Life In 19x19

Hi GoWest:

I will take your word for it about Mr. Kuroki. But I hope you understand my frustration when Gobans on the site are not available and listed as 'for sale'. I am really sorry about your experience with The House of Staunton. I have purchased 3 sets from them and only had one problem which was corrected in two days without any questions. I admit I never purchased an ivory set from them. But then again I have never played with an ivory set and they are known for their wooden Staunton sets and are one of the only outlets in the USA for Jaques of London. One of the sets I purchased was a Jaques and, of course they are just an outlet and I never had a problem with that set. If it makes you feel any better the problem that I mentioned was also with a knight. But I called them on a Monday and my new piece was delivered with no questions asked on Thursday. You are probably right in that the major problem in my dealing with Mr. Kuroki is the time difference between Eastern USA and Japan. Also I have never tried to call him and that might be my next step. I apologize if I have intimated that he is not a good businessman. It was only my frustration venting because I really want to make a purchase and it is harder than dealing with companies like Kiseido or Slate and Shell. Once again, my apologies if anyone was offended by my post.

All the Best,

Lance

That's an interesting twist in the go vs. chess debate - go is better because it doesn't have knights that fall apart...

LHM1948 wrote: I will take your word for it about Mr. Kuroki. But I hope you understand my frustration when Gobans on the site are not available and listed as 'for sale'.

If you really want the best and you have the means, (meaning $$$$$$ to spend on your hobbies), then I'm pretty sure these are still in stock: http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/g ... board.html

I highly recommend Item No. EA102 on that page.

Should you obtain such a goban then even the stones you purchased from Mr. Shotwell aren't quite nice enough. Fortunately, Kuroki san has these: http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/g ... nes02.html

Of course it wouldn't be right to put such exquisite stones in anything less than bowls such as these: http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/g ... bowls.html




If you buy a complete set from those pages I bet he might even give you free shipping...

Hi Imabuddha:

I have to say that if I bought the set that you pointed out I would expect Mr. Kuroki to personally delivver it to my house and bring Cho Chikun over to play with me for a couple of days. After that he could remain in my house because it would have been given to him in order to pay for the equipment. Of course, I would have to finish off my mortgage prior to the sale. After that, I wonder if the equipmnet would fit in my car where I will be living with no money and not really enough room in my car to play on my new equipment. But I do appreciate your suggestion and take it in the manner in which it was worded. By the way, if I do win today's $360,000,000 lottery I promise you that these exact items will be my first purchase.

Thank you for such a meaningful and helpful sugestion,

Lance

Hi Lance,

Unless you speak Japanese, calling KGT on the phone would prove fruitless. He has to have e-mail messages translated, which usually takes him 24 hours or so. If you want a reasonably nice kaya floor goban, tell him how much you'd like to spend and ask him to send you photos of what he has in stock at the time.

On the other hand, if you have a little over one third of a million dollars to spend on the items listed above, you might like to also take a three month excursion, view the cherry blossoms, eat sushi, and hire a full time 7 dan personal translator. While you're there, take lots of pics, and send us each a bottle of sake!

A third of a million dollars would get you a nice set but probably not the very finest quality. Last time I was in Japan I saw a board that was priced at 22,000,000 JPY (USD 250,000) mulberry bowls priced at USD 12,500 and slate and shell stones priced at USD 31250 at the current rate of exchange. These items were not the most rare or expensive available.

Hello! I haven't gone anywhere, but I was out of the office for the christmas holidays. You should be able to leave a message for me if I'm not at the computer to answer the phone at the moment. Email is always good, also.

I believe I actually did talk to you though, maybe it was a while after you posted this. Anyway, I'm here and not going anywhere. Cheers!

LHM1948 wrote:Hell All:

As for Shodan Imports. Does anyone know if they are still in business...