Paper?

[DavidW]

You are welcome to write a good paper FAQ, I'll be happy to make it sticky.

Awesome! I'll totally do this, and then I'll post it for feedback from active posters until most are in agreement and it can be posted.

I'm thinking paper rec by complexity and type of fold (what works well with a geometric wouldn't work so well for an insect etc) and then what papers work well and where you can buy them.

[DavidW]

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we all have different preferences and nothing resembling unity in thought beyond what constitutes good/ideal paper even for a specific class of folds. A single FAQ like I wanted doesn't make sense. Sigh... that huge sticky thread is probably the best solution. Guess I was wrong to diss it before.

[Adam]

I disagree. A paper FAQ could certainly prove to be useful for some people. I was actually considering making a FAQ as well, but I don't have access to some types of paper, so it would end up being incomplete (- I also never really had enough time to write a proper FAQ). However, if we join forces then perhaps we could provide clear descriptions of various types of paper, including their usefulness for different models.

[DavidW]

Alright Adam. Sounds cool. I also have that problem that I've simply not folded alot of papers that others use (actually that is due to lack of interest) such as various handmade washi.

Maybe we need gsm, sizes available, strengths, weaknesses, and then bottomline use the paper for folding x but not y. And then post links to making tissue foil, and backcoating tissue paper (probably Sara Adams videos would do).

And finally were you can get it locally, and online if links to the stores are allowed. Like for example:

Tant

Density: 78 gsm
Sizes available (cm): 7.5, 15, 25, 30.5, 35 (square)
Colors Available: many colors, same color both sides
Backcoating needed: takes a crease without additional sizing, but backcoating greatly helps with tearing due to fatigue
Suitable for wetfolding: yes
Best for: geometric models, tension folding
Worst for: complex models
Greatest strength: stiffness
Greatest weakness: fatigue, thickness
Availability: online through Kimscrane (US), Paperjade (US), The Fine Art Store (US), Origami Shop (FR)

And we can explain at the beginning what qualities are needed in paper generally and then specifically for different types of models.

[origami_8]

...and here I disagree, Tant only really becomes useful when backcoated, otherwise it breaks far to easily. It also can be used for wetfolding. Well and I have some packs of hundred different colours of that paper.
Furthermore you would need to mention that those sizes are squares, other paper may only be available in rectangles and handmade paper even without straight edges.

Some sample pictures of the paper and models folded from it would also be great.

[DavidW]

Anna what are you folding with tant that breaks the paper? I've folded intermediate models such as Montroll's Kangaroo without any worry holes (like kami can have) or unsightly lines let alone tears. In fact I only mentioned fatigue because I've seen you mention it. My personal experience has been that I've gone through a couple dozen sheets so far and I haven't seen a trace of it!

I've seen many pics on flickr from people folding tant that they didn't document using backcoating. When you say it is wetfoldable is that with backcoating or in general? Because I've seen a couple of posters complain that tant doesn't wetfold well.

Anyway it just got more tricky, because Origami Jacob just mentioned that there are two types of tant. Oh bother!

[origamimasterjared]

I've been told that the one thing Tant is good for is wetfolding. If it's not good for wetfolding, then it seems it's not good for anything, haha.

In my experience it's good for giraffes. I've done well with a few different giraffes from it. Also some Komatsu stuff, since his stuff folds well from anything that's paper. I've really not had enough success with Tant paper to recommend it to anyone.

Tant breaks really easily at pressure points. Much more so than origami paper. It's thick too, so not my bag.

[DavidW]

I think that it works well for Komatsu's models because he uses tension folding techniques and there is alot of tension in tant. Since it holds on to a crease so well, I was thinking it would be perfect for Montroll's single sheet polyhedra and a future project I'm going to do is to buy large sheets (25-35 cm) of tant and just go to town with his two books.

[malachi]

I have folded Fireworks with Tant paper and the stiffness works quite well for that model.

[leung_wwy]

I did the bigger version of Maekawa's peacock on Tant but it didn't work out too well - the corners/points tend to split after repeated folding

[DavidW]

Alright I've updated the tant entry. It sounds like I've heard from enough people that hopefully the description is complete now. If so I can later add another entry.

[DavidW]

Origami Paper
Density: 53 gsm
Sizes available (cm): 5, 7.5, 15, 25, 35 (square)
Colors Available: many colors, including duo
Backcoating needed: no
Suitable for wetfolding: no
Best for: most models from simple to high intermediate
Worst for: very complex models
Greatest strength: availability, thinness
Greatest weakness: fatigue, poor color palette (mostly bright primaries)
Availability: 15 cm in most arts and crafts stores, and online through Kimscrane (US), Paperjade (US), The Fine Art Store (US), Origami Shop (FR)

Sorry for the long delay, I was busy. Comments?

[malachi]

My experience is that the weight can very quite a bit, depending on the manufacturer (and sometimes the color).

[DavidW]

I thought so too, what do you think 55-80 maybe? I guess by color you mean there are packs with colors less neon? Well if so I guess I should change that.

[anonymous person]

Yeah, I agree- I generallly find that some brands such as yasumoto are a little thicker and weaker than other brands such as Grimm Hobby. There are other brands such as aitoh which are even thinner than Grimm Hobby, but they're even weaker than Yasumoto.