary to humanity and the human experience, we must never ever let the digital age and any technological advancement erase this legacy.

[@dnavenom]

I mean... this must be one of the best episodes ever!

[@mohithkumar5158]

This video was wonderful! It was so fascinating to see the leather bound being made with such care and honestly it just makes the book even more special. I can’t wait to hold this book in my hands, thank you so much Dragonsteel team for putting this video together.

[@josieseeger8387]

I love this it truely reinforces the value of rich history that books like this come from. The genuin love and care shown for the books being made is heart warming this is roots for my love of books in visual format. Vegan books would be amazing, but never forget where it all started we would not have the luxury and privalige of this ethical hope if the rich history of the craft was lost in consumerism and lack of apreciation for books like this.(sorry about my dyslexia hope i made sence)❤❤❤

[@brokenredflag]

Lets have a moment of apreciation for isac. He thuse so much work in dragonsteel. Without him everything would fall apart. Thank you for all you do. If your book is good, il buy it😊❤

[@ragnarvolorus2925]

This is the perfect subject for him to expound on. The physical item is just as important as the content...how many of us have purchased books based on Cover love alone??? I know i have..

[@SpookyCam01]

I love yalls leatherbounds. The quality is insane!

[@bergermeister477]

This was great getting to see the process that goes into making the leatherbound books and the people behind the process.

[@FatalSurvivor0_0]

This is amazing! Really good to see the people who are behind the books.

[@FreeRangeIce]

I would love to see the process, even if it’s the same process, for each leather bound or specialty books Dragonsteel makes in the future. Seeing the process for the Secret Projects would’ve been amazing also

[@Smajtastic]

As a leatherworker and an amature bookbinder I am blown away by this video and being able to get an insight in the process. These books are just incredible!

[@egilgarberg9893]

Love the paperquality in shadows of self/alloy of law!! The texture or feel of the art gives a more high quality and ancient feel! Makes me really think of a leatherbound tome. A lot better than more glozy magazine feel of paper on art in earlier books

[@sanjithechef]

I love the professional yet grassroots feel of the whole process. I wish I had the leatherbounds of Elantris and Mistborn lol as they’re the only ones I’ve read 😅

[@PetrikLeo]

This feels like going on an amazing trip. THANK YOU!

[@brokenredflag]

Patrick!!! I know! I comented like 5 times by how exited it made me.😂 sanderson is grate.👍❤️

[@zenthepoet.]

Adoooonalsium

[@jenniferwood144]

This is just incredible. I’ve always been awed by the written word and the journey through our lives. Thank you

[@Abunchaponys]

Great video. Love seeing you work with Americans aswell. I feel like I need to buy more stuff everytime I was a live stream or content from Brandon. It feels like he’s so genuine to me and just a nice dude.

[@vanessahardy2632]

Fascinating! Thank you for creating this, and many thanks to the wonderful Tennesseans! ❤

[@shastatastic]

Absolutely loved this video. Great to see people putting together quality products in an American plant. Love that this was all done here.

[@Jim_boe]

The gilding and foil are beautiful!

[@elpipetuanis]

I love seeing the craftsmanship that goes into every book. Work like this has almost been lost and I am thankful its being brought back like this. I am also happy to see this being done locally in the USA.

[@joeulmer9760]

Very interesting watch absolutely love the behind the scenes sneak peak

[@Heothbremel]

Things of beauty, and I love the support for the binding team!

[@senseimatt3097]

Brandon, January of 2025 is the 35 year anniversary of the Eye of the world. I feel like only you could honor the great Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney Jr.) by bringing his series to this level of honor with the Leather Bound Collection of the Wheel of Time Series. Each of your leather bound books is a work of art and is proudly displayed on my shelves alongside my other leather bound books. I'm sure there are legal complications, but if ever this great act of honor for the author and charity for the fans could be accomplished, you could do it. Your kickstarts already break the internet, this one would too.

[@user-eq3nk4zy1v]

That is amazing to watch. I've worked in large scale cabinet manufacturing, and there are some many detailed elements that remind me of how edgebsnders work. Amazing to see the consistency they product with a lot of hand fed operations.

[@YtseWolf7]

This is awesome! I'm so excited to see the craftsmanship involved. Kinda want Destin from Smarter Every Day to do a tour and dig into the process. Thank you for the video!

[@AssMcBlast]

The dude giving you guys a tour (Steve Kendall I believe) absolutely loves his job. It brings my heart joy to see so much passion poured into one’s work.

[@bdup159]

Gotta love the passion behind him he really knows every step of the process and what each machine does! That alone is worth supporting !!!❤

[@ProfTydrim]

As someone from Germany it always amazes me to see that oftentimes (like here) the machines used in those kinds of businesses around the world, are made in Germany. Many of them have still their warning labels etc. in german, and I spotted quite a few which appear to be made by Kolbus.

[@bliss1701]

This is SO fantastic, love this type of content. Keep doing what you're doing DragonSteel!

[@CodyTaylor115]

Wow wow wow! Thank you soooo much for this video I love the process and I love that it's made in America and that so much care goes into each book. I'm going to cherish each one the more for it thank you every single person who has worked on these projects and made these amazing works of art

[@Theirishsk83r]

Great job Sanderson and everyone at Dragonsteel! Thank you for the peak into the process and the commitment to quality! And thank you for the binding/printing company! Awesome work!

[@thehoogard]

That's one passionate guy. You can see he knows every smallest detail of the process.

[@Shisazy]

As and engineer I love this type of videos, thank you all for sharing can't wait to have that leatherbound in my hands.

[@Shawnbob82]

What a beautiful book. I can’t wait for the day mine arrives.

[@ReadRe-sellRepeat]

Wow! They are gorgeous, and you can really appreciate the price when you see how much effort goes into making one of these.

[@kflott]

Love this, these books are beautiful; it was really cool to get a look inside the process to produce them

[@deadlightlabyrinth]

This was awesome, thanks for the detailed walk-through of the process. I love old style book binding videos and the like, this was perfect.

[@monastorm]

I love the passion the owner shows in his factory and work! One day I hope my books will be successful enough to keep other small businesses running. ❤

[@DW_Tang]

What a phenomenal high quality process. So glad they are getting made in such a location. Makes it worth more to me to see that.

[@starwarssyl1177]

I LOVE this kind of video. The production side of things is so fascinating!

[@salvosscullstreet267]

This is incredible; thank you all so much for putting this information out here! I love seeing things being made, and books are absolute treasures

[@KevinHorecka]

I LOVE the leather bound books. They're so cool I decided I had to learn to do it. I'm bad at it, but it's such a cool process. The gilding especially is unbelievable on these. Getting it that shiny at home was super hard.

[@trace_minerals]

This is one of the coolest videos I've seen in a while.

[@KinevW]

You guys are the best, full stop!!

[@drawingpatterns9929]

I didn't know you needed a whole factory to make the hardcovers! Paperbacks are just printouts glued together, so,.. .impressive

[@ephraimcullen]

Cool how at 13:25 he's okay with drawing doodles on the book because he knows that page is gonna get glued to the cover anyway. I wonder if someone owns that book now and has no idea that there are drawings hidden behind the sheets, haha.

[@jimmychurch9588]

It’s probably scrap. Most likely it got eaten by a machine or misprinted somewhere.

[@StorytellerTreehouse]

Oh I LOVE seeing this stuff!! I've handbound my own hardcover books before, but this is on a COMPLETELY different level. So cool!

[@thebooklion]

This was amazing to watch, thank you Dragonsteel!

[@wallobyway3055]

I’m an aspiring bookbinder and this is so lovely to see!!

[@realzachsmith]

This was absolutely wonderful!

[@trevorn2351]

I've been reading Ascendance of a Bookworm lately, and this is so cool to see. And the guy giving the tour seems so passionate and excited to share everything about how these books are made, it was great to watch. I love this video, this is awesome.

[@sunnymeb]

The craftsmanship is amazing! Loved the field trip. Thank you.

[@ColtonsHobbies]

This is gold video content. Bravo

[@oriana2648]

Awesome video, thank you so much. It really highlights the level of quality these leatherbounds have. It also provides more info to the discussion about international shipping v outside USA production/distribution and I think justifies the decision to keep production in the US, despite the shipping costs.

[@gospelhopechurch2579]

Great video. I love that they are made in the U.S. I just realized that I might have inherited my love of nice leatherbounds from my dad. When I was a kid my dad subscribed to The Franklin Mint and their collection of many classic books in leatherbound form. Everything from Tom Sawyer to War And Peace. I never did read them all - in fact I think there were a few that were never opened - but they sure were pretty. Now I'm going to have to call him and ask if he still has them.

[@TechPlasma]

This is amazing. We need more of these types of videos, this was fantastic.

[@brokenredflag]

I think you changed the industry in many ways to. Ive always said it takes someone with power and a good heart and ideas to change the world. Pepole who use their power for good is rare now a days. But may jashua shine your ways and mind, to make a difrence in your life time in his name. You good👍

[@Laf631]

This was really interesting! Thanks for the inside look!

[@danielle.]

Amazing! Loved seeing the process.

[@jodyroach5577]

Very Educational. Keep American Printers In Business!