Fold With Me

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Nakamura Lock

Fold a small triangular lock over two corner flaps, then shape a body and two broad wings from the same sheet.

Preparation + 17 numbered steps

Materials

US Letter, portrait · 8.5 × 11 inches

One flexible 8½ × 11-inch Letter sheet, a ruler and a pencil for a light alignment mark. No cutting, glue, tape or weights. Use Letter; this guide does not substitute A4.

Start the interactive guide ↓Read all illustrated steps ↓
Finished Nakamura Lock paper airplane with a blunt nose, layered body and broad wings
Illustrated finished shape · wings reopened 90°

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Preparation

The interactive guide needs JavaScript. Read every illustrated step below.

Camera only; does not change the fold.
Help · controls & diagram

Play or drag the progress slider to watch a fold from 0% to 100%. Use the view buttons or drag the diagram to look from another angle.

Blue and gold identify the original left and right halves, not separate sheets. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange outlines mark moving layers; dashed orange marks the hinge. Solid lines are panel edges and earlier folds, not additional folds to make.

With the diagram focused: Space plays or pauses, ←/→ change steps, and Home resets.

Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold identify the original left and right halves, not separate sheets. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange outlines mark moving layers; dashed orange marks the hinge. Solid lines are panel edges and earlier folds, not additional folds to make.

  1. 0. Prepare a Letter sheet
  2. 1. Make the center crease
  3. 2. Open the sheet
  4. 3. Fold the upper left corner inward
  5. 4. Fold the upper right corner inward
  6. 5. Fold the pointed packet down
  7. 6. Bring the left shoulder to the marked point
  8. 7. Match the right shoulder
  9. 8. Fold the exposed lock upward
  10. 9. Turn to the plain face
  11. 10. Close the body
  12. 11. Fold the first wing outward
  13. 12. Turn for the second wing
  14. 13. Fold the matching wing
  15. 14. Open the first wing
  16. 15. Open the second wing
  17. 16. Hold the body underneath
  18. 17. Check the Nakamura Lock
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    PREPARATION · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Prepare a Letter sheet

    Place the short edge at the top. Keep the same upper end as the nose throughout the early folds. Use a ruler only for the later ¾-inch alignment mark.

    Layers: One whole sheet, 8½ inches across and 11 inches tall.

    Check: The rectangle is taller than it is wide.

    Explore this step ↑
  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 1 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Make the center crease

    Bring the left long edge onto the right long edge. Press a straight crease through the top and bottom midpoints.

    Layers: Move the complete left half.

    Check: The long edges and their corners coincide.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 2 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Open the sheet

    Return the left half to the table. Keep the center crease visible.

    Layers: Undo just the center fold.

    Check: The full rectangle lies flat again.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 3 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the upper left corner inward

    Bring the upper left corner onto the center crease so the upper edge lies along it. The new diagonal runs from the top midpoint to the left edge.

    Layers: Fold the single upper-left corner layer.

    Check: The corner reaches the centerline 4¼ inches below the original top.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 4 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the upper right corner inward

    Repeat on the right, bringing its upper edge to the center crease. Leave the left corner folded.

    Layers: Move only the right corner; keep the left flap down.

    Check: The two corners meet and the upper outline forms a centered point.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 5 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the pointed packet down

    Find the two places where the diagonal folds meet the side edges. Fold the entire pointed packet down along the straight line between these shoulders.

    Layers: Move all overlapping layers above the shoulder line together.

    Check: The old top midpoint is now a downward tip, 4¼ inches below the new upper edge.

    Explore this step ↑
  7. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 6 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Bring the left shoulder to the marked point

    On the centerline, mark a point ¾ inch above the downward tip. Bring the upper left shoulder corner to that mark and crease. Do not bring it to the tip itself.

    Layers: Fold every layer at this upper-left corner together; keep the broad backing sheet flat elsewhere.

    Check: A short flat section remains at the nose. Part of the downward triangle stays exposed.

    Explore this step ↑
  8. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 7 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Match the right shoulder

    Bring the upper right shoulder corner to the same centerline mark. Match the left side without sharpening the blunt nose.

    Layers: Move the complete upper-right corner packet.

    Check: The two corner tips meet ¾ inch above the exposed downward tip.

    Explore this step ↑
  9. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 8 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the exposed lock upward

    Lift only the small downward-pointing triangle. Fold it back toward the nose on a horizontal crease through the meeting corner tips. Press it over those tips. Do not fold the sheet underneath.

    Layers: Only the exposed tip of the earlier nose packet moves. The large backing sheet and the two corner flaps stay still.

    Check: The lock points upward, covering the junction of the corner flaps; the lower rectangular backing has not shortened.

    Explore this step ↑
  10. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 9 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Turn to the plain face

    Turn the whole packet over, keeping the blunt nose at the top. Leave every fold closed.

    Layers: All layers turn together, with no new crease.

    Check: The lock is now underneath.

    Explore this step ↑
  11. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 10 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Close the body

    Fold the original left half over the right on the center crease. After the turnover, this moving half appears on your right. Keep the lock on the outside of the folded body.

    Layers: One complete half moves, including its share of the lock and corner folds.

    Check: The two outlines match. The straight centerfold forms the body edge.

    Explore this step ↑
  12. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 11 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the first wing outward

    Fold the outside wing away from the other half. Bring its long sloping leading edge onto the straight centerfold line. Crease the angle bisector between those edges; the wing root slopes toward the tail.

    Layers: Move all layers of the outside wing only. Leave the other half still.

    Check: The sloping leading edge now lies on the body’s centerfold line. A wedge-shaped body strip remains, wider toward the tail.

    Explore this step ↑
  13. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 12 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Turn for the second wing

    Turn the entire packet over to expose the wing that has not yet been folded. Keep the first wing fold closed.

    Layers: The whole plane turns; no layers peel apart.

    Check: The uncreased wing is accessible on the outside.

    Explore this step ↑
  14. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 13 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Fold the matching wing

    Fold the second wing outward, aligning its sloping leading edge to the same centerfold line. Match the first wing-root crease.

    Layers: Move only the second complete wing packet.

    Check: Both root folds have matching slopes and the folded wings overlap.

    Explore this step ↑
  15. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 14 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Open the first wing

    Raise the first wing halfway back from its fully folded position, to a right angle at its root. Hold the central body closed.

    Layers: The saved first-wing packet opens as a unit.

    Check: The wing separates from the body without reopening the lock.

    Explore this step ↑
  16. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 15 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Open the second wing

    Open the other wing by the same amount, to the opposite side of the body. Do not flatten the centerfold.

    Layers: Open the complete second wing, keeping all of its earlier folds.

    Check: Two broad wings extend on opposite sides of the narrow folded body.

    Explore this step ↑
  17. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 16 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Hold the body underneath

    Rotate the whole plane to put the body below the wings. This is a handling movement, not a crease.

    Layers: Move the entire connected sheet together.

    Check: The blunt nose leads, the lock stays folded and the two wings form a matched pair.

    Explore this step ↑
  18. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 17 · Letter Nakamura Lock

    Check the Nakamura Lock

    Compare both wing roots and check that the small triangular lock still covers the corner-tip junction. Gently hold the body rather than pulling on the lock. The photographed reference shows slightly raised wings; our opening angles illustrate the construction.

    Layers: One whole sheet remains, with a folded body, two wings and the small nose lock.

    Check: The folding sequence is complete. Lock retention and flight behavior have not been tested here.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami Tutorial and Origami Way (construction references; inventor not established), Nakamura Lock paper airplane (undated).

Letter construction reference ↗ · Corner and lock crosscheck ↗ · Body and wings crosscheck ↗

Nakamura Lock is the model name used by the references; we have not established its inventor or a design license. Public access to those pages does not license their text or media. This guide’s English instructions, geometric diagrams and code are independently authored with AI assistance. No source photographs, wording or artwork are reproduced; no public-domain status or source-media permission is asserted.

Adaptation: The primary source is shown sideways; we teach it in portrait orientation. Its first nose fold is placed across the two corner-fold shoulders, 4¼ inches below the original top. The next corner tips meet ¾ inch above the folded-down tip: that exact offset is our authored choice because the photos give no measurement. This leaves a blunt nose and an exposed triangular lock. Fold the lock back toward the nose, as the arrow, finished photograph and Origami Way show; the primary page’s “to the right” wording is inconsistent with that operation. Wing roots bisect the sloping leading edges and the centerfold, following the photographed edge alignment. Individual corner folds, wing openings and handling turns are separated for playback. The 90° root openings are a display choice, not a measured flight setting.

Original instructions and diagrams, made with AI assistance. About & reuse

Accuracy notes

Real-paper follow-along and paper weight have not been tested. Diagrams illustrate the sequence, not paper thickness, contact, collisions or exact layer visibility.