This board came to Baduk Club from a vintage shop in Chiba Prefecture.
The board is Katsura, with a warm orange heartwood color throughout. It is a plain-sawn board, a center-cut that shows the rings of the tree. Katsura is slow-growing so the rings are quite dense. This cutting style is called Kiura (Itame) and is the highest-valued style when the tree is not large enough in diameter to be quarter-sawn. The result is heartwood ripples on the playing surface in a unique pattern like a fingerprint.
There is white wax residue on the endgrain and legs, which is a good sign. This wax can be cleaned off with a dry cotton cloth and a new layer applied, if you wish. A fresh coat of our Monkey Wax would really make the board glow. Please visit our Care Instructions for learning more about preserving our vintage products.
The legs are also Katsura. They may be removed if you want to use this as a table board.
Discoloration on the endgrain may be a buildup of oil from being handled with bare hands over time (each time you move the board). It could also be a discoloration from heat. It's hard to tell how much this could be cleaned up.
The original paper-board cover is included.
Shipping Details:
FedEx International Priority shipping from Japan (to nearly anywhere) is already included. This service reduces the actual transit time to only 5 business days, and also allows more room for padding in order to avoid shipping damage. Please allow a week for Customs preparations, then a FedEx tracking number will be provided that you can use to sign up for notifications.
Because of the quality of our equipment, Surface shipping is not recommended, but it is possible if you wish to reduce the cost by about $80 (and increase the transit time to 2-3 months). Contact us with the chat widget to make such arrangements.
