Hiba Go Board 6cm
This is a Hiba wood Go board made from a superior quality cut of Hiba wood, and closely resembles the more expensive Kaya wood. The acutal size is 45.9cm x 42.9cm x 6.0cm. The board is made up of two pieces of Hiba stock, joined together seamlessly. If you look closely the seam is directly under one of the lines. As for the lines, they are hand drawn with the use of a Samurai sword blade, so they will not have a cheap stenciled look to them. The ink used is a Japanese lacquer that is also used on the very expensive Urushi bowls/plates. As for the finish, the board is polished with Japanese Sumac wax to give it a beautiful finish. Aside from this boards appearance the one thing that struck me as nice was the weight. If I were to compare it to the Shin-Kaya board that I use to own, I would say it is nearly twice the weight. Hiba is a very dense and heavy wood.
Hiba - (Thujopsis):
It is part of the cypress family of trees and is endemic to Japan where it is called Hiba. This is an ornamental tree and is commonly planted around temples as well as gardens. It has a very nice smell, fine texture, light in color, and depending on the quality of the cut and grain it can closely resemble Kaya. It is widely regarded as a high quality wood for making Go boards. For a complete discription of the types of wood used for Go boards Click Here,
Availability: In stock usually (takes aprox 8-10 days from Japan to your door)
Price: $298 to $325 (depending on grain pattern) + $38 shipping/insurance for the 48 states.
Example 1 (This one sold for: $298.53)
Example 2 (this one sold for: $324.00)