Running through the archives and found this... I am an archaeologist (yep, saw Raiders as a kid) and I know so many people who absolutely covet the Holy Grail book, not just because it's a prop from a favorite movie but because archaeologists love the sensory experience of old, well-worn, much loved books. The feel of worn leather, the human hand creativity, the smell, the sound of onion skin, the ink, the junki-ness of it. I think the entire Junk-Journaling hobby and dark academic aesthetic can be traced right back to that book.
This upload could not have come at a better time. Two months ago, I stumbled upon my Grandma's diary, written between christmas '79 and the fall of '82, at a Red Cross store. What it contains, is the most important three-year period in my family history. My Grandad is alive in the beginning but dead at the end, and I am referred to (but not yet born) in the book. I've started a replication process, to give copies to my relatives. This video and by the example from Adam, I will put more effort into it. Thank You, Mr. Savage.
My mom helped me make a grail diary out of a little pocket address book when I was about 10 in 1992 or so. Still a fond memory. And it looked the part! She drew little sketches on the pages and everything.
@@deaterk Sadly I do not. The last time I saw it was maybe 20 years ago but I remember it fondly and seeing this video brought back some of the memory I had not thought of in some time.
When The Last Crusade came out I was 5 years old. I remember my dad taking me to the theater to see it. It's one of the few good memories I have with my dad. It was a big deal when it came out. I remember that when my dad and I walked out of the theater there was a booth that was in the lobby selling Indiana Jones souvenirs. My dad in one of his rare moments of generosity offered to get me something. I was soooooo excited because I knew exactly what I wanted. The booth was surrounded by people all clamoring to get one of the really cool props they had on offer. From my memory they were all very authentic. Hats, whips, even leather jackets. My dad and I waited in line for 20 minutes to get up to the counter. When I got there my dad asked me what I wanted. I told him "I want Indiana's dad's diary". The man at the counter told my dad, sorry, that wasn't one of the items. My dad asked if there was anything else I wanted. I wasn't upset, I didn't hesitate, I said "Nope, that's okay. I want the diary". I still remember the puzzled look my dad gave me. That day when we got home I went straight to my room, and started to dig through all my paper and craft stuff. I cut out pieces of paper that I thought were approximately the size of the diary, I cut out a cardboard book jacket and wrapped it in pieces of brown pleather from an old coat I stole from my moms closet, (I still remember being yelled at for that too). I spent a week, scribbling nonsense and drawing glyphs and symbols I had made up in my head that I though looked like what I could remember from the movie. I even spent a few hours trying to draw the stained glass window that led Indie and Dr. Schneider into the tomb of the Knight of the Crusades. I spent a week working on this item. When I was finally done I showed it to my dad. I was so proud if this book. It felt to me as magical, and mysterious as the one from the movie. My dad let out a dismissive laugh and said "That's great". I thought he would be really impressed. He wasn't. Despite his disinterest, I recall carrying the diary I had made around for weeks, making up adventures in my head and exploring my house and yard looking for the grail. I still have the diary. I doesn't look anything like the one from the movie, even though when I dig deep into my memories it was exactly like the one in the movie. Eventually like any kid, my imagination and interests took me elsewhere and I put the grail diary into a drawer and forgot about it. I still have that diary to this day. I keep it in a box of keepsakes. Once every few years when I dig through my box of memories to have a little nostalgia trip I pull out the diary. For a little moment I still feel like that 5 year old kid who had his own grail diary, and remember how great it was.
As a graphic designer for 40+ years, I smiled when you dove into the intricacies of book printing and binding. When producing printed media, there is still a "live/safe" area for content as printers cannot guaranty that all sheets will line up exactly on the crop marks. It could be off + or - 1/16" or more. Fun stuff!!
RIGHT!? I never got why either, as an 8 year old I was like "wow I wish I could get my hands on that old man's religious research journal looks SICK man" hahahaha
Oh my god, I wanted an actual Grail Diary replica for so long. When I was 7, I made my own and my mom helped me draw the pictures for it! I loved that thing so freaking much. This video brought back so many memories for me :)
I predict one day there will be a "Museum of stuff Adam Savage built and/or collected". Possibly also with a Mythbusters Roller Coaster Ride. Seems inevitable.
I actually knew the chap who made the grail dairy and the grail for the movie. He made my medieval mugs for me. He and his wife were really nice people.
Sweet. I wonder how many copies he made if more than one, and where it/they are. I would Love to be the person who owns an Original prop this advanced, and be able to go to one of the prop replica forums and just 'You guys need help..? I have a thing here you might like to study fully.". And share the master drawings and material info. Coolest would be "Who's the best of you at sharing knowledge to the group, and what's your address?" but these days original props cost too much.
@@nordicmind82 I believe he made about a dozen grails, and two/three books. He had two in his workshop in Wales. Plus a grail diary. I still have the mugs he made me.
Yup, I used it when writing to pen-pals in Europe and my relatives in the States, and beyond. You could fit several more sheets in for the same equivalent postage rate.
Yes, I remember a thin blue paper that folded with par aero or something like it and a tiny airplane...it already had the glue to lick and seal, also lines for the address. You could buy a nice box of onionskin for overseas mail, envelopes too to keep the weight down.
I bought a bundle of airmail envelopes not long ago from someone who'd found some old stock laying around - I wondered why they were so thin - makes total sense now!
What a great build/show-and-tell! Thanks so much for sharing this. When I was a kid, my mom used to type letters on onionskin paper because they were being sent "Via Air Mail" and they charge by the weight of the full envelope (which was also a very lightweight paper, or a heavier onion skin). So she used it for its light weight. It was a pain in the neck sometimes, because, if she made a mistake, the only tool she had was a thing that looked like a mint-green, round pencil, but the center was a white eraser with some abrasive in it where the graphite would be, and it had a brush where a normal pencil's eraser would go. The brush was to sweep away the residue of erasure. But the abrasive in the white eraser would make holes in the onion skin if you were too aggressive. So, when I was a kid, my mom taught me to use an eraser with lots of very light strokes, which works great for pink erasers and kneaded erasers for charcoal drawing, and it's just generally a good way to work.
A “signature” (or folio) is a folded group of pages for sewing. The practice of arranging those pages so they end up in the correct order in the final book is call “pagination” (or archaically called “foliation”) while laying out multiple pages on a press sheet for printing is called “impositioning”. I’d love to show you some bookbinding, Adam, if you are ever in Brooklyn. We could also spend an afternoon learning all about the two Linotype machines I keep in operation and which have had numerous cameos in films.
A linotype in operation is an amazing thing. I started out in newspaper and commercial printing at age 20 in the early 1970s. Ludlow machine for headline slugs, several letterset presses inherited when we bought out the local printer, including two nice Heidelbergs, the Rolls Royce of letter presses. It was a totally different world then. We saddle stitched booklets but we used a big stapler machine by then.
I have made this prop myself. I have written it all by hand in a blank book. I have used the spreads and filled in the rest using the grail diary from the Lucas arts point and click game. It was a lot of work, but even more fun to do. I’m really proud of it!
You should read the prop diary for The Fog. You can make out at least one of the pages, however briefly: "...my college education to work writing dumb s**t in this f**king movie prop (...) It's time to bring in the nude girls with big tits, tattoos and shaved beavers."
@@Gilmaris Lol. Yeah, nobody thought about being able to freeze frame that kind of stuff at high resolution and read it at the time so it was ok. Nowadays they have to know better because every little frame will get scrutinized by someone at 4k.
i saw an interview with alex kingston the other day where she said the prop department was so thorough with a diary prop in doctor who that it included details from a FUTURE episode! i guess the writers had her character’s arc completed well in advance haha (and i guess that’s what happens when it’s a show about time travel)
I was watching The Last Crusade, saw this book, paused the movie and entered a rabbit hole of videos on youtube about this prop and finally ending on this video.
@@prof_nobody exactly... You can't call something you didn't create originally and I just changing the look of your own product in my view, therefore since you didn't originally created you can't say that it's the biggest endeavor that you embarked upon as it was somebody else's endeavor and not yours...
A signature starts life as a single large sheet when it's printed. It's printed then folded into the final page size before being cropped. The 'signature' is the specific ordering and orientation of the pages on the single page print so that it folds neatly into page order when cropped. There are specific fixed numbers of pages in signatures. You can have 8,12, 16, 24...etc. This explains the 'blank on purpose' pages you sometimes find in books when the total number of book pages doesn't fit neatly into a signature.
A “signature” (or folio) is a folded group of pages for sewing. The practice of arranging those pages so they end up in the correct order in the final book is call “pagination” (or archaically called “foliation”) while laying out multiple pages on a press sheet for printing is called “impositioning”.
When I was a kid I ran across a reference to "This space intentionally left - Blank", which confused me for a long time. It wasn't blank, it contained a statement that it was, and why was this space intentionally left blank? It didn't help that this was in an adventure game (Zork) so I was convinced it was some kind of obscure clue. But it was just a pun left by one of the creators referencing book binding (one of the creators last names was Blank!).
Adam (tkbig from RPF here) Loved the video!!! Amazingly ironic that I did my Grail diary in 2008 under the same circumstances as you! Best therapy there is!!! Keep up the good work dude!!!
There is a lovely Norwegian girl (nerdforge) who is a maker, doing lots of "magic book" replicas from games and lore and just for fun - showing the entire process in great detail. Here is an example ua-cam.com/video/w8MrqRHu2Es/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Nerdforge And here is another fun one, when she makes a really cool travel journal/notebook out of some old boots ua-cam.com/video/UznBAQs8l3Q/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Nerdforge
Onion skin paper is also used in traditional animation, so that you can see the last pose of the character (in the last frame). And when you have an animation software that allows you to use "onion skin" layers where you can see the other previous frames below your drawing it's based on that too.
Was anybody else reminded by the line in the Last Crusade when Adam was talking about forgetting his signature "I wrote it down in my diary so I didn't HAVE to remember."
I’m one of those crazies who has made the diary by hand, hand wrote, and hand drawn the whole diary...twice. It is a true labor of love, and probably my favorite prop I own. Love Adam’s passion for this beauty.
When Adam speaks I honestly feel he's talking directly to me. I'm fascinated by his passion for his art and get easily drawn in by his excitement and obvious obsession. Thank you sir...
Beautiful. This bought back some great memories for me. Dad showed me the basics of book binding, which I have now forgotten 60 years later, the memories of dad are pure “Grail” treasure for me. Thx
You put you're own forgotten mystery into the book. What an exciting new adventure you can do. Please, if you discover it, do share. I look forward to your discovery of your own grail diary.
@@MuscarV2 Why be a dick about it? Did belittling someone else make you feel bigger somehow? Whatever is stirring you to behave this way is undoubtedly causing you trouble in your face to face interactions and relationships with others. Seek help.
6:01 For those interested, the book Adam refers to is titled From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives by Mark Cotta Vaz and Shinji Hata.
The feel of an old used diary/notebook is very satisfying. The crispy paper, and inked thoughts of the moment. Adam is like my childhood maker dreams personified.
Did Adam put the Hitler autograph into the diary too? That became a part of the diary lore. If you don't remember it's when Indy and his dad travel into Berlin to retrieve the diary. As Indy is trying to make his escape he's swept up into a crowd and ends up face to face with Hitler, who grabs the diary and autographs it.
Not sure if Adam did it, but I have two grail diaries and both have the Hitler signature on the correct page from the film. I remember watching the movie the night I got the diary and freeze framing that scene trying to figure out what page it was and if it was included. Was pretty stoked to see it as it just adds to the authenticity. Another thing included in mine is the rubbing of the knight's shield. Definitely a cool detail that any grail diary should come with.
Adam! You should totally make a call out to the people who actually have one of your diaries and do something like a meet and greet for those people and perhaps sign them and effectively "authenticate" them and make them even more original and part of your collection and life's work. At this point, im sure you know we really appreciate everything you do! :D So keep doing it!
as a former print shop production worker, i can emphatically say that YES, SOME copiers CAN achieve that kind of alignment - not the average everyday ones, but some of the commercial, production units can. I know this very, VERY well - having made adjustments to get that "perfect" alignment front to back. All that said - this is such a neat prop! thank you for sharing with us!
Man, what I would give for one of those books! This man is going to be remembered as one of the greatest collectors, makers, and enthusiasts of all time!!! Thanks for all you do Adam, I grew up never missing an episode of myth busters! I would actually record the episodes on my VCR! And now I get to see your enthusiastic passion almost everyday, and I love it just as much today as I did in 2002 in high school!
I watch this channel not because I'm a maker or a builder because I am not I watch this channel because of the passion you show for what you do you are an incredible human being we are lucky to have you.
I have three, of varying sensitivity. Two that start to water and leak goo at even slightest provocation, and another one that provides respiratory input, just to make sure that you’re aware of what’s going on.
This totally Tickled me. I am a paper crafter and making Journal books is as you say a joy but the funniest part for me is your copier issues. I can never explain to people why it is so hard. and why there is some waste. you really made my day. Thank you!
As a former print shop employee, I remember the nightmare of people who wanted a booklet printed.... when their files weren't set up right, and we had to try and fix it in a limited amount of time. OOF!
This is what dreams are made of. They’re not easy, they’re not convenient, but they are correct, and they are truly rewarding. Thank you for sharing this journey!
Paper ephemera are fun recreations. I needed Samuel Colt's instruction sheet to glue inside the lid of my fitted case I made for my old Euroarms 1851 navy revolver repro. I researched & found different versions of the text, combined some to get the most complete version and typeset it in CorelDraw 13. I printed some out and tea-stained and crumpled them up. Very realistic when I glued it inside the lid. I needed old labels for Ely brand percussion cap tins and used the same process, selecting a suitable antique pale green background and typesetting the words in an antiqued font in the same relationship to the real label images. Such fun. I did some items for a Titanic exhibit at the local library, replicating White Star Lines notepads, menus, etc. I did all this in my spare time at my Tee shirt design job. I miss my graphics capability nowadays.
I'm in my mid 60's, and have a very fond memory of spending time with a neighbor when I was three or four. My parents had asked him to use his professional bookbinding skills to re-assemble a stack of paper that had been a centuries-old family bible containing hand-written records of births, marriages, deaths, immigrations, etc. on the endpapers (that side of the family had been farmers in Sweden). He showed me every step in the process, and every material and tool he used (including a broad-bladed knife-like piece of elephant ivory). The result was remarkable. It's on my bookshelf as I write this.
Imagine a child finding that book in a parent's library. This is one of my all-time favourite props from a movie. Made my own sketchbooks imitate that feel - inked sketches, notes, todo lists, and whatnot. My love of fountain pens also stems from that. Oh, I recognize that wrapping paper. Wonderful stuff. And that see-through paper my parents used to write home to England. Thank you.
This is awesome! Really appreciate the top-down view you gave flipping through the pages towards the end, it's nice to see all of the images more clearly. Thanks!
Wow great reproduction. I was obsessed with this prop! I remember spending many a joyous night looking at the source materials on Indyprops and recreating them with pen and ink. I even made a matching wooden grail that still sit on my desk today.
I've been obsessed with the grail diary for 13 years and it was such a joy to see Adam's diary after only hearing about it. I've only made half as many as he has, but I'd love to show him mine, we'd have so much to share, I bet
You can understand the kindness and generosity, and the way in which Adam's mind works, when he starts on a long process to make something, but makes 13 of them because he knows he is going to be sharing the results!
Absolutely love it, and as a journal writer myself, it's actually encouraged me to start learning how to bind my own journals. I love the look and would love tips on how to learn how to bind journals! Thanks and cheers!
If you are interested in learning bookbinding then DAS Bookbinding is THE channel to go to. To date probably the greatest repository of bookbinding techniques, structures, and styles on UA-cam.
I’ve always attempted to have a similar feel to this book with every one of my sketch books. I remember thinking how gorgeous this book was and wanted that in my life. Thanks for sharing this one!
Hey Adam I'm chronicles depresses, but my life is a little easier to be in when I see how fund and how you love the things you do. Thanks you bring me joy to my life. Thanks.
You inspired me to give book binding a try! After going down the rabbit hole of websites offering all sorts of details on how to make one, I picked a few well made videos, grabbed some newsprint paper, cut, sawed, and kettle stitched all my signatures (3 folded sheets per signature, 24 signatures), added some pretty end sheets and headbands, wrapped it in faux leather just because it was my first try. So satisfying! They came out so beautiful! I don't plan to copy grail diary stuff into any of them them, but I have always loved that journal. I made a miniature one and might try to make a mini grail diary of of it. ;) Thank you sooooo much for this inspiration!
I wish I could find one sort of definitive version of the book, showing it page by page. Why isn't Steven Spielberg sharing it?! Lol! I've made several of these now (all blank except for one of the small ones in which I'm copying some grail pages that I found online), and have even taught a couple of workshops in book binding to my friends. It's addictive! 💕
This is super-cool! I think another reason that onionskin is frequently used is that (at least it used to be) that postage for airmail letters in Europe used to be by the very very fine units of weight, so having thing light paper made sending letters cheaper. So anything that might be sent as a letter was on super-thin (but fairly strong and tear-resistant) onionskin.
Wow. You brought back a memory of grammar school. I cannot for the life of me remember why I needed to use onion skin paper back in the early 70's, but I remember handling a LOT of it for a school project. I still remember the feel of it.
You expressed the value of a hobby. At a time of maximum stress, it may well have saved your sanity. Playing music and building/flying model airplanes has stood me in good stead through a lot of trying times. People without a hobby just seem to whither away when their work life is done.
I love postage packaging that looks like its been places and passed through many hands. Always reminds me of old cartoons where someone or thing gets shipped around the world.
What a truly beautiful piece of work! And thank you for sharing your journey whilst you were making it (or ‘them’ should I say!!). The attention to detail is wonderful! Love the addition of the White Star ticket!
Man, some of this really spoke to me: the thing about propmaking being therapeutic during down times, and about each prop you tackle forcing you to learn new skills. I was laid off for 14 months during Covid and I tackled a large number of "someday builds" (realising that The Mother Of All Somedays had arrived). Every build was something I'd never done before! Every build was unique and involved learning new skill-sets. And, somehow, every build was a success. (These things will all be seen at SiliCon.)
You mentioned spike moments in crafting. I recently made a Blade Runner pistol from my 3d printer and I am adding LED lights to it. This is the first time I have done any thing like that. Learning to solder , learning about voltages. My next thing I am going to build is an 80% sized V.I.N.C.E.N.T. from the movie The Black Hole. for my brother. Learning how to do LEDs has opened up a ton of new projects for me. And I dont think I would have done it , if you had not shown/made all of your videos about the blade runner blaster pistol and I wanted to thank you for always expanding my world.
That Grail diary is SWEET. Reminds me of my friend's River Song diary (from Doctor Who)... she researched everything and replicated the few pages that were seen on screen, and expertly filled in the rest. She then got bored with it and started collecting autographs in it from all the various Doctor & companion actors :)
I remember the first time I saw the diary in the film and was fascinated by the intenseness of the pages, the way they showed ideas thrown down quickly and was full of interest, it had a major influence on how I like to fill sketch pads. Now I find out it was 30 or so pages repeated, does this detract from the infatuation? not at all. In fact Adams energy just adds to the love of the Diary. great show and tell.
I fell in love with that prop after seeing Last Crusade as well. I made my own from an appropriately sized sketch after finding images from the pages on the internet. I hand drew it starting at page one but only got about 20 or so pages done. I've been trying figure out how do one of the Maltese Falcon. It would be Gutman's diary and include his run ins with Demidov, his allying with Joel Cairo, etc.
20:50 that’s how I feel about making soap. After I saw Fight Club for the first time I wanted to learn how to do it and the whole process was very therapeutic. That was 10 years ago and I still do it.
I'd say Adam's replica is in the state that Indy receives it in the movie because it's wrapped in the shipping paper and the opening cover is not autographed by a certain guy. My guess is that it should have Henry Sr's rubbing in an insert somewhere, but not necessarily have Indy's addition from the shield.
Pretty cool stuff here. Keep following that passion and drive. Its exciting to watch you, mainly because of how genuinely interested and excited about the content you produce and it shows. Hats off. Deep info dives are cool!
Watch Adam meet the REAL PROP at Prop Store here: ua-cam.com/video/VinT6N1yhBg/v-deo.html
Did Adam ever remember what the "tell" was that he inserted into his replica?
@@AndyCies He wrote it down in his diary so he wouldn't have to remember (hope you catch this reference). 🙂
not that that helped much 😞
Running through the archives and found this...
I am an archaeologist (yep, saw Raiders as a kid) and I know so many people who absolutely covet the Holy Grail book, not just because it's a prop from a favorite movie but because archaeologists love the sensory experience of old, well-worn, much loved books. The feel of worn leather, the human hand creativity, the smell, the sound of onion skin, the ink, the junki-ness of it.
I think the entire Junk-Journaling hobby and dark academic aesthetic can be traced right back to that book.
This upload could not have come at a better time. Two months ago, I stumbled upon my Grandma's diary, written between christmas '79 and the fall of '82, at a Red Cross store. What it contains, is the most important three-year period in my family history. My Grandad is alive in the beginning but dead at the end, and I am referred to (but not yet born) in the book. I've started a replication process, to give copies to my relatives. This video and by the example from Adam, I will put more effort into it. Thank You, Mr. Savage.
That's really cool.
*such an amazing discovery*
I gotta ask, do you know why her diary was at a red cross store
You were so fortunate to find the diary! What a great thought, to make copies for your family. I know I would treasure it, in your place.
Wow, that's fascinating...You just randomly stumbled on your grandma's diary? It must've been a really, really strange moment.
My mom helped me make a grail diary out of a little pocket address book when I was about 10 in 1992 or so. Still a fond memory. And it looked the part! She drew little sketches on the pages and everything.
Lovely mom! :3 I love her rn :D
Your mom is awesome!
Big Picture - please say you still have it...
@@deaterk Sadly I do not. The last time I saw it was maybe 20 years ago but I remember it fondly and seeing this video brought back some of the memory I had not thought of in some time.
@@bigpicturethinking5620 - absolutely! A great memory to cherish. Have a great weekend!
When The Last Crusade came out I was 5 years old. I remember my dad taking me to the theater to see it. It's one of the few good memories I have with my dad. It was a big deal when it came out. I remember that when my dad and I walked out of the theater there was a booth that was in the lobby selling Indiana Jones souvenirs. My dad in one of his rare moments of generosity offered to get me something. I was soooooo excited because I knew exactly what I wanted. The booth was surrounded by people all clamoring to get one of the really cool props they had on offer. From my memory they were all very authentic. Hats, whips, even leather jackets. My dad and I waited in line for 20 minutes to get up to the counter. When I got there my dad asked me what I wanted. I told him "I want Indiana's dad's diary". The man at the counter told my dad, sorry, that wasn't one of the items. My dad asked if there was anything else I wanted. I wasn't upset, I didn't hesitate, I said "Nope, that's okay. I want the diary". I still remember the puzzled look my dad gave me. That day when we got home I went straight to my room, and started to dig through all my paper and craft stuff. I cut out pieces of paper that I thought were approximately the size of the diary, I cut out a cardboard book jacket and wrapped it in pieces of brown pleather from an old coat I stole from my moms closet, (I still remember being yelled at for that too). I spent a week, scribbling nonsense and drawing glyphs and symbols I had made up in my head that I though looked like what I could remember from the movie. I even spent a few hours trying to draw the stained glass window that led Indie and Dr. Schneider into the tomb of the Knight of the Crusades. I spent a week working on this item. When I was finally done I showed it to my dad. I was so proud if this book. It felt to me as magical, and mysterious as the one from the movie. My dad let out a dismissive laugh and said "That's great". I thought he would be really impressed. He wasn't. Despite his disinterest, I recall carrying the diary I had made around for weeks, making up adventures in my head and exploring my house and yard looking for the grail. I still have the diary. I doesn't look anything like the one from the movie, even though when I dig deep into my memories it was exactly like the one in the movie. Eventually like any kid, my imagination and interests took me elsewhere and I put the grail diary into a drawer and forgot about it. I still have that diary to this day. I keep it in a box of keepsakes. Once every few years when I dig through my box of memories to have a little nostalgia trip I pull out the diary. For a little moment I still feel like that 5 year old kid who had his own grail diary, and remember how great it was.
The world needs more people like this guy. His childish enthusiasm for passion-project work is magical.
As a graphic designer for 40+ years, I smiled when you dove into the intricacies of book printing and binding. When producing printed media, there is still a "live/safe" area for content as printers cannot guaranty that all sheets will line up exactly on the crop marks. It could be off + or - 1/16" or more. Fun stuff!!
They used to "whip" us in printing school when front and back didn't align well!
Productivity over quality I guess.
if you want fun; think of compensating the bleed by the rim of the book, according to the number of pages.. when you have a double page picture ! haha
@@michaelsarcault1263 ah yes, you refer to 'creep' (that's what we call it the UK anyway! I too am a graphic designer of 40yrs!)
As a kid, I wanted this book so bad. One of the coolest props ever.
RIGHT!? I never got why either, as an 8 year old I was like "wow I wish I could get my hands on that old man's religious research journal looks SICK man" hahahaha
Me, too! (I was 20 or 21 when it came out)
@@Swayzee68 I was a five-year-old. 😩😩😩
I have the prop and it’s so cool!
"I wrote it down so I don't have to remember" is a line I quote at least twice a week.
When it comes to the "tell", it sounds like Adam wrote it down and doesn't remember either!
And I can now hear my mother’s voice second-guessing me.
Half the German army's on our tail, and you want us to go on UA-cam, into the lion's den??
Remembering where I wrote down what I should remember is what I struggle with.
"Google wrote it down for me so I don't have to remember"
Oh my god, I wanted an actual Grail Diary replica for so long. When I was 7, I made my own and my mom helped me draw the pictures for it! I loved that thing so freaking much. This video brought back so many memories for me :)
that's adorable ahsiodf
I predict one day there will be a "Museum of stuff Adam Savage built and/or collected". Possibly also with a Mythbusters Roller Coaster Ride. Seems inevitable.
It'll be in the Presidio, just down from the Disney Family Museum and Industrial Light and Magic. Perfect.
To that I’d buy a ticket for certain
I would ride that.
I actually knew the chap who made the grail dairy and the grail for the movie. He made my medieval mugs for me. He and his wife were really nice people.
Sweet. I wonder how many copies he made if more than one, and where it/they are. I would Love to be the person who owns an Original prop this advanced, and be able to go to one of the prop replica forums and just 'You guys need help..? I have a thing here you might like to study fully.". And share the master drawings and material info. Coolest would be "Who's the best of you at sharing knowledge to the group, and what's your address?" but these days original props cost too much.
@@nordicmind82 I believe he made about a dozen grails, and two/three books. He had two in his workshop in Wales. Plus a grail diary. I still have the mugs he made me.
Onion skin paper was also used for air mail, back when you paid a high premium to ship by air, and the cost was based on the weight.
Yup, I used it when writing to pen-pals in Europe and my relatives in the States, and beyond. You could fit several more sheets in for the same equivalent postage rate.
Yes, I remember a thin blue paper that folded with par aero or something like it and a tiny airplane...it already had the glue to lick and seal, also lines for the address. You could buy a nice box of onionskin for overseas mail, envelopes too to keep the weight down.
@@rennkay3291 par avian? I remember writing actual letters from europe to the USA on the blue paper.
I bought a bundle of airmail envelopes not long ago from someone who'd found some old stock laying around - I wondered why they were so thin - makes total sense now!
I knew I'd seen that stuff before somewhere!
The happiness Adam exudes as he talks about this made me smile.
What a great build/show-and-tell! Thanks so much for sharing this.
When I was a kid, my mom used to type letters on onionskin paper because they were being sent "Via Air Mail" and they charge by the weight of the full envelope (which was also a very lightweight paper, or a heavier onion skin). So she used it for its light weight. It was a pain in the neck sometimes, because, if she made a mistake, the only tool she had was a thing that looked like a mint-green, round pencil, but the center was a white eraser with some abrasive in it where the graphite would be, and it had a brush where a normal pencil's eraser would go. The brush was to sweep away the residue of erasure. But the abrasive in the white eraser would make holes in the onion skin if you were too aggressive. So, when I was a kid, my mom taught me to use an eraser with lots of very light strokes, which works great for pink erasers and kneaded erasers for charcoal drawing, and it's just generally a good way to work.
Just wanna say you and Jamie and Tory Grant and Kari got me through hard times. thank you x
A “signature” (or folio) is a folded group of pages for sewing. The practice of arranging those pages so they end up in the correct order in the final book is call “pagination” (or archaically called “foliation”) while laying out multiple pages on a press sheet for printing is called “impositioning”.
I’d love to show you some bookbinding, Adam, if you are ever in Brooklyn. We could also spend an afternoon learning all about the two Linotype machines I keep in operation and which have had numerous cameos in films.
A linotype in operation is an amazing thing. I started out in newspaper and commercial printing at age 20 in the early 1970s. Ludlow machine for headline slugs, several letterset presses inherited when we bought out the local printer, including two nice Heidelbergs, the Rolls Royce of letter presses. It was a totally different world then. We saddle stitched booklets but we used a big stapler machine by then.
I have made this prop myself. I have written it all by hand in a blank book. I have used the spreads and filled in the rest using the grail diary from the Lucas arts point and click game. It was a lot of work, but even more fun to do. I’m really proud of it!
Adam: "a prop department isn't going to write a whole book to make a fake book."
Prop guy for Se7en: "WHAT??"
LOL!!!! 😭
You should read the prop diary for The Fog. You can make out at least one of the pages, however briefly:
"...my college education to work writing dumb s**t in this f**king movie prop (...) It's time to bring in the nude girls with big tits, tattoos and shaved beavers."
@@Gilmaris Lol. Yeah, nobody thought about being able to freeze frame that kind of stuff at high resolution and read it at the time so it was ok. Nowadays they have to know better because every little frame will get scrutinized by someone at 4k.
Hahahahaha!!
i saw an interview with alex kingston the other day where she said the prop department was so thorough with a diary prop in doctor who that it included details from a FUTURE episode! i guess the writers had her character’s arc completed well in advance haha (and i guess that’s what happens when it’s a show about time travel)
I was watching The Last Crusade, saw this book, paused the movie and entered a rabbit hole of videos on youtube about this prop and finally ending on this video.
“The Samaritan...is maybe the most involved prop replica I have ever embarked upon.” [Life size functional Iron Man Prototype suit in background]
I know, right???
But didn’t he say he bought it? The iron man suit I mean. So he is painting it up and such.
@@prof_nobody exactly... You can't call something you didn't create originally and I just changing the look of your own product in my view, therefore since you didn't originally created you can't say that it's the biggest endeavor that you embarked upon as it was somebody else's endeavor and not yours...
@@northwiebesick7136 Percentages, not absolute.
I can only imagine the joy a prop builder must feel, when so many people love your prop and want to replicate it.
A signature starts life as a single large sheet when it's printed. It's printed then folded into the final page size before being cropped. The 'signature' is the specific ordering and orientation of the pages on the single page print so that it folds neatly into page order when cropped. There are specific fixed numbers of pages in signatures. You can have 8,12, 16, 24...etc. This explains the 'blank on purpose' pages you sometimes find in books when the total number of book pages doesn't fit neatly into a signature.
This also explains why you had to cut the pages in old books.
A “signature” (or folio) is a folded group of pages for sewing. The practice of arranging those pages so they end up in the correct order in the final book is call “pagination” (or archaically called “foliation”) while laying out multiple pages on a press sheet for printing is called “impositioning”.
Its also why a lot of novels have excerpts from another book at the end, or an author notes page
@DaveDavies I always wondered why there were blank pages at the end of the book!
When I was a kid I ran across a reference to "This space intentionally left - Blank", which confused me for a long time. It wasn't blank, it contained a statement that it was, and why was this space intentionally left blank? It didn't help that this was in an adventure game (Zork) so I was convinced it was some kind of obscure clue. But it was just a pun left by one of the creators referencing book binding (one of the creators last names was Blank!).
Adam (tkbig from RPF here)
Loved the video!!!
Amazingly ironic that I did my Grail diary in 2008 under the same circumstances as you!
Best therapy there is!!!
Keep up the good work dude!!!
Learned a new thing today, “signature”. Anyway, I am impressed by your enthusiasm and attention to detail in making props...
There is a lovely Norwegian girl (nerdforge) who is a maker, doing lots of "magic book" replicas from games and lore and just for fun - showing the entire process in great detail. Here is an example ua-cam.com/video/w8MrqRHu2Es/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Nerdforge
And here is another fun one, when she makes a really cool travel journal/notebook out of some old boots ua-cam.com/video/UznBAQs8l3Q/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Nerdforge
Onion skin paper is also used in traditional animation, so that you can see the last pose of the character (in the last frame). And when you have an animation software that allows you to use "onion skin" layers where you can see the other previous frames below your drawing it's based on that too.
I love hearing you talk passionately about your projects and the things you like, it makes me want to do more making and expand my passion for making
Was anybody else reminded by the line in the Last Crusade when Adam was talking about forgetting his signature "I wrote it down in my diary so I didn't HAVE to remember."
Definitely!
I’m one of those crazies who has made the diary by hand, hand wrote, and hand drawn the whole diary...twice. It is a true labor of love, and probably my favorite prop I own. Love Adam’s passion for this beauty.
Ok I am doing it now and the drawings! The are killing me!
When Adam speaks I honestly feel he's talking directly to me. I'm fascinated by his passion for his art and get easily drawn in by his excitement and obvious obsession. Thank you sir...
Beautiful. This bought back some great memories for me. Dad showed me the basics of book binding, which I have now forgotten 60 years later, the memories of dad are pure “Grail” treasure for me. Thx
You put you're own forgotten mystery into the book. What an exciting new adventure you can do. Please, if you discover it, do share. I look forward to your discovery of your own grail diary.
Your*
All the grammar is like a 9 year old wrote it, it's so bad
@@MuscarV2 Maybe he is. Maybe English isn't his first language. Who cares?
@@MuscarV2 Why be a dick about it? Did belittling someone else make you feel bigger somehow? Whatever is stirring you to behave this way is undoubtedly causing you trouble in your face to face interactions and relationships with others. Seek help.
@@barbarasmith2693 well said, Barbara. 👌
6:01 For those interested, the book Adam refers to is titled From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives by Mark Cotta Vaz and Shinji Hata.
Thanks just bought it!
This video makes me grateful for modern technology
I would love to have a replica of the grail journal. I love Indiana Jones
Wonderful idea. I’m doing this right now actually. Will have a spot on my coffee table for sure!
As a graphic designer this is my favourite of your prop videos! Thanks Adam.
The feel of an old used diary/notebook is very satisfying. The crispy paper, and inked thoughts of the moment. Adam is like my childhood maker dreams personified.
Did Adam put the Hitler autograph into the diary too? That became a part of the diary lore. If you don't remember it's when Indy and his dad travel into Berlin to retrieve the diary. As Indy is trying to make his escape he's swept up into a crowd and ends up face to face with Hitler, who grabs the diary and autographs it.
Not sure if Adam did it, but I have two grail diaries and both have the Hitler signature on the correct page from the film. I remember watching the movie the night I got the diary and freeze framing that scene trying to figure out what page it was and if it was included. Was pretty stoked to see it as it just adds to the authenticity.
Another thing included in mine is the rubbing of the knight's shield. Definitely a cool detail that any grail diary should come with.
And is the map torn out?
Adam! You should totally make a call out to the people who actually have one of your diaries and do something like a meet and greet for those people and perhaps sign them and effectively "authenticate" them and make them even more original and part of your collection and life's work. At this point, im sure you know we really appreciate everything you do! :D So keep doing it!
He first needs to remember WHAT the TELL MARK was.
as a former print shop production worker, i can emphatically say that YES, SOME copiers CAN achieve that kind of alignment - not the average everyday ones, but some of the commercial, production units can. I know this very, VERY well - having made adjustments to get that "perfect" alignment front to back.
All that said - this is such a neat prop! thank you for sharing with us!
Looking through the comments, wow, the stories that this short video invokes. Thoroughly enjoy your tales.
Keep it going!
The irony that you forgot the tell, which you wrote down in the diary "so you wouldn't have to remember" is just magnificent!
Oh I love props like these in movies and think its cool to see how they are made. Something small but unique enough for you to notice.
Man, what I would give for one of those books! This man is going to be remembered as one of the greatest collectors, makers, and enthusiasts of all time!!! Thanks for all you do Adam, I grew up never missing an episode of myth busters! I would actually record the episodes on my VCR! And now I get to see your enthusiastic passion almost everyday, and I love it just as much today as I did in 2002 in high school!
I made a ton of these. I could teach you to make your own
I watch this channel not because I'm a maker or a builder because I am not I watch this channel because of the passion you show for what you do you are an incredible human being we are lucky to have you.
"This pollen detector that happens to be placed on my face"
LMAO My gosh youre killing me!
I have three, of varying sensitivity. Two that start to water and leak goo at even slightest provocation, and another one that provides respiratory input, just to make sure that you’re aware of what’s going on.
That's what I say every day to the pollen. "My gosh you're killing me!" It never listens.
This totally Tickled me. I am a paper crafter and making Journal books is as you say a joy but the funniest part for me is your copier issues. I can never explain to people why it is so hard. and why there is some waste. you really made my day. Thank you!
As a former print shop employee, I remember the nightmare of people who wanted a booklet printed.... when their files weren't set up right, and we had to try and fix it in a limited amount of time. OOF!
I feel your pain. I am asked to polish those turds on an almost daily basis.
@@chriscmoor One of the things I don't miss! LOL
Imposition can be so... imposing!
as person who printed a 8-20 page booklet at various printshops once a week for years, I appreciate you
I’m a old print shop alum also , hand collating, lead type face ...offset press. This is becoming a lost art if it hasn’t already. Thanks for sharing
This is what dreams are made of. They’re not easy, they’re not convenient, but they are correct, and they are truly rewarding. Thank you for sharing this journey!
This is the holy grail for me. The greatest prop in film history, and a personal journey for anyone who takes it on as a project.
As someone who has always been obsessed with 'special' books in films and has just learned the basics of bookbinding, I LOVE THIS!
Paper ephemera are fun recreations. I needed Samuel Colt's instruction sheet to glue inside the lid of my fitted case I made for my old Euroarms 1851 navy revolver repro. I researched & found different versions of the text, combined some to get the most complete version and typeset it in CorelDraw 13. I printed some out and tea-stained and crumpled them up. Very realistic when I glued it inside the lid. I needed old labels for Ely brand percussion cap tins and used the same process, selecting a suitable antique pale green background and typesetting the words in an antiqued font in the same relationship to the real label images. Such fun. I did some items for a Titanic exhibit at the local library, replicating White Star Lines notepads, menus, etc. I did all this in my spare time at my Tee shirt design job. I miss my graphics capability nowadays.
I'm in my mid 60's, and have a very fond memory of spending time with a neighbor when I was three or four. My parents had asked him to use his professional bookbinding skills to re-assemble a stack of paper that had been a centuries-old family bible containing hand-written records of births, marriages, deaths, immigrations, etc. on the endpapers (that side of the family had been farmers in Sweden). He showed me every step in the process, and every material and tool he used (including a broad-bladed knife-like piece of elephant ivory). The result was remarkable. It's on my bookshelf as I write this.
If there is only ONE prop I could have. It’s this. Beautiful, beautiful piece from a truly marvellous movie.
Imagine a child finding that book in a parent's library.
This is one of my all-time favourite props from a movie. Made my own sketchbooks imitate that feel - inked sketches, notes, todo lists, and whatnot. My love of fountain pens also stems from that.
Oh, I recognize that wrapping paper. Wonderful stuff. And that see-through paper my parents used to write home to England. Thank you.
That awkward moment when you realize that Adam not only uses Photoshop, but worked with the guy that invented it.
My tinker heart is beating for the drive and love for the nerdy details and the process. I see myself in your journey
That's a great looking replica and such a cool way to keep yourself creative and active in such a difficult period.
I live how he figured out all the intricacies of the printing process the hard way and enjoyed every second of it.
This is awesome! Really appreciate the top-down view you gave flipping through the pages towards the end, it's nice to see all of the images more clearly. Thanks!
Wow great reproduction. I was obsessed with this prop! I remember spending many a joyous night looking at the source materials on Indyprops and recreating them with pen and ink. I even made a matching wooden grail that still sit on my desk today.
I've been obsessed with the grail diary for 13 years and it was such a joy to see Adam's diary after only hearing about it. I've only made half as many as he has, but I'd love to show him mine, we'd have so much to share, I bet
You can understand the kindness and generosity, and the way in which Adam's mind works, when he starts on a long process to make something, but makes 13 of them because he knows he is going to be sharing the results!
Absolutely love it, and as a journal writer myself, it's actually encouraged me to start learning how to bind my own journals.
I love the look and would love tips on how to learn how to bind journals!
Thanks and cheers!
As an artist and tinkerer, I dream of having his kinds of resources, this is so cool
What a lovely project! Your passion is always so inspiring. Thank you, Adam, for everything you do.
If you are interested in learning bookbinding then DAS Bookbinding is THE channel to go to. To date probably the greatest repository of bookbinding techniques, structures, and styles on UA-cam.
I’ve always attempted to have a similar feel to this book with every one of my sketch books. I remember thinking how gorgeous this book was and wanted that in my life. Thanks for sharing this one!
Hey Adam I'm chronicles depresses, but my life is a little easier to be in when I see how fund and how you love the things you do. Thanks you bring me joy to my life. Thanks.
You inspired me to give book binding a try! After going down the rabbit hole of websites offering all sorts of details on how to make one, I picked a few well made videos, grabbed some newsprint paper, cut, sawed, and kettle stitched all my signatures (3 folded sheets per signature, 24 signatures), added some pretty end sheets and headbands, wrapped it in faux leather just because it was my first try. So satisfying! They came out so beautiful! I don't plan to copy grail diary stuff into any of them them, but I have always loved that journal. I made a miniature one and might try to make a mini grail diary of of it. ;) Thank you sooooo much for this inspiration!
I wish I could find one sort of definitive version of the book, showing it page by page. Why isn't Steven Spielberg sharing it?! Lol! I've made several of these now (all blank except for one of the small ones in which I'm copying some grail pages that I found online), and have even taught a couple of workshops in book binding to my friends. It's addictive! 💕
This is super-cool!
I think another reason that onionskin is frequently used is that (at least it used to be) that postage for airmail letters in Europe used to be by the very very fine units of weight, so having thing light paper made sending letters cheaper. So anything that might be sent as a letter was on super-thin (but fairly strong and tear-resistant) onionskin.
Adam you made this the year I was born, and I’m just happy that my most influential person made a prop from my most influential movie
I remember the old Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade computer game had a version of this diary in the game.
I still have my copy!
The content of that is now taken as canon for the "expanded" version of the prop.
Wow. You brought back a memory of grammar school. I cannot for the life of me remember why I needed to use onion skin paper back in the early 70's, but I remember handling a LOT of it for a school project. I still remember the feel of it.
You expressed the value of a hobby. At a time of maximum stress, it may well have saved your sanity. Playing music and building/flying model airplanes has stood me in good stead through a lot of trying times. People without a hobby just seem to whither away when their work life is done.
I love postage packaging that looks like its been places and passed through many hands.
Always reminds me of old cartoons where someone or thing gets shipped around the world.
Wonderful story. I love handwritten journals. Reminds me of Da Vinci notebooks
What a truly beautiful piece of work! And thank you for sharing your journey whilst you were making it (or ‘them’ should I say!!). The attention to detail is wonderful! Love the addition of the White Star ticket!
This was delightful. Thank you. As a hobbyist bookbinder, I might make this journal.
Man, some of this really spoke to me: the thing about propmaking being therapeutic during down times, and about each prop you tackle forcing you to learn new skills. I was laid off for 14 months during Covid and I tackled a large number of "someday builds" (realising that The Mother Of All Somedays had arrived). Every build was something I'd never done before! Every build was unique and involved learning new skill-sets. And, somehow, every build was a success. (These things will all be seen at SiliCon.)
You mentioned spike moments in crafting. I recently made a Blade Runner pistol from my 3d printer and I am adding LED lights to it. This is the first time I have done any thing like that. Learning to solder , learning about voltages. My next thing I am going to build is an 80% sized V.I.N.C.E.N.T. from the movie The Black Hole. for my brother. Learning how to do LEDs has opened up a ton of new projects for me. And I dont think I would have done it , if you had not shown/made all of your videos about the blade runner blaster pistol and I wanted to thank you for always expanding my world.
The enthusiasm is contagious, every video!
So rad!!! I made one when i was 13. Fun process indeed.
I love your attention to detail Adam! You make me feel good about being that same way!
Oh, I've wanted to try my hand at book binding for some time, and this just pushed me over the top -- thanks Adam!!!
It must be Beautiful. I love the details and the excitement you have on all the things you make.
The excitement in this mans voice while explaining the procedures
That Grail diary is SWEET. Reminds me of my friend's River Song diary (from Doctor Who)... she researched everything and replicated the few pages that were seen on screen, and expertly filled in the rest. She then got bored with it and started collecting autographs in it from all the various Doctor & companion actors :)
That is how you do it!
I tried my hand at book binding a few years ago and loved it. Great fun!
Remember using onion paper in junior high to trace maps for history class great times
I remember the first time I saw the diary in the film and was fascinated by the intenseness of the pages, the way they showed ideas thrown down quickly and was full of interest, it had a major influence on how I like to fill sketch pads. Now I find out it was 30 or so pages repeated, does this detract from the infatuation? not at all. In fact Adams energy just adds to the love of the Diary. great show and tell.
Keep us updated on that tell!
Thanks for sharing as always your Grail Diary is truely a master piece and what makes it better is the providence behind it
I fell in love with that prop after seeing Last Crusade as well. I made my own from an appropriately sized sketch after finding images from the pages on the internet. I hand drew it starting at page one but only got about 20 or so pages done. I've been trying figure out how do one of the Maltese Falcon. It would be Gutman's diary and include his run ins with Demidov, his allying with Joel Cairo, etc.
20:50 that’s how I feel about making soap. After I saw Fight Club for the first time I wanted to learn how to do it and the whole process was very therapeutic. That was 10 years ago and I still do it.
adam, it seems this prop helped you a lot all those years ago, thank you so much for sharing
I remember obsessing over this prop as a kid. I so glad that obsession isn't so weird ❤
Did you make the rubbing from the grail markers in the movie? Didn’t Indy put the rubbing in the diary as a place to keep it?
I'd say Adam's replica is in the state that Indy receives it in the movie because it's wrapped in the shipping paper and the opening cover is not autographed by a certain guy. My guess is that it should have Henry Sr's rubbing in an insert somewhere, but not necessarily have Indy's addition from the shield.
This also may explain the reason why I couldn’t see Hitler’s signature in the book. Hitler signs the book after the rubbing.
Pretty cool stuff here.
Keep following that passion and drive. Its exciting to watch you, mainly because of how genuinely interested and excited about the content you produce and it shows. Hats off.
Deep info dives are cool!