The Origami Forum

I'm at about a beginner-intermediate stage, and I'm just wondering when to start using paper other than the regular beginner origami paper.

I've published two books and have done Origami for decades. I never stopped using kami and probably never will. That said, I use lots of other papers as well.

Those are two different questions. When you should stop using kami is never; i still use it for quick folds or for testfolding parts.

When should you start using other paper? When you start doing models that recommend sizes bigger than the kami you have, when you start box pleating with 32+ grid, or you have mc and think you could shape better if you have better paper.

If you're looking to move past kami, double tissue is a good place to start and will get you incredibly far. I have a tutorial on my youtube on making it.

I've stopped using it, simply because I get so much scrap from other types of paper. They typically come in a rectangle, so you get a couple extra smaller sheets. I have more 9" squares I've saved up than I could ever use

there's nothing wrong with kami inherently. it's just that if you want to do more modern origami out of japan, it just doesn't service. even as a practice paper, the thickness and weakness eventually get in the way, so you can't even complete the practice. someone did the calculation, and it is apparently per sheet one of the most expensive options available.

I want to throw in here that there are several different papers that are called kami that vary greatly in properties, quality and price. When I speak about Kami, I usually mean these blue boxes with 500 fairly thin and strong sheets: https://www.origami-shop.com/en/paperor ... 7-620.html Currently it's 20 bucks for 500 sheets, that doesn't seem overly expensive to me for perfectly square sheets, ready to use in a variety of 60 beautiful colours, back side white. My stock of this paper is from a few years ago when they cost less than half the price. Prices for Origami paper went up quite a lot in the last years. This paper is very good in my opinion. However, there are other papers called kami that I wouldn't waste my money on. Most of the papers that I can get in stores around here fall into this category. Most of them are very weak and rip easily.

As Anna said, not all kami is created equal. Some is pretty good, some is terrible.

That said, about the only thing I use kami for nowadays is modular stuff.

I use mostly double unryu for complex models, but tried some Biotope lately and that is actually pretty good too. Elephant hide is nice, strong paper, but can be thick, so you need big sheets for complex models - in my experience anyway. Those two are both pretty great for paper that you can just order and start folding when it arrives, rather than messing with MC and double sheets and what not.