Buying A Better Goban - Help Me Decide?

[deepgreen]

It's time for me to upgrade my Go Board and I'd love to
get your input!

Right now, I have a dirt cheap, 1/2" thick laminated Go Board.
It's "ugly" LOL, but ... hey, it's what I picked to learn on.

I'm ready to get something nicer. So... I'd love to get
YOUR opinion (if you'd be willing to share your thoughts).

Table Board vs Floor Goban - OK, I read the thread on this
and I love the aesthetics of both - but find the floor
Goban's especially intriguing. That said, I think the
table board sounds more practical (and easier on the
back) ... but those table boards sure look nice! LOL.

What do you have? And ... any regrets?

Wood: Lots to choose from. Shin Kaya, Katsura,
Agathis, Kaya, the list goes on ... I've looked at 'em
all, and I've made my decision: Kaya. A lot more
expensive, I know ... but, I don't think I'll regret it.

So what kind of board. I've been looking at a few:

IF I go floor goban, I've been very tempted by these
two auctions:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAPANESE-VINTAG ... 35c400effa

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAPANESE-VINTAG ... 35c4389c8c

They're listed as "thick slab center grain" solid Kaya...
what do you think of them?

ALTERNATIVELY ...

A table board. The more I read about KGT, the more I want to buy from them.
They sound like an amazing company ... and their Hyuga Kaya Tables
appear remarkable:
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

I've also hear though that Kiseido is great. Are they pretty equal or who
would you recommend?

My budget's around 400.00 - 600.00 plus shipping. I already have
stones (Yunzi) and plan to stick with them for a while,
although someday ... I'd love to get shell/slate as
I think Yunzi might be a little hard for Kaya? For
now though, rather than go with a "package", I'd rather
put my money into the board, and upgrade my stones later
I think.

OK ... so that's where I'm at. Which board (and which
company) would you suggest?

If I go with KGT, which board do you like at:
http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

OR ... should I try for one of the ebay auctions for the
thick Kaya Floor Goban's I listed above? What do
you think?

[csobod]

Watch out on some of those antique goban auctions; inspect the pictures carefully for any warping in the surface of the goban. This is something that happens fairly frequently, though typically anything that costs over $250 won't have these problems. Just do your homework, basically.

[tchan001]

With your budget of 400-600 plus shipping, I'd recommend you to get the best table board you can afford.
I'd prefer buying from a manufacturer (KGT) rather than a middleman (Kiseido) so I'd recommend this beautiful one piece honkaya board from KGT. Although not hyuga kaya, it's still kaya and a nice thick one piece with even color and nice straight lines on the face which runs mostly straight down from the top to the bottom rather than slightly diagonally or somewhat wavy.

Hon-Kaya Table Go Board
Price: 53,000 USD Only One Available.
Very rare and beautiful 1-piece board, Reddish-colored nice board with straight grain patterns.

Details
Tenchimasa, 2.1-sun (6.3cm thick)
Item Nanba4423
Carriage is the actual expenses.

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/o ... index.html

[gowan]

The first of the ebay boards is not kaya. Note the "I'm told", which is a common way to avoid making false claims in ads. The second one isn't in very good shape at all. Note that there is no photo of the playing surface.

I prefer table top boards rather than floor boards. In my case I can't sit comfortably on the floor for the length of a go game, and storage and ease of use have a high priority for me.

[nikaidate]

i agree with gowan:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JAPANESE-VINTAG ... 35c400effa
is not kaya, rather than katsura. U can buy such a board at auctions.yahoo.co.jp for less than 5000Yen.


i like to use floor boards on low tables. As a floor board i recommend to buy katsura or kaya, not shinkaya. And, Kuroki is the best place to buy new equipment.

[zslane]

I would follow tchan001's suggestion. The board he linked to is stunning.

[deepgreen]

Sure appreciate everyone's input. What a great forum.
Thanks guys.

tchan001, a big thank you for pointing me to the Hon-Kaya section
of KGT's site. Somehow, I missed that when I was looking there.
And the board you suggested ... wow, very nice!

[tj86430]

With your budget of 400-600 plus shipping, I'd recommend you to get the best table board you can afford.
I'd prefer buying from a manufacturer (KGT) rather than a middleman (Kiseido)

While I agree with this comment, I'd like to tell from a personal experience, that it can be easier for someone who doesn't speak Japanese to do business with Kiseido rather than KGT. I purchased a Kaya board a couple of years ago, and before making my decision, I contacted both of these. While KGT was also very helpful, there was a language barrier to a degree, and I finally ended up buying from Kiseido. My experience was that Mr Bozulich was extremely helpful, and in the end I also got a better price than what KGT offered on (seemingly) similar board. That being said, I think KGT has wider selection of boards, and they are truly beautiful, and I don't want to discourage anyone buying from there. Just offering another viewpoint to the discussion.

[lemmata]

Do not get a floor board unless you feel comfortable sitting on the floor (even with cushions) for hours. It will kill your back unless you are used to it. You can get a nice table board and put in on top of something like this if you ever want the feel of a floor board.

[schultz]

Do not get a floor board unless you feel comfortable sitting on the floor (even with cushions) for hours. It will kill your back unless you are used to it. You can get a nice table board and put in on top of something like this if you ever want the feel of a floor board.

That's an interesting solution, but is killed by the price. $520?

[lemmata]

That's an interesting solution, but is killed by the price. $520?

Perhaps some people could go to Home Depot and make their own? Might be a fun project.

[palapiku]

The $520 is ridiculous, but it does include shipping to the US.

[msgreg]

Some alternatives, but they don't have the lip and they're a little taller:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20176282/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60210806/

[bogiesan]

That's an interesting solution, but is killed by the price. $520?

Perhaps some people could go to Home Depot and make their own? Might be a fun project.

I think the price, including shipping!, is quite reasonable. You're not going to find those woods at Home Depot. If you have a Woodcraft store in your city you could take those photos and some measurements and price out the stock required to build that pedestal; guessing $150-300 plus the finishing supplies and assuming one has the machinery and the skills to operate it.

[deepgreen]

A big "Thank You" to everyone, for your suggestions and input! They
were much appreciated.

Made my decision, and my order's on the way.

Here's what I decided to do:

a) I resisted the urge to go with a floor goban - I liked the
idea - but - pretty sure my "back" will thank me.

b) I opted to go for a Hon-Kaya table board. We have a large,
square Japanese table in our main room that'll be nice to play on.

c) I wanted to try and get a 9cm board ... but, our
table is about 29.5 inches (75cm) in height, and I think that
coupled with a 9 cm board would've been too much.

d) While I thought about going with Kiseido, I kept coming back
to Kurokigoishi (KGT). I spent a lot of time going though the
photographs there of Mr. Kuroki's boards. I wanted to get a
reddish one, and ultimately went with tchan001's suggestion
and ordered board: 4423 - at 6.3cm. Can't wait!

Kurokigoishi (KGT) was a pleasure (and easy) to work with. No
issues with language barrier or anything at all. Communication
went quite smoothly. I ended up adding a couple of items to
my order and they kindly combined everything into one,
to save shipping cost which was really nice. Difference
between boat vs air shipping was pretty close (I think
only about 40 dollars more so - went with air).

Along with the board, I also ordered a set of their Japanese
Slate & Clam Shell Stones (size 38 - 10.7mm), "standard
grade" which I think will have some nice character to them.

I'm looking forward to using my new board alongside the
SmartGo Kifu app which I plan on picking up in the coming
week for the iPad to recreate and study some
of the famous games and Go Problems of the past.

I'll take some pictures and post them when everything
arrives, but meanwhile just wanted to thank everyone
who shared input & suggestions, and post an update to
let everyone know I'd made my decision.