Goban buying advice

General discussions about gobans, etc., go here. If you're selling go equipment, it should go in the Trading Post.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by zslane »

Along the lines of goban buying advice, can anyone recommend a good source of floor goban made from Katsura? The only seller I've come across is Tengudo.jp, who I have dealt with before with good success, but they only have 3-sun and 5-sun options, and I'm looking for 4-sun.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by msgreg »

There appears to be a 14-cm (4.6 sun or 46 bu) Katsura at kiseido.com (look for B125)
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by kill0 »

As promised, here are some pictures of my reversible, 0.5" Shin Kaya Go board and size-36 glass stones from Go Game Guru. Not sure if the iphone photos do justice- it's a pretty and portable board with a nice color.

size-36 professional standard Go stones
size-36 professional standard Go stones
IMG_0018.JPG (745.71 KiB) Viewed 8699 times


Shin Kaya board (side)
Shin Kaya board (side)
IMG_0016.JPG (718.86 KiB) Viewed 8699 times


0.5" Shin Kaya go board and size-36 glass stones (top)
0.5" Shin Kaya go board and size-36 glass stones (top)
IMG_0015.jpg (705.94 KiB) Viewed 8699 times
Last edited by kill0 on Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by kill0 »

These are the pictures of the Hyuga Kaya table goban (1.75-sun, 4 piece composite), extra-large Sakura gosu and size-34 jitsuyo stones from Kurokigoishi. Needless to say, these are masterpieces ! I am going to feel very guilty losing my first 100 (?) games on this :cry:

Enjoy -

size-34 stones
size-34 stones
IMG_0023.JPG (647.38 KiB) Viewed 8694 times


Hyuga Kaya board (side)
Hyuga Kaya board (side)
IMG_0021.JPG (676.1 KiB) Viewed 8694 times


1.75-sun Hyuga Kaya table goban, Sakura gosu and size-34 jitsuyo stones
1.75-sun Hyuga Kaya table goban, Sakura gosu and size-34 jitsuyo stones
IMG_0020.jpg (747.48 KiB) Viewed 8694 times
Last edited by kill0 on Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:20 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by Bonobo »

Now I’m jealous again, kill0! You even got clamshell stones :-o


BTW it might be good to
hide those large pix in hide tags ;-)
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by kill0 »

Bonobo wrote:Now I’m jealous again, kill0! You even got clamshell stones :-o


BTW it might be good to
hide those large pix in hide tags ;-)




Thanks for the tip on the hide tags ! :) Have now edited it appropriately.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by penfold »

That hyuga kaya board is drool worthy.

Congrats!
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by zslane »

This weekend I ordered my first go set featuring a kaya table goban and shell stones:

  • Kaya goban size #20 (55mm)
  • Slate & shell stones size #36 (10mm)
  • Mahogany bowls
  • Paulownia cover + cloth cover

I can't wait!
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by tchan001 »

Congrats on your kaya goban. Kaya isn't just beautiful to look at, it also has a pleasant sweet smell.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by Annihilist »

kill0 wrote:These are the pictures of the Hyuga Kaya table goban (1.75-sun, 4 piece composite), extra-large Sakura gosu and size-34 jitsuyo stones from Kurokigoishi. Needless to say, these are masterpieces ! I am going to feel very guilty losing my first 100 (?) games on this :cry:

Enjoy -

IMG_0023.JPG


IMG_0021.JPG


IMG_0020.jpg
Are the lines engraved, or painted?

I love slate stones, they look amazing from here.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by bogiesan »

badukJr wrote:Is it just me or is there some inverse relationship between strength and amount of equipment ordered?


I am that statistical anomaly. I have four or five sets of stones and bowls, two or three boards, a couple of portable sets and I will never be any good at go.

After my first set forty years ago, I have acquired interesting equipment spontaneously. Quite by accident I have stumbled across huge discounts and purchased stuff from acquaintances who were no longer playing.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by Alguien »

bogiesan wrote:
badukJr wrote:Is it just me or is there some inverse relationship between strength and amount of equipment ordered?


I am that statistical anomaly. I have four or five sets of stones and bowls, two or three boards, a couple of portable sets and I will never be any good at go.


We must have different definitions for "inverse relationship". :mrgreen:
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by palapiku »

lemmata wrote:One hypothesis: The people who can afford expensive equipment are probably 1) older and 2) must work hard to earn a level of income that can justify such a purchase. Age is negatively correlated with strength. Amount of work is negatively correlated with free time for study. Therefore the amount of work is negatively correlated with strength. However, this does not indicate a causal relationship in any direction between strength and possession of nice equipment.

Another hypothesis: Strong players enjoy the game itself so the equipment does not matter to them. Weak players buy expensive equipment to justify to themselves that they are serious about the game and not simply wasting their time on something they are not good at.
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by SoDesuNe »

palapiku wrote:Another hypothesis: Strong players enjoy the game itself so the equipment does not matter to them. Weak players buy expensive equipment to justify to themselves that they are serious about the game and not simply wasting their time on something they are not good at.


Damn!
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Re: Goban buying advice

Post by zslane »

palapiku wrote:
lemmata wrote:One hypothesis: The people who can afford expensive equipment are probably 1) older and 2) must work hard to earn a level of income that can justify such a purchase. Age is negatively correlated with strength. Amount of work is negatively correlated with free time for study. Therefore the amount of work is negatively correlated with strength. However, this does not indicate a causal relationship in any direction between strength and possession of nice equipment.

Another hypothesis: Strong players enjoy the game itself so the equipment does not matter to them. Weak players buy expensive equipment to justify to themselves that they are serious about the game and not simply wasting their time on something they are not good at.

I'm sure that's true for some, perhaps many. In my case, I just like to have nice things, and so if I'm going to put any money into something I enjoy, I want to spend it on the best. And if there is a variety to choose from, I would rather have one of each than wonder if I'm missing out on something nifty.
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