Best Wood for Go Bowls

[Go_Japan]

Hi All!

I am thinking about what kind of bowls to get for go stones.

I thought that it might be best to get Keyaki bowls because they are Japanese traditional wood craft and would be stable in the Japanese climate. However, I am interested in what you think of various materials for go bowls based on your experiences.

Do you have a favorite wood for bowls?
What do you like about them?

My budget is probably up to 20,000 yen (200 USD) or so for the bowls.

[EdLee]

With your budget, you should be able to get very nice bowls.

KGT's Karin bowls are nice: very solid feeling.
I only wish they make it with a wider diameter,
and slightly lower height. But I asked Mr. Kuroki,
and he replied that they don't make bowls like that.
( I can understand because it requires thicker trees! )

[tchan001]

I like wood bowls with interesting burl patterns (moku) such as fwiffo's bowls. http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 04#p203504

The most relatively affordable wood Japanese go bowls with interesting moku is probably made with camphor (kusu). But anything with interesting moku will not be cheap.

I own a pair of tochi tama-moku fuki-urushi go bowls (Japanese Horse Chestnut with Jewel Pattern Burls finished with Wiped Lacquer) which I have written about in my blog a while ago.

[Go_Japan]

With your budget, you should be able to get very nice bowls.

KGT's Karin bowls are nice: very solid feeling.
I only wish they make it with a wider diameter,
and slightly lower height. But I asked Mr. Kuroki,
and he replied that they don't make bowls like that.
( I can understand because it requires thicker trees! )

I like those bowls as well. They look like some bowls made from Sakura that I was also looking at. There is a reddish tint to them that I enjoy. I looked for bowls that are lower and fatter too. Interesting that that is something people are interested in, but no one makes.

I like wood bowls with interesting burl patterns (moku) such as fwiffo's bowls. http://www.lifein19x19.com/forum/viewto ... 04#p203504

The most relatively affordable wood Japanese go bowls with interesting moku is probably made with camphor (kusu). But anything with interesting moku will not be cheap.

I own a pair of tochi tama-moku fuki-urushi go bowls (Japanese Horse Chestnut with Jewel Pattern Burls finished with Wiped Lacquer) which I have written about in my blog a while ago.

Thanks for the suggestion. I like the pages you linked to the Japanese burl patterns. That is quite nice. Those bowls in general are way out of my budget. I like them, but there is no way I could afford it at this point.

[gowan]

Wider and lower bowls are easily available. In Japan they are called hiragata or literally "flat model" and I've seen them in kuri, keyaki, karin, and even mulberry. I've seen some in moku keyaki. I'm sure KGT would be able to supply them. Here is a link to some hiragata keyaki bowls at jzool : http://jzool.com/en/p/18295-Superior-Ma ... o-Bowl/355

[Go_Japan]

Wider and lower bowls are easily available. In Japan they are called hiragata or literally "flat model" and I've seen them in kuri, keyaki, karin, and even mulberry. I've seen some in moku keyaki. I'm sure KGT would be able to supply them. Here is a link to some hiragata keyaki bowls at jzool : http://jzool.com/en/p/18295-Superior-Ma ... o-Bowl/355

Thanks I will search for them here.

[AnarchoChossid]

Just ordered camphor (kusu) bowls from Kuroki. I generally prefer darker colors for the bowls, to contrast with the board (for which I prefer yellow-orange color). If I was going with the lighter ones, I’d get kehada or sendan.

E.g. (from a different source, but better images): http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~goban/g1go1 ... toku1.html

[EdLee]

Wider and lower bowls are easily available.

Hi gowan, thanks for the info -- since 'wider' and 'lower' are relative terms,
it could be a source of imprecision.

Here's more precise language. My current KGT Karin bowls have an inner diameter (the opening) of ~11 mm, and an outer diameter (the girth) of ~14 mm.

However, I have another set of wooden bowls with an opening of ~12.5+ mm,
and an outer diameter of almost 16 mm.

I asked Mr. Kuroki if any other manufacturers in Japan make Go bowls with the latter diameters (or even wider), and he said no.

The hiragana bowls in the jzool link don't seem to have the latter dimensions, either.
( But to be certain, we need the dimensions. )

[gowan]

Wider and lower bowls are easily available.

Hi gowan, thanks for the info -- since 'wider' and 'lower' are relative terms,
it could be a source of imprecision.

Here's more precise language. My current KGT Karin bowls have an inner diameter (the opening) of ~11 mm, and an outer diameter (the girth) of ~14 mm.

However, I have another set of wooden bowls with an opening of ~12.5+ mm,
and an outer diameter of almost 16 mm.

I asked Mr. Kuroki if any other manufacturers in Japan make Go bowls with the latter diameters (or even wider), and he said no.

The hiragana bowls in the jzool link don't seem to have the latter dimensions, either.
( But to be certain, we need the dimensions. )

In Japan go commonly available bowl sizes are large, extra large, and super extra large. Measurements for these are not easily available, but vendors give appropriate stone sizes for these bowl sizes. "Large" is for stones up to size 32 size stones, "Extra Large" is for up to size 36 stones, and "Super Extra Large" is for stones up to size 42 or so. I measured two sets of bowls of my own. A set of karin extra large size bowls have opening diameter with the top off 4 and 3/16 inches, and the height without the top on is 3 and 11/16 inches. A set of "extra large" size mulberry bowls measure opening diameter 5 inches wide and height 3 and 3/8 inches, both with top off. I think that opening diameter and height might well vary from maker to maker. Ed, I think you have written that you like thick stones so you probably want the "super extra large" size bowls and, of course, larger bowls would have larger opening and height. Sizes of opening and height might also vary depending on wood type.