I just purchased a Goban off of ebay and I believe the material is Agathis, but I am not really sure. Would someone be able to verify this? I went to the manufacturer's website (Hanil Baduk), but I can't find it anywhere. Thanks!

Some of the more experienced guys will be able to make better guesses. All I know is that agathis is not commonly used for floor boards and usually finished with a surface wash of yellow. So, just guessing, it is not likely agathis.

However, agathis boards are discussed here at length (search afomthe term) and some photos exist online that suggest similar grain and color. So, guessing, who knows?

https://www.chessngames.com/Agathis-Go- ... 22855k.htm

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

Congrats on the purchase.

The other (shorter, end-grain) sides of the board are conspicuously not shown?

Update: I found out the first two words of the bottom calligraphy is Pine-Grade... what would be the likely hood that it was made out of Pine? Either Red or Black Pine? I understand that those are popular.

It looks like Katsura, but I'd need to see the player's side grain to be sure.

My katsura board lacks a yellow color that this board has. And my katsura board has a strong grain pattern that this one seems to lack.

Agathis would be more consistent with the update about "pine grade" than katsura.

I'll bet a dollar it is agathis, or whatever material they are now calling "shin katsura."

There is a "scale" of quality with names for the grades. I've seen it used for boards and for glass stones. From smaller to larger the scale is:
椿 camellia (tsubaki), 梅 plum (ume), 竹 bamboo (take), 松 pine (matsu) So your board is not made of pine wood rather the term "matsu" refers to the thickness. The manufacturer makes boards of different thickness and your board is at the thicker level. A folding board might well be grade tsubaki, for example. I assume this scale of grades is mostly used for mass produced goods. I think your board is most likely agathis, judging by the color of the wood and the legs of the board.

Post a photo of this "bottom"?
Probably ought to wipe those black yunzi
.

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

I agree I need to oil those yunzi! That's my first order of business as soon as I receive everything

Here is the photo of the bottom of the board. I hope I can get a short side picture of it before I receive it

Hi ryan,

Nice calligraphy.
A certain flare in the second stroke of 石.

松級 逸石文麟桓

Hey, ed, are you going to translate for us?

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

Hi David,

The top two characters, 松級, as ryan and gowan noted, mean pine-grade.

My only guess for the next five is either the name, or the brand, or a title, or a combination of such, of the crafts person or store.
It's not obvious to me that 文麟桓 is a Japanese name. (More likely Chinese or Korean.)
Need someone more knowledgeable. 逸石(?) 文麟桓(?)

A google search for 逸石 文麟桓 returned a Korean auction page with various Go equipment.
Current theory: a Korean product.

What I discovered via a translator on Reddit:

松級 - Pine grade
逸石 - Ilseok
文麟桓 - Moon In-hwan
It seems like these are Go boards made by a Korean company called Hanil.
The company's CEO is Moon In-hwan and Ilseok is his pen name.

A similar thread was found here:
https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=3992

Hi ryan, wow, 10 years; pre-virus days, time flies. Totally forgotten about the other thread, thanks. ( also began to wonder if the calligraphy was stamped on... )

Or possibly done by "silk screen"? One of the ways One of the ways screens can be made could do brush/ink calligraphy nicely. On a clean screen, do calligraphy using an oily ink (not water based) and then apply a water based resist (which will not go where the oily ink is). Then when resist has set, remove ink with a solvent that does oils.

Mike,
Do you think they would silk screen the calligraphy say 50-75 years ago? The seller states they inherited from their great uncle?

Hi ryan,

I know nothing about printing, but twitch has live streams of Japanese wood block crafting

Update:
The seller has sent me two more pictures. Maybe these will help identify the wood. Thanks!

silk screen printing was perfected in china in the 1200s and was used in France to make wallpapapers and fabrics in the 1600s. A magnifying glass is all that is needed to determine if the characters are printed or applied with a brush.

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David Bogie, Boise ID
I play go, I ride a recumbent, of course I use Macintosh.

Thanks for saving me the trouble. I forgot that the general public might not know things like that. For that matter, "block printing" also ancient in China. But while that works well printing on paper, etc. not suitable for printing to a hard surface.