Sweat Folding

[DigitalMessiah]

I don't know if that term has ever been used before, if Not I am officially coining it now. Im curious to see if anyone else does this as well. Usually while folding paper that would lend itself well to wet folding, by doing mostly air folding and a lot of massaging of the folds as you go, the paper builds up to a kind of molded model from the slight amounts of oils or sweat from the skin. Making a model that can have much more life to it with curves and such, much like a traditionally wet folded model.
Over the years I found that by instead of just making the folds and releasing the paper, I would massage them for a little bit from both sides pinched between my fingers and curved back and forth. Usually this method would be the only way to get some papers to stop trying to unfold themselves when the layers get thicker and thicker. In complex models the massage would become essential in completing the model and at the same time giving it much more life. In a way this is kind of like massaging a loved one. You can feel the tension release from the body. And we all prefer our loved ones free of tension right?
In my early folding days I would be so afraid of ripping, tearing, and ruining in some way a complex model I was folding that I was too , perhaps cold would be the best term, I was too cold with the paper and in turn the model finished seemed a bit lifeless and cold. Once I realized that taking the time to work the paper in the air a lot and give it the sweat folding treatment the end product turned out much better. I think reading about Akira Yoshizawa and his way of connecting life with the subject matter as well as air folding techniques was the start of my path to what I now call sweat folding. Try it it out if you haven't already.

[Cadix]

I don't think I've ever heard the term before for what it is worth. And I'm not sure I've particularly relied on sweat to do shaping very much, though I have noticed paper become damp due to my hands sweating before (especially when I lived in the desert with a swamp cooler ). It never really occurred to me to try to take advantage of it, at least in part because I've been told that in the long run the oil from your hands is bad for the paper. But it is an interesting idea

[Froy]

I have very sweaty hands and I use it very often. And some time I use my breath to soften the paper for paritcular shapes. Technically it keeps being wet folding.

[DigitalMessiah]

I have very sweaty hands and I use it very often. And some time I use my breath to soften the paper for paritcular shapes. Technically it keeps being wet folding.

Haha I may not have very sweaty hands, but the more complex the model, the more time it stays in my hands.

J