I'm thinking of buying my first set of slate and shell stones. I'm not sure of where to buy them, nor what size is suitable. I do know for sure that I like the standard grade, which have irregular patterns, but I read from a source that depend on where you buy your slate and shell stones, the grains don't even appear on the standard grade. I've been looking through kuroki, kiseido, yutopian, but can't decide yet.

Some personal notes:
1. I have 7mm glass stones and I like the thinness of them, no wobbles, but they are too light.
2. I also have 9.2 mm yunzi from YMI, and I like the weight of them. The thickness is okay for me because I think the way they make yunzi weight and shape, they don't wobble as much as thick glass stones. In order word, they sit rock solid.
3. I have a floor board Shin Kaya from YMI
4. I have Jujube Kitani Bowls. Would they be okay for slate and shell (no staining the stones)?
5. I like the look of thick stones, but I also read somewhere that thick glass stones have defect and they don't even sit properly. Don't know if slate and shell have this kind of problem also.

The Kuroki stones all have the lines on the shell. You can see photos of them on the Kuroki website: http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/english/q ... ction.html I have a set of moon grade Kuroki stones (9.8 mm) and kusu (camphor wood) bowls which I bought as a special price item and I like them a lot.

All well made shell stones have a very uniform shape. I don't know the Yutopian stones. I would choose Kuroki myself based on my personal experience. As for size, it's really a personal preference matter. From your statement about the 9.2 mm yunzi I think you would like the 9.2 mm slate and shell stones. That's my own favorite thickness. Thin stones (less than 8 mm) may be prone to chipping and very thick stones may be awkward to hold between the fingers. For me 9.2 mm is very satisfactory. I have 7.5 mm, 8.8 mm, 9.2 mm, and 9.8 mm sets. I started with 7.5 mm, wanted something thicker and went up to 8.8, wanted still thicker and bought 9.2, then 9.8 out of curiosity. In the end I like 9.2 best. Embarrassment of riches I guess but when I have a go party at my home everyone gets to use slate and shell stones .

I'd go for standard grade stones from either Kuroki or Kiseido. I have size 34 (9,5mm) standard grade stones from Kiseido, and I think they are excellent.

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Kuroki size 38 (10.7 mm) standard grade.

Mr. Kuroki also sells sample sets of 10 stones each.
So you can consider buying sample sets of standard grade of various sizes to test them.

Hello,
Send Mr. Kuroki and Mr. Bozulich (from Kisedo) and E-mail. They're both really helpful.

Mr. Kuroki manufactures stones and if you ordered a set of sized 25 stones they'll be both the size you enjoy and very steady on the board. As an added benefit there's only a 2000 yen difference between Standard and Snow grades as opposed to a 50,000 yen difference at size 36.

The only down side to having smaller stones like that is chip more easily than their larger counterparts so don't pound them on the board. Slate is pretty stable and can take a lot more beating.

As a side note, Grain does appear on standard grade stones, it's just not as prominent. I've seen two different manufacturing styles, in the first, standard grade grain appears somewhat boxy, wrapping around the shell. The second I believe is superior where the grain appears in even lines (Mr. Kuroki sells this kind). I all depends on the size of the shell and how it is cut.

For ascetic value I like size 32 but for the feel I prefer size 36. If your using a real Kaya (or even Chinese Kaya) board then I highly recommend Yuki (snow) grade...quality demands quality.

Good luck on your hunt for stones. Of all the people I've dealt with in the past, Mr. Bozulich at Kisedo and Mr. Kuroki have been by far the best and most professional!

Now for some shameless self promotion

I'm selling two sets of Hyuga Yuki grade stones. One is sized 25 and the other 22. They're currently listed on Ebay; I don't actually expect to sell them at this price (though that would be nice!), I'm interested to see what kind of offers may come in.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230937501707?ss ... 1558.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230937510988?ss ... 1558.l2649

I can't find the link to buy sample!!

The link is on the Japanese version of the website.

http://www.kurokigoishi.co.jp/onlinesho ... index.html

Email Mr. Kuroki directly.

So I went ahead and bought this:

Clamshell Go Stones, Standard Grade Size32（Outlet item）
NO spare stones, NO quality certificate, Booklet incl.
Cherry Tree Tree Go Bowls, Extra Large, (Outletr item)
Size :Extra Large (for size 30-35 stones)

Total 250$ (shipping included, by ship)

Wonder how long it'll take to reach US. I hope the imperfections are just over-scrutinizing.

Depends on the shipping method. EMS will take a couple of days and Surface a couple of months. Strangly, EMS is cheaper than air mail

Anyway, let us know what the stones are like when you get them. I'm curious as to the quality of his outlet stones.

Enjoy them! Clamshell is sooo much nicer than glass or plastic ^_^

I just got an email saying it will take 2-3 months. PATIENTLY waiting...........

Fret not. They'll come. And you will be delighted.
Congratulations on your decision.

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

I finally got it!!! almost 2 months and it came today. I'll post some pictures later on, the shell look beautiful, standard grade fit me perfectly. I look through some of them and there are indeed some scratches, but they are so small I don't think they even matter since I'll be using these to study pro games.

In the meantime, do I have to do anything special before using them or can i just use them right away?

Congrats! Just wash your hands before every use (ask the same of your friends),
and if your bowls or board are not clean, clean them first. Then, enjoy!

you sure i don't need to wash the black stones? I read somewhere the oil from black stones can contaminate the white stones

Oh, sorry, LB, I thought you were asking only about your shell stones ("them"). Yes, I washed my slate stones, but the shell stones were nice and shiny (waxed), all good to go.

[img]<a%20href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/95348286@N06/8691370810/"%20title="photo%201%20by%20lokbuddha,%20on%20Flickr"><img%20src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/8691370810_936255dd7e.jpg"%20width="500"%20height="374"%20alt="photo%201"></a>[/img]

I was just curious as to how quickly people get answers when contacting Mr. Kuroki? Do you use the "customer@kurokigoishi.co.jp"-address?

Do you mean:

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Fairly quickly. I used info@kurokigoishi.co.jp