The Style of your Charge Book refers to the basic look and construction of the book. The Charge Books are sized to hold a sheet protector for a standard (8.5″x11″) sheet of paper while leaving a margin around the outside of the sheet protector. The depth (amount of material that can be held) is a variable that you choose. The most common depth from the Charge Books that I’ve made is 4″, but I’ve made books holding 3″ and up to 6″.
A key element is how to hold all the materials in the Charge Book. I can only get ring mechanisms with a maximum of 2″ rings, which tends to be a bit restirctive for Charge Books. Hence I offer two options, scrapbooking posts or braided steel cables. Scrapbooking posts are excellent for storing materials, but offer a limited ability to flip through and view materials since they don’t lie flat. Braided steel cables allow you to flip through the materials in the Charge Book and view it, but don’t provide as much structure for storing materials.
The following sections describe and illustrate your options.
Three-sided notebook. This is your basic notebook…front, spine and back. A strap can be added on the open side to secure the Charge Book.
The example at the right is showing a back cover and has the closure strap. If using the closure strap, you’ll need to choose a Closure Mechanism. Click here to see your options.
It also illustrates a single piece construction, i.e., the entire notebook is one continuous piece of leather. The alternative … a Reynolds Seam…is shown in the next picture.
Four-Sided Notebook, also referred to as having a flap and straps. This style adds a flap that folds over the open side of the Charge Book. It normally uses two straps to secure the flap. A single strap can be used, but that tends to interfere with the Chief’s Anchor which is typically on the front of the Charge Book.
The picture at the right shows this style of Charge Book using the Reynolds Seam construction. The closure mechanism shown is no longer available, but you can see your options here.
Two-Sided Notebook with or without straps. This is a new option, so it is shown using a small notebook rather than a Charge Book. It is the front and back panels of the other styles, but without the spine or a flap. Straps can be added to the spine side if desired (as in the picture) or it can be left free floating. Again if using a closure strap, check out your closure mechanism options here.
This style was developed to use the braided steel cables rather than scrapbooking posts. It also provides a way to reduce the cost of the Charge Book, but does reduce the area for decoration.
The steel cables can also be used with the other syles of Charge Books by having the cables pass through two holes in the spine.
