Goban buying advice

[lemmata]

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 like my hypothesis more. It assumes nicer things about people than your hypothesis. Happy thoughts.

On a more serious note, some people regard playing go as a cultural and artistic experience (in addition to being an entertaining competitive intellectual exercise). Consider the Japanese art of tea ceremony and the joy people get from using and admiring the fine pieces of equipment involved in that cultural experience. It would seem that the most important part of such an activity should be the tea. The fine equipment enhances rather than detracts from the experience. One might say that there is zen in the gestalt.

I am sure that some people who buy nice equipment are, as you suggest, more interested in appearing to be interested in go than they are in go. However, I would like to believe that most are simply interested in the cultural/artistic facets of go in addition to (rather than instead of) the game itself. Appreciation for fine craftsmanship is no sin. As is often the case with art, the joy one gets out of fine equipment is highly subjective. I would not accuse you of lacking appreciation for culture if you did not particularly like nice boards. I would just assume that your aesthetic values are different from mine.

Go is not solely the domain of strong players. All are worthy of enjoying its virtues in whichever way they choose. Hopefully, many will do so, especially if go is to survive as a viable industry into the next century.

[Annihilist]

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.

I second this. If I had the money, I would have kaya and agathis boards, at least one floor board, and a set of shell and slate, Yunzi and glass stones. Just because they're nice.

[skydyr]

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.

Yet another hypothesis: Strong players spent too much time studying go and not enough time making money to afford expensive equipment Or they tended to learn younger when they had little disposable income, as opposed to later when they had little disposable time. (See Araban's comment in the "one word for good go" thread)

[Annihilist]

My hypotheses: pure coincidence.

[kill0]

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!

Cool ! Do put up pictures when it arrives

Are the lines engraved, or painted?

I love slate stones, they look amazing from here.

The lines are engraved, I assume with a katana. Yes, the stones are really nice. I'm using the glass stones for regular play/study, and the clam shell ones when playing out some classic or pro games during the weekend.

PS: There are often relatively good deals on outlet stones at Kurokigoishi, so do have a look

[jts]

Beautiful board, kill0.

Does anyone know whether the highly pronounced grain on top of Annihilist's board is from the type of wood, or the cut used?

[Annihilist]

Beautiful board, kill0.

Does anyone know whether the highly pronounced grain on top of Annihilist's board is from the type of wood, or the cut used?

It's just a characteristic of shin-kaya.

[bogiesan]

The lines are engraved, I assume with a katana.

I cannot tell if you are joking, misunderstanding "katana" or making an assumption based on careful inspection of your lovely board. Application of the grid lines differs by manufacture according to their standards and is directly proportional to the cost of the board. Using a curved knife edge (that is first dipped in lacquer and then rocked onto the playing surface) will incise a fine line in the wood (probably invisible under the dome of the dried paint). That is not the same as engraving which usually connotes the removal of substantial amounts of base material. On a go board, the wood that is removed would leave a furrow which would then be filled with a black or dark brown substance like epoxy or very thick lacquer. Some western board makers use CNC routers or lasers to engrave their lines. A router bit is round so the four corners must be hand-finished to their tight 90 degree angles. And routing tends to splinter the fibers at the edge of the cut making the line unpleasantly ragged.

Lines can also be applied with a silk screen, brush or writing instruments used for technical illustration or drafting.

Take a strong magnifying glass and a bright light to your board and see what you discover. Look carefully at the edge lines to see how the intersections are rendered. Look at the corners and hoshi points. With a little scrutiny, you should be able to determine exactly how your lines were applied. You could also write to the mfr.

OUr congratulations on your acquisitions and we wish you thousands of games with many interesting people.

[zslane]

My new go set from Oishi Tengudo arrived yesterday and I took a few photos with my iPhone. They are not the best pictures in the world, I know, but hopefully they give an idea of what the board and stones look like.

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A45qXGF1tiQ2W

These slate and shell stones (size 36) are really nice. I can see why people like them so much.

[EdLee]

zslane, congrats. The sell stones look like jitsuyou (実用), standard grade.
If Oishi Tengudo also sells sample sets, you can consider a few (10 each?) of size 38 (10.7mm), and see how you like them.

[Bonobo]

It’s Go envy all over again

[darthmage]

Beautiful boards and stones !

[tango]

I'm trying to estimate shipping costs of a complete go set, and I'm hoping some of you in this thread can help me. If you recently ordered a complete set of board, stones and bowls from Japan:

What was the approximate shipping weight of the whole package? Or how much did you pay for shipping (and where do you live)?

[zslane]

I recently bought a complete set (2-sun table board, bowls, stones, paulownia cover) from Tengudo in Japan. I don't know what the weight was, but EMS shipping was approximately $180 to Los Angeles, CA (USA).