No there will be more. But feel free to jump on the wagon while I am making a bunch of these.
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Interest Grail diary tool - Hero prop style
- Thread starter Indiana Holt
- Start date
Onkelpsycho
Sr Member
Would like to, but holiday is coming and some bills, so I guess it has to wait till next year... will have an eye on this thread. If they are gone, theyre gone... if it's like that, I'm cool with it... 
Absolutley! Hop on whenever! Welcome!
I received my Holt Tool Diary today and I felt compelled to write a review of it so here it is.
(I apologise for the messy desk in the photographs)
In a sentence:
It's the best replica I've ever owned.
In a paragraph:
Adam Savage said in one of his videos that Indy Magnoli's grail diary, is "one of the best grail diaries he's ever seen". Well Mr Magnoli has said several times "if I could only have one Diary replica, it'd be a Holt!" That's what we're talking about here, a truly high level replica, that even the one of the best replicators thinks is something incredibly special. From the second you see one of Holt's diaries in person you'll know and that you have chosen wisely. This is a replica on a whole other level.
In an essay:
The second I held it I felt like the prop from the film had fallen out of the screen into my hand. I've never encountered a replica that feels not only so much like the original prop, but like it's actually 100 years old, if someone who knows nothing about Indy found my diary they'd absolutely believe it to be an antique, it feels like Holt must have been weathering it for the last 20 years at least just to get the result he has. It is truly a work of art and I don't completely understand how he's accomplished what he has.
It's been a life long dream of mine to own the Grail Diary, I've been staring at photos of the original prop for years and if someone just put this thing in my hand before I knew about Holt's diaries, I'd be completely convinced they'd just handed me one of the original props. It's that good.
The Cover:
The first thing you notice is the cover, with precise tool marks around the border, the photos don't do them justice, in person those tool marks are so detailed, there's an incredibly small, detailed flower pattern that I personally had never noticed before from the any of the original prop photos, some of the tooling is worn away and scuffed. My diary has cracks and creases in the cover that look like the original owner has opened and closed the book a thousand times over a long period of time. There's a part of one of the corners that has worn away, leaving it slightly misshapen, just like the original hero prop. It looks professionally made, and then meticulously aged over a long period of time. It's not just beaten up with sandpaper and a scotch pad. It's aged. Each scuff, and mark are a conscious choice where it feels like you can see the life it's lived before it got to you.
Then you pick the thing up and it fits in your hand like it was moulded to you, like it has been held and carried around for years. Not only does it feel exactly like the original prop must, but it feels like an antique diary. The weight is perfect. The feeling of the leather is uncanny, I do not understand how Holt has achieved what he has, but the leather feels like it's dried out over the years, like it's slightly breaking down due to time. That's not to say it's delicate or fragile, but it feels like it should be. I own quite a few antique books, old documents and paper ephemera from the 1920's/30's and this fits in with them as though it came out of my grandfather's writing desk.
The Pages:
Then you open the diary for the first time and you are confronted with page after page of perfection. Every page looks as though it's been written by Henry Jones, I realise there are lots of grail diaries out there trying to pull this off, but this is the first one I've come across where I have absolutely no idea which pages are replicas of a production diary and which pages have come out of Holt's imagination. There is SO much content in here, you can flick through the book three or four different times and never see the same page twice. I'll go to find a page I want to revisit and it'll take me 5 minutes of flicking just to find it again.
It seems as though he has weathered each page individually, and using different techniques throughout the book. The thing I truly appreciate about the weathering on the pages is that whilst there is a huge amount of it going on it always seems subtle and nuanced, there's nothing about the weathering that appears clumsy. Every page is a unique work of art. If you wanted to display the book with it open, you can just randomly open the book on any page and it will look fantastic. I consider myself not too bad at weathering paper props, but Holt could teach a class on it. The edge of ever page is browned, and almost mouldy looking, it feels like it's been sat on a desk for 100 years and held by 20 different people in that time at various points. Usually when I receive a replica the first thing I do is spend some time giving it my own weathering, but with this I'm worried to do any damage to it in case I detract from the work that's been done. I feel an overwhelming instinct the hold the diary carefully, as though it's a precious, rare, antique. It belongs in a museum.
The inserts:
There are inserts in here that I'm struggling to convince myself aren't original vintage documents, (I've included a photo of my favourite insert but I know the photo won't do it justice) the choices of paper is unique to each insert and absolutely spot on to the original prop. Some of them are glued in place (like the original prop) and lots of them aren't. Every insert that you see removed from the diary in the film is loose. I'm also assuming he's put the diary in a press or something because the creases in the inserts have been flattened like they've been inside the book for a long long time, and this means that you can flick through the book without the inserts flying everywhere, just like Indy does.
Summary:
If you came to this thread because you are considering buying one of his diaries then stop reading this and go message him right now. If you are lucky enough to be able to own one you won't regret it. Are they expensive? Absolutely, but the second you see it in person you'll know where your money has gone, it's paid for a huge amount of time, years of passion and a replica unlike any other. Every so often you encounter someone who has a lifelong passion for a single object and as a result of their dedication to it they create something one of a kind, this is one of those moments. I love this thing so much that I received it today and felt the overwhelming compulsion to write this love letter about it. At this point if someone offered me the original prop from the Lucas Archives for my Holt Diary I'd have to seriously consider my options. What more can I say. If you can afford to, go and buy one right now.
Here's a photo of where it now lives on my bookshelf along with a few other random unrelated bits, but to really appreciate what he's done here you need to hold it in your hands.
Edit: I love my diary so much I've ordered a second one for a family member.
(I apologise for the messy desk in the photographs)
In a sentence:
It's the best replica I've ever owned.
In a paragraph:
Adam Savage said in one of his videos that Indy Magnoli's grail diary, is "one of the best grail diaries he's ever seen". Well Mr Magnoli has said several times "if I could only have one Diary replica, it'd be a Holt!" That's what we're talking about here, a truly high level replica, that even the one of the best replicators thinks is something incredibly special. From the second you see one of Holt's diaries in person you'll know and that you have chosen wisely. This is a replica on a whole other level.
In an essay:
The second I held it I felt like the prop from the film had fallen out of the screen into my hand. I've never encountered a replica that feels not only so much like the original prop, but like it's actually 100 years old, if someone who knows nothing about Indy found my diary they'd absolutely believe it to be an antique, it feels like Holt must have been weathering it for the last 20 years at least just to get the result he has. It is truly a work of art and I don't completely understand how he's accomplished what he has.
It's been a life long dream of mine to own the Grail Diary, I've been staring at photos of the original prop for years and if someone just put this thing in my hand before I knew about Holt's diaries, I'd be completely convinced they'd just handed me one of the original props. It's that good.
The Cover:
The first thing you notice is the cover, with precise tool marks around the border, the photos don't do them justice, in person those tool marks are so detailed, there's an incredibly small, detailed flower pattern that I personally had never noticed before from the any of the original prop photos, some of the tooling is worn away and scuffed. My diary has cracks and creases in the cover that look like the original owner has opened and closed the book a thousand times over a long period of time. There's a part of one of the corners that has worn away, leaving it slightly misshapen, just like the original hero prop. It looks professionally made, and then meticulously aged over a long period of time. It's not just beaten up with sandpaper and a scotch pad. It's aged. Each scuff, and mark are a conscious choice where it feels like you can see the life it's lived before it got to you.
Then you pick the thing up and it fits in your hand like it was moulded to you, like it has been held and carried around for years. Not only does it feel exactly like the original prop must, but it feels like an antique diary. The weight is perfect. The feeling of the leather is uncanny, I do not understand how Holt has achieved what he has, but the leather feels like it's dried out over the years, like it's slightly breaking down due to time. That's not to say it's delicate or fragile, but it feels like it should be. I own quite a few antique books, old documents and paper ephemera from the 1920's/30's and this fits in with them as though it came out of my grandfather's writing desk.
The Pages:
Then you open the diary for the first time and you are confronted with page after page of perfection. Every page looks as though it's been written by Henry Jones, I realise there are lots of grail diaries out there trying to pull this off, but this is the first one I've come across where I have absolutely no idea which pages are replicas of a production diary and which pages have come out of Holt's imagination. There is SO much content in here, you can flick through the book three or four different times and never see the same page twice. I'll go to find a page I want to revisit and it'll take me 5 minutes of flicking just to find it again.
It seems as though he has weathered each page individually, and using different techniques throughout the book. The thing I truly appreciate about the weathering on the pages is that whilst there is a huge amount of it going on it always seems subtle and nuanced, there's nothing about the weathering that appears clumsy. Every page is a unique work of art. If you wanted to display the book with it open, you can just randomly open the book on any page and it will look fantastic. I consider myself not too bad at weathering paper props, but Holt could teach a class on it. The edge of ever page is browned, and almost mouldy looking, it feels like it's been sat on a desk for 100 years and held by 20 different people in that time at various points. Usually when I receive a replica the first thing I do is spend some time giving it my own weathering, but with this I'm worried to do any damage to it in case I detract from the work that's been done. I feel an overwhelming instinct the hold the diary carefully, as though it's a precious, rare, antique. It belongs in a museum.
The inserts:
There are inserts in here that I'm struggling to convince myself aren't original vintage documents, (I've included a photo of my favourite insert but I know the photo won't do it justice) the choices of paper is unique to each insert and absolutely spot on to the original prop. Some of them are glued in place (like the original prop) and lots of them aren't. Every insert that you see removed from the diary in the film is loose. I'm also assuming he's put the diary in a press or something because the creases in the inserts have been flattened like they've been inside the book for a long long time, and this means that you can flick through the book without the inserts flying everywhere, just like Indy does.
Summary:
If you came to this thread because you are considering buying one of his diaries then stop reading this and go message him right now. If you are lucky enough to be able to own one you won't regret it. Are they expensive? Absolutely, but the second you see it in person you'll know where your money has gone, it's paid for a huge amount of time, years of passion and a replica unlike any other. Every so often you encounter someone who has a lifelong passion for a single object and as a result of their dedication to it they create something one of a kind, this is one of those moments. I love this thing so much that I received it today and felt the overwhelming compulsion to write this love letter about it. At this point if someone offered me the original prop from the Lucas Archives for my Holt Diary I'd have to seriously consider my options. What more can I say. If you can afford to, go and buy one right now.
Here's a photo of where it now lives on my bookshelf along with a few other random unrelated bits, but to really appreciate what he's done here you need to hold it in your hands.
Edit: I love my diary so much I've ordered a second one for a family member.
Last edited:
Im so humbled. Thank you mate. Really! DOnt know what else to say. Im abit emotional rigth now, probably becuase I listen to the Gladiator soundtrack. lol but the combo of that and seeing my baby on your desk makes me so proud and happy for you and sad for me cuz I wil neer feel it again. ENJOY
but the combo of that and seeing my baby on your desk makes me so proud and happy for you and sad for me cuz I wil neer feel it again. ENJOY
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Thank you! Don't feel sad mate! I may have the diary, but you've got something even better, the skill to create one whenever you feel the urge and the ability to make other people's childhood dreams come true. That's priceless. That Gladiator soundtrack gets me every time too. If you're feeling the loss just get started on the designs for your next one! make it even better (although I've no idea how you'll manage it, but I'm sure you will)Im so humbled. Thank you mate. Really! DOnt know what else to say. Im abit emotional rigth now, probably becuase I listen to the Gladiator soundtrack. lol
Yeah mate. Its all in good spirits. Im just so glad you have you dream diary
Excellent. Yeah I really, really do. I'm just wandering around the house holding it and annoying my fiancée with things I notice about it
Well, Im holding its brother in my hand now. Soon they will reunite.
Awesome. I'm itching to see it.Well, Im holding its brother in my hand now. Soon they will reunite.
Just an update. I will start the diaries today.
Hi guys.
Got another one done. This one is actually different and special at the same time as its a resurrection Diary.
The client wanted to buy a Diary as a Xmas gift for a family member but time is of the essence and I did not have any Tools ready besides one which allready was made a two years ago. That is what I call a ''Tool diary 1.5''
Its not the first model but its not the new updated one either. Its right in between the two. However, it was made with old cover and old inserts however, the bookblock was printed out on my new high quality laserjet so the quality print is A+.
I removed the old cover very carefully. Took out all the old inserts which was a pain in the rear and updated the enitre bookblock with an updated cover and new inserts.
He wanted me to do something special and I said sure, I can something cool. I made this cover as a Semi hero prop cover. I gave an overall Hero prop look so it covers most aspects of the real thing but in a Semi kinda way but still one heck of a cool cover. The color was mixed to a solid Hero prop shade. Distressed the border more like B prop Grail diaries as I really love the worn off border on those. The detail is amazing in person. You can still see the swirls and candle pretty well thru the aging just like it is on the B props. I personally love that detail.
Diary is soft and flipps like a dream!
Congrats to the new owner and from what I know, I'm 100% sure he will love it and that warms my soul.
Here are some glams.
Embossing and distressing details
Hi guys.
Got another one done. This one is actually different and special at the same time as its a resurrection Diary.
The client wanted to buy a Diary as a Xmas gift for a family member but time is of the essence and I did not have any Tools ready besides one which allready was made a two years ago. That is what I call a ''Tool diary 1.5''
Its not the first model but its not the new updated one either. Its right in between the two. However, it was made with old cover and old inserts however, the bookblock was printed out on my new high quality laserjet so the quality print is A+.
I removed the old cover very carefully. Took out all the old inserts which was a pain in the rear and updated the enitre bookblock with an updated cover and new inserts.
He wanted me to do something special and I said sure, I can something cool. I made this cover as a Semi hero prop cover. I gave an overall Hero prop look so it covers most aspects of the real thing but in a Semi kinda way but still one heck of a cool cover. The color was mixed to a solid Hero prop shade. Distressed the border more like B prop Grail diaries as I really love the worn off border on those. The detail is amazing in person. You can still see the swirls and candle pretty well thru the aging just like it is on the B props. I personally love that detail.
Diary is soft and flipps like a dream!
Congrats to the new owner and from what I know, I'm 100% sure he will love it and that warms my soul.
Here are some glams.
Embossing and distressing details
Oh my, look at that absolute beauty. Amazing work as always Holt! The man who's getting it is going to be so incredible happy. I know that for a fact.Just an update. I will start the diaries today.
Hi guys.
Got another one done. This one is actually different and special at the same time as its a resurrection Diary.
The client wanted to buy a Diary as a Xmas gift for a family member but time is of the essence and I did not have any Tools ready besides one which allready was made a two years ago. That is what I call a ''Tool diary 1.5''
Its not the first model but its not the new updated one either. Its right in between the two. However, it was made with old cover and old inserts however, the bookblock was printed out on my new high quality laserjet so the quality print is A+.
I removed the old cover very carefully. Took out all the old inserts which was a pain in the rear and updated the enitre bookblock with an updated cover and new inserts.
He wanted me to do something special and I said sure, I can something cool. I made this cover as a Semi hero prop cover. I gave an overall Hero prop look so it covers most aspects of the real thing but in a Semi kinda way but still one heck of a cool cover. The color was mixed to a solid Hero prop shade. Distressed the border more like B prop Grail diaries as I really love the worn off border on those. The detail is amazing in person. You can still see the swirls and candle pretty well thru the aging just like it is on the B props. I personally love that detail.
Diary is soft and flipps like a dream!
Congrats to the new owner and from what I know, I'm 100% sure he will love it and that warms my soul.
Here are some glams.
Embossing and distressing details
Thank you mate. I'm glad to hear that!
Congratulations Holt on the Tool Diary 2.0. As a proud owner of one of your first Tool Diaries 1.0 I can say your dedication and craftsmanship never ceases to amaze. I love my Holt diary and the feelings it evokes when flipping through or studying it in depth. To those jumping on this run I say “you have chosen wisely”. As has been said above the pictures don’t do justice to these diaries but aren’t they wonderful to see! All the best for the festive season Eric! Skol!
Skol my friend!!. Thank you for the kind words!!! You have a pm.
UPDATE.
Got the paper last week. Been sick all weekend so its been slow but feeling better now. Today I printed out enough to make 3 diaries.
Next step is cut, fold and sew.
Getting there!!
Got the paper last week. Been sick all weekend so its been slow but feeling better now. Today I printed out enough to make 3 diaries.
Next step is cut, fold and sew.
Getting there!!
Second diary received! This one is for a family member, who will absolutely love it. I can now add another compliment to my review: Holt is consistent with his incredible quality.
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