hexagram from hexagon, poorly done or simply won't work?

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

My apologies that I can't provide any visual aids for any of what I'm about to say.

Okay, I've been experimenting lately with folding regular hexagons and upon finding that hexagonal variants of the preliminary fold, waterbomb base, and bird base exist, decided to try folding hexagonal variants of some simple models that use these bases.

One model I learned from one of the first books I purchased on the subject of origami was a four-pointed star that uses the bird base and I attempted to fold a six-pointed star from what I'm calling the hexa bird base. Since I don't know how well-known the four-pointed star in question is(I only remember seeing it in one book), I'll provide a description of how it's folding compares with the traditional crane: when you reach the point in the crane where you narrow the flaps that will become the head and tail, don't narrow them and fold them up. then at the bottom of the flaps that would form the crane's wings, fold up the bottom edges so they lie on the mid-line of the wing flaps. Then, holding those folded up corners, pull the wing flaps apart, collapsing the center of the paper like you would to form the back of the crane. when done, all four flaps should lie flat with a square in the middle that doesn't reach the concave corners where two flaps meet.

Trying something similar with the hexa bird base, everything went well until I tried to collapse the center. The end result I got has roughly the shape I was going for, but doesn't lie flat and the paper tore in several places. I'm not sure whether the failure is due to such a fold simply not working or inaccuracies in my folding coupled with the paper I'm using being too thick to collapse without tearing(the paper I'm using is closer to card stock in thickness, but it was the only paper I could find that came pre-cut into regular hexagons).

For anyone having trouble imagining what I mean by hexagonal variants of the preliminary fold, waterbomb base, and bird base:
1. Fold a regular hexagon in half along all six lines of mirror symmetry.
2. Orient these creases so they alternate between mountain and valley folds.
3. Collapse the hexagon using these folds.
4. depending on which direction you collapse, you either get what I've been calling the hexa preliminary fold or the hexa waterbomb base.
5. Like the square variants, turning a hexa preliminary fold inside out creates a hexa waterbomb base.
6. both have six flaps resembling the pages of a book(to the 4 flaps of the square versions).
7. the hexa preliminary fold has the shape of a 60-90-120-90 kite while the hexa waterbomb base has the shape of a equilateral triangle.
8. The hexa preliminary fold can be turned into the hexa bird base with three petal folds. If you hold the hexa preliminary fold so it's pages are in 3 groups of three, you need to petal fold the three kites the separate the groups.

Again, sorry for the lack of visual aids or if any of what I've said isn't clear. I also apologize if any of what I've written seems elementary to the point of being unnecessary. There's so little literature on hexagonal origami(and non-rectangular origami in general) that it seemed prudent to include all relevant findings even if they seem like things than anyone who has dabbled in hexagonal origami would have found themselves.

Also, please note that, if any replies feature visual aids, I won't be able to benefit from them as I am functionally blind.

[Kundalini]

At least i think the crane base it can not be folded with an hexagonal paper without an adaptation.

I have read to create a flap you need to do circles and rivers, i do with a compass. So if we take a compass to draw the first circle on the center of the hexagon paper we have the first flap, later we put a quarter of the circle, in the edges of the hexagon. At the end we will have four circles touching the circle in the midle. Then we will be able to collapse, so i think in theory is possible to fold at least the crane base. Waterbomb can be similar.

[bethnor]

i'm not sure where you would like to go with this.

if you wish to speak strictly about origami which uses the hexagon as a starting point, i think that's very limited.

on the other hand, hex-pleating is very well fleshed out. dr. lang has an article about it in the fold, for instance. seishi kasumi has several rather charming models published using hex-pleating, including a really cute two piece bunny and an afghan hound.

[Jeffery Mewtamer]

^I'm assuming hex pleating involves dividing the hexagon into a grid of equalateral triangles, and I'll admit that most of the simple models I've found in my experimenting can be folded using a hexagon divided into 24 triangles with no other creases.

As for the model I was originally trying to fold, I've discovered that, after making the 6-fold symmetric variant of the Bird base, if I sink fold the center, then it collapses just fine.

I doubt I've found anything new, but it's difficult to find any literature in digital format on the subject of non-square origami.

[bethnor]

no, it involves dividing a square into a grid of equilateral triangles.