My bamboo board has a polyurethane finish, agathis (at least Korean) has a "clear wash," and kaya (as well as shin-kaya and hiba) is waxed--but what about katsura? I recently won on Ebay a vintage "Ishi Press" folding 15mm katsura go board. It had lain unused in its box for a quarter-century, and looks crisp and clean with clear lines and an even surface. However, it appears not to have any sort of a finish--no wax, nothing--just a finely sanded surface (the backside is felted). My question is: do you leave katsura untreated, and just play away, or is there some prep involved (such as waxing), much like you would oil new Yunzi or slate stones? Though, as I understand it, kaya, hiba, etc. already come waxed, so why "prep" one type of wood but not the other?

Tangentially, I know that part of the go-playing aesthetic is not only the patterns in the wood, but the sound of the stones on wood, and the smell of the board and bowls. Curious, I've sniffed my katsura board, and it definitely has a distinct smell, so perhaps it is not waxed so that it does not mask this "fragrance"? Also, katsura is known to darken over time--again, perhaps waxing would be frowned upon as this would inhibit proper "aging" of the katsura wood? Just curious...

I had an Ishi katsura board in 1980 or so. I played hundreds of silly games on that thing and never noticed the lack of a finish. Stones dented it up rather nicely around the corners. Since it got opened and closed using the same general area, it showed some sludgy smudges that I rubbed off with a dampened cloth. I eventually removed the hinges and screwed it to a thicker base of superbly milled birch plywood. I sold it to a buddy long ago and it is still in use. A bit smudged and the dents are even better.

Umm, sorry, got all nostalgic about my first board, sigh. What I was going to say was I ended up using a bit of fine wood wax on it, a very good product I got at a woodworking shop. Mostly beeswax.

david boise ID

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.