I have been playing Go for about 2 weeks now, and I picked up these size 32 (8.8mm) mixed slate and shell stones on ebay for $189. I hope they were worth the money, they are one size smaller than the Yunzi stones I have now (9.2mm). This was about the limit of my price range, and could have bought snow grade 7.00mm stones for the same price, but I thought they would be too thin.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/172354596287?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I bet they'll look nice. Hope to see pictures when you get them!

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They are probably very nice, both to play with and to the eye.
Not bad, such a set for a beginner!
Do post some pictures when you receive them.

I just received the stones today, several of the shell stones had tiny nicks or chips in them from shipping I think, one of them was broken, but there were 184 shell stones instead of 180, so I have a few spare. Pictures to come

Edit:
Can someone translate this manufacturers certificate for me?
https://archive.org/details/GOKESHELLSLATESTONESSize32

Could someone fill me in on how to post pictures directly to the post?

Congratulations on the new stones! I'm sure you'll enjoy them very much.

I wanted to try out Google Translate with images on my phone -- this is what it came up with:

Thanks for the translation!
I don't think they are in bad enough shape to return them, but it would be nice if I could find maybe 5 standard grade shell stones of the same size to add to the bunch. Wonder if anyone sells spares.

Ok I just went carefully through all the stones, and 72 of the shell stones have minute imperfections, mostly pinpoint pits on the surface or edge of the stone with a couple having fine grooves on the surface. Are these rare manufacturing defects that I just happened to get a lot of in this batch, or is it more common than I am aware of? Still I think it was worth the $189, no? Working on getting some pictures done.

I have some very nice Blue Label Size 40 stones from Kuroki Goishi Ten. A few of my shell stones have tiny pits, small hairline grooves on the surface, missing grain, and slight discoloration. I think this is to be expected if you are not shelling out a lot more money for the highest quality stones.

Agree with swannod

Standard grade stones often (and better grades sometimes) have tiny pits and hairline grooves.
These stones are a product of nature and handcrafted. Some minor defects on some stones are normal.
Re. number of stones: you won't miss just a few.
Keep the flawed stones in a separate plastic bag, so they are at hand if you absolutely need them, and play with the stones you consider good.

Ok I feel better now, I will just keep them all together and keep the pitted ones in the bottom of the bowl maybe.

I just came across this thread.

I am shocked that someone would spend so much on a set of stones when they have been play for so little time. But good for you!! It will give you more incentive to keep on playing.

I had been playing for about 12 years before I bought my first (and only) set of slate and shell stones. Thirty years later I still cannot justify buying more, or a higher quality board (I have a 2 inches table board).

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I have been playing chess for most of my life, and have heard about Go in the chess community for some time.
i like playing on my good chess set, so figured it would be nice to have a good Go set as well. I have been spending a lot of time learning and playing Go lately so I'm sure ill get some use out of these. Might be some time before I get a nice Goban though, for now my Yellow Mountain Imports board will do.

I just put some pictures up of these Go stones. The pictures were taken with my ipad and with the poor lighting they are not the best quality pictures, but I think you can see the lines on the stones in some of the nicer stones here.

I would like to post the pictures directly on the forums here but I have yet to figure that out.

https://archive.org/details/GOKESHELLSLATESTONESSize32

make sure to scroll past the first 2 pictures to see the stones.

They look great! Congrats and thanks for sharing.

_________________
Ko is the best solution.
With Ko, I can keep eating and drinking until I am full.

Visit >>>Koosh's Study Journal<<<

They look very nice for the money. I think you have a handsome board as well. Did u mention details on that and I missed it?

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Walla Walla GO Club -(on FB)

We play because we enjoy the beauty of the game, the snap and feel of real stones, and meeting interesting people. Hope to see ya there! お願いします!

Anthony

The board is made from bamboo from YMI, and the nice thing is that the lines are actually etched into the board. I have been getting a lot of use out of it!

Thanks for your update.

Yes, YMI sells nice products, and a bamboo board is fine. But I foresee that, now that you have slate and shell stones, you once want to buy a shin kaya or perhaps even real kaya board.
That matches slate and shell stones better, both to the eye and to the ear. It just makes a better combination.
Nevertheless: enjoy your nice set.