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Product Details
Manufacturer Go Game Guru	Recommended Age 5 years and up	Brand Go Game Guru

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Features

• One of a kind Kaya Go board of the very highest quality
• Forged from a single piece of exceptionally rare kaya
• Board took more than 20 years to make, including carefully drying the wood and working by hand with the wood
• Famous throughout Asia – has appeared on TV numerous times, but has never been sold yet
• Dimensions: 17.8 x 19.1 x 13.3 in (45.1 x 48.4 x 33.8 cm). Weight: 46.3 lb (21 kg).

Description

There are other beautiful kaya Go boards, but this one is truly unique. Created by master craftsman Shin Myongsik, this board was forged from a single piece of exceptionally rare kaya.

Mr Shin has been making Go boards for 50 years, since he was 12 years old, and is a true master of the craft. According to Mr Shin, kaya of this quality is so rare that a master board maker will only get an opportunity to work with it once in their lifetime, if they're lucky.

Mr Shin spent 20 years carefully drying the wood and lovingly creating this board. The board is famous throughout Asia and has appeared on television numerous times. This is Mr Shin's masterpiece.

Kaya (torreya nucifera) is a softwood tree native to parts of Eastern Asia.

It's generally considered to produce the best wood available for making Go boards and Go board craftsmen refer to kaya as a diamond among trees.

Unfortunately, kaya was over-harvested in the past (for making boats, bath tubs and Go boards, among other things) and these days only wood from fallen kaya trees is available. Due the to very low availability of, and high demand for kaya, the wood is very expensive.

Kaya is a slow growing tree, and the trees used to make Go boards are usually about 500 years old, which is another reason why kaya Go boards are rare and expensive these days.

Because of its slow growth, kaya is a very dense wood with a fine, attractive grain. Kaya boards are known and valued for their gentle golden coloring, beautiful tree rings, fine grain, pleasant scent and the sound produced by the wood when a stone is played on the board.

Kaya takes a very long time to dry before it can be used to make a board, because the wood is so dense and breathes very little. The best practice is to dry the wood for at least 10 years to ensure that it has settled sufficiently, before using it to make a Go board.

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