This set came to Baduk Club from a private home in Gifu, Japan. The seller inherited it from his grandfather, but no longer plays.
The board is a single-piece of Kaya, cut in the Plain-sawn style (Kiomote). This cutting style shows off the endgrain where you will sit, so you can view the beautiful growth rings. The sides feature some heartwood lines, and the playing surface has a unique ripple pattern like a contour map of mountain ridges.
Kaya blocks are cured for 10 years before being shaped into a board. The result is that the board is very stable and very dense. The cured resin gives it a unique sweet smell. The edges and corners are in great shape, but there are some incidental marks.
The wood has some pith rays in the endgrain - cracks may form along these lines if a board is not cared for, but even so the wood is very stable and will not come apart.
We can see that a small repair was needed on the underside, where a knot was removed. This is likely the reason that its current orientation was selected for the final product so that the raised lacquer grid would not be disturbed with any major imperfections.
The bowls are likely Oak, They are size XL and fit the stones comfortably. They have their original finish in excellent shape.
The stones are a full set of slate and shell (181 black and 180 white. They look about 9mm. They may benefit from a proper cleaning, so please refer to our Care Instructions. Some chips may exist - we have not refurbished this set in our Colorado workshop, so we are able to offer it at a discount.
Shipping Details:
Airmail shipping from Japan with FedEx International Priority is already included, there will be no additional fee at checkout. Please allow one week for handling, then we will email you a tracking number that you can use to sign up for notifications.
