Yunzi harder than marble?

skan · Post by **skan** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:49 pm

Hello

I was about to acquire a set of Yunzi stones on the Internet and the seller told me that marble stones are harder to break than Yunzi ones. Some days ago I read the opposite in this forum and I think the seller just wants to sell me something more expensive.

What do you think?. Is Yunzi harder than marble?
I don't mean more difficult to scratch but more difficult to break.

ez4u · Post by **ez4u** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:43 pm

Are you considering keeping your yunzi stones in marble bowls? Otherwise what is the point? Isn't the main issue that they are harder than your go board? :blackeye:

Post by **Joaz Banbeck** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:05 pm

Perhaps it might be practical to distinguish between hardness and tenacity.

moonrabbit · Post by **moonrabbit** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:28 pm

I own both.

Marble is a lot stronger than the Yunzi material (which is a little bit brittle.) Yunzi do break from time to time.

As for hardness, I've never actually tried to test this. Marble stones have a kind of polish/coating on them (bare marble is porous) so you're really looking at the hardness of the coating. It's pretty tough stuff but it does get fine scratches with use. I notice it on the black stones. If Yunzi get scratched, on the other hand, I don't think you really notice so much because the material is matte.

Practically speaking, the difference in hardness is pretty much irrelevant. The thing I really notice in use is whether the stones are consistently shaped.

xed_over · Post by **xed_over** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:59 pm

marble is stone
yunzi is glass

skan · Post by **skan** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:33 am

Hello

My main concern is that they can break if they fall over.
My house, like most in Spain, has floor tiles.
I'm sorry, I'm not fluent in English, and maybe you understood I'm looking something hard to the touch.

daniel_the_smith · Post by **daniel_the_smith** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:59 am

Marble stones are really nice. Yunzi stones are almost as nice and cheap.

Both can break. (and dropping them on tile is a good way to manage it). Yunzi breaks like glass, usually just a chip. I don't own marble stones, but I believe when they break, they're more likely to split in half (they break along preexisting weaknesses in the material). Usually a set of stones will include a couple extras.

moonrabbit · Post by **moonrabbit** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:08 am

Okay, I just did an experiment and sacrificed two white stones to the cause of science.

Both the marble stone and the Yunzi break by chipping when dropped a few times on concrete from a height of about five feet. The marble maybe chips slightly more easily.

The Yunzi is actually harder in the sense that it resists scratching better. On rough concrete the marble grinds up (like chalk, although not as easily of course.)

So I guess I was mostly wrong. I will say that under more mild conditions (ie regular use) I've never broken a marble stone but every once in a while I find a broken Yunzi in the bowl. That's basically why I said marble is tougher in my earlier post.

My marble stones are cheapies and I'm not sure I like them much more than Yunzi. But I've also seen nicer (more expensive) marble stones that I liked a lot.

skan · Post by **skan** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:53 am

I'm sorry for your stones.
I hope you have some spare ones.
Could you please try with a normal glass stone, please?

I guess the nicer marble stones you speak about are just more beautiful.

daniel_the_smith · Post by **daniel_the_smith** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:13 am

Yunzi is a kind of glass. It breaks exactly like glass does. (I have both, and have broken both accidentally :sad:

)

skan · Post by **skan** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:19 am

daniel_the_smith wrote:Yunzi is a kind of glass. It breaks exactly like glass does.

Then, Why are they advertised as stronger?

daniel_the_smith · Post by **daniel_the_smith** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:25 am

skan wrote:Then, Why are they advertised as stronger?

Who is doing that?

skan · Post by **skan** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:40 am

Maybe I didn't read exactly they are stronger than other, or I can't find it now,

The only thing I found is
http://www.go-gamestore.com/goequip/sto ... neinfo.htm

They just state that Yunzi is durable and can last for years. But they don't say anything about dropping the stones.

OK, on the same page, at the end, they say ceramic ones do not chip.
Maybe I confuse them, Anyway, I don't believe it. If it's true, Why aren't they sold more often?

daniel_the_smith · Post by **daniel_the_smith** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:02 am

They say "basically do not chip". I'm sure you could manage it if you tried hard enough.

I'm not 100% sure I've seen the ceramic stones before, but if they're what I'm thinking of, they're rather light and I prefer Yunzi.

skan · Post by **skan** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:14 am

Thank you everybody

Then I'm going to buy cheap glass stones.

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