Japanese Stab Binding

Here is a video of how to make a simple Japanese stab binding. The process is fairly quick and most people can make one in short order. The book doesn't open as flat as a coptic binding (or even a perfect binding); more like a thick paperback. Some people put in a hinge or, as in this video, crease the spine just beyond the threads. Books in Japan that are made using Japanese stab binding, on the other hand, use very, very thin paper and don't have very many pages. Fifty or sixty pages is probably the most common and remember: the paper is thinner than your average paper. Not as thin as tissue paper; more like calligraphy paper.

Also, the difference between Japanese stab binding and Chinese stab binding (from which Japanese stab binding originates) is that in Chinese stab binding the distance between threads can be variable. For example, if you have four holes, you have three spans between them (not counting the top and bottom). In Japanese binding, the spans must have an equal distance; in Chinese binding, they can be different.

In any case, watch, learn and enjoy.