How often do you clean your shell stones?

[Tomoe]

Is it necessary to wipe them with a cotton towel after every use? Or is it enought to do so once a month or so - I only use them about once every three days.
Of course, after using them for several hours at the Go-Club it might be reasonable to clean them, but cleaning them once you've replayed only one pro-game is quite annoying...

[gowan]

The shell white stones accumulate oil from the fingers and some dirt from the surface of the board (and resin from a kaya board). If not cleaned off this sinks into the finish of the stones and becomes difficult to remove. For myself, I clean them when I can see that they are dirty. This is a personal decision, so you'll have to decide what works for you. The thick stones used in championship tournaments in Japan are made from Japanese shell, which is quite rare now, so the Ki-in wipes them after every game to give them the best protection. Glass or yunzi stones are easier to clean so there is no reason to take special care.

[Bonobo]

BUT COLD SWEAT!!!!1 Doesn’t it contain fear hormones?

If I were just a little less lazier, I’d wash all my stones after every game, just not to accumulate my own cold sweat or to get “infected” by my opponent’s

(NOTE: All nonsense I say and bad moves I play are due to the heatwave in Germany; it’s ebbed off, but my brains are still oozing out of my ears.)

[EdLee]

Hi Tomoe, what gowan said.

[Tomoe]

Thanks for your replies. I guess I'll handle it like gowan
I have size 32 blossom grade stones from Mr. Kuroki, so not the most expensive ones. More importantly the stones are for playing and not for viewing after all...

Finally the heatwave in Germany is over

[EdLee]

I have size 32 blossom grade stones from Mr. Kuroki

blossom grade shell stones ? Photos, please, of the blossom grade characters ?

[gowan]

The term hana (flower) used to be used for the lowest grade for Japanese clam stones, similar to jitsuyou or standard grade.

[Erythen]

It's been a while since I've posted anything here so thought I'd drop a line. I apologize if I go overboard and write too much...I have a tendency to do that.

The term hana (flower) used to be used for the lowest grade for Japanese clam stones, similar to jitsuyou or standard grade.

Correct . The term flower may be in reference to the yellowish color/marks in the shell. Hyuga clams have fine exceptionally grain throughout, but are a colorful shell, so grading is done by how much orange/yellow there is, not grain. Even in snow grade it's possible to make out a light yellowish tint in the center of many Hyuga shells.

For cleaning stones, I wouldn't worry much about anything other than slate and shell. Just use a mild detergent to clean yunzi, glass, or plastic. For slate and shell, I recommend rubbing the shell stones down with a clean white cloth after play. If they need a more thorough cleaning, then mild detergent in water, rinse and let dry, then rub down with a white cloth.

If you don't care for the stones then oils seep into the shell, leaving them gunky yellow after extended use.

It is possible to remove the yellowing as long as it has not gotten too deep into the shell. For this I use hydrogen peroxide. Don't use bleach!!! You'll ruin the stones. 3% should work, but it will take a while. For the used sets I sell, I use 35% food grade...just don't get any on your hands or you'll regret it. Snow grade stones are much easier to clean yellow stains from. After you've removed the stones from the peroxide make sure you rinse them thoroughly in water afterward. If you let the hydrogen peroxide dry on the shell you could ruin it (it can leave white marks in the shell that are not removable).

You can apply a wax afterward if you'd like. Whatever the case, at least wipe the stones after they dry, especially if you have hard water.

[EdLee]

Hi Erythen,

My chemistry is very rusty; do you happen to know:

- Does the shell stone consist of mostly CaCO₃ (or something similar?) ?

- Does H₂O₂ react with the shell stones ?

[sybob]

Thank you all for your posts.

About cleaning glass and yunzi: that's also personal preference, but many clean them once in a while.
Glass with mild soap or detergent.
Yunzi may be wiped clean with a soft cloth, but after some time one may also wish to slightly oil them (use fine machine oil- no vegetable oil), depending on preference. Oiling yunzi (both black and white) can bring back the luster of yunzi.

[Bonobo]

[..] I apologize if I go overboard and write too much...I have a tendency to do that.

You’re apologising for something that I tend to enjoy

[..] You can apply a wax afterward if you'd like. [..]

What kind of wax do you recommend? Not beeswax, I’m sure, for its yellowish colour and softness.

[Erythen]

Hi Erythen,

My chemistry is very rusty; do you happen to know:

- Does the shell stone consist of mostly CaCO₃ (or something similar?) ?

- Does H₂O₂ react with the shell stones ?

Hi Edlee,

I wish I could answer with a response that made me look scientifically smart .

When I've cleaned stones, there was a little bubbling in the hydrogen peroxide. Sometimes more than others depending on how yellow the stones were (dirtier = more). Whether this equates to a reaction to the stones or the hand oils, I couldn't say.

The only time I've seen damage was when I was in a hurry and didn't think to rinse one of the sets I later sold (I added a disclaimer for that set). It felt like the drying H2O2 burned through parts of the wax. It left white splotches on the shell that weren't readily noticeable, but wouldn't come out. I was a bit upset, but learned my lesson...rinse! I have pictures of what happened if you're interested. I've never had problems with shells still in the liquid (and left an experimental set to seep for over a week just to be sure).

I'd have never thought to use H2O2 for cleaning were it not mentioned to me by one of Japan's professionals. It does wonders to yellowed stones when properly applied.

I have a lot of second hand sets right now that need cleaning, and I have been meaning to post an article about how to...maybe now is a good time

[Erythen]

[..] I apologize if I go overboard and write too much...I have a tendency to do that.

You’re apologising for something that I tend to enjoy

[..] You can apply a wax afterward if you'd like. [..]

What kind of wax do you recommend? Not beeswax, I’m sure, for its yellowish colour and softness.

Yeah, but I do have a tendency to ramble

An insect wax called Ibotarou is definitely the best. That's what comes on the stones when brand new. It's almost impossible to find in the U.S. and I'm willing to bet that Europe has much the same problem. There used to be some heavily overpriced bags on Rakuten, and occasionally on Yahoo!Japan, but other than that you might try asking Mr. Kuroki if he has any (you'll probably get a better deal from him anyway).

Since I can't get Ibotarou in the U.S. I use Carnauba. Car wax to be honest As long as it doesn't have much in the way of extra additives/cleaners then it should do well.

There are two brands I've used regularly (for stones only...not boards or bowls)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00789 ... ge_o08_s00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009I ... ge_o09_s00

I believe the first one is better of the two, but its tangy smell gives me a bit of a headache.

Apply the wax with a cotton cloth to the cleaned stones in a very thin layer (it doesn't take much). Let it sit to dry on the stones for about 30 minutes. If you go much longer, then it gets too hard and is a real pain to remove. Once dried, take another cloth and thoroughly remove the wax.

Hope this helps