A bone folder, bonefolder, or folding bone is a dull-edged
hand tool
A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and kni ...
used to fold and crease material in crafts such as
bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
,
cardmaking
Card making is the craft of hand-making greeting cards. Many people with interests in allied crafts such as scrapbooking and stamping have begun to use their skills to start making handmade cards. This has contributed to cardmaking becoming a pop ...
,
origami
) is the Japanese paper art, art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of pape ...
,
and other paper crafts that require a sharp crease or fold. The tool was also used when correspondence by letter writing was more formal and an art.
Bone folders may be made from the
leg bone
Leg bones are the bones found in the leg. These can include the following:
* Femur – The bone in the thigh.
* Patella – The knee cap
* Tibia – The shin bone, the larger of the two leg bones located below the knee cap
* Fibula
The fibula ...
of a cow, deer, or similar animal; ivory; or plastic.
Those made from bone may be less likely to leave residue on the workpiece.
In Japan, the equivalent folding tool is traditionally made from
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
, although alternatives include a Japanese fabric marking tool (''hera'') and a Western bone folder.
See also
*
Bone tool
In archaeology, a bone tool is a tool created from bone. A bone tool can conceivably be created from almost any bone, and in a variety of methods.
Bone tools have been documented from the advent of ''Homo sapiens'' and are also known from ''Homo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bone Folder
Book arts
Bookbinding
folder