======== Newsgroups: rec.games.go Subject: Thoughts on Go bowls?... From: "eshylay" Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 21:50:14 +0200 It most certainly is a drawn-out process acquiring Go equipment in non Go countries :)... Thanks to this newsgroup at least - I know what I want for my board and stones... so they have been checked off the list in some sense. So long as some form of progress is happening - I'm happy, I guess :) The bowls are now the last thing I need to finish off the set and actually start playing the game in style :) (Well... sub-too-expensive style, that is). So far (over the course of about 2 months...) I've killed about $45 for the board equipment and stones (stones being the big expense at roughly $30). I'm looking now at various possibilities for [cheaper-end] bowls. I figure this may be of help to others in a similar situation. So has anyone any ideas on good Go bowl-looking substitutes? This is the most obvious solution for me to avoid importing. I took a look at some salad bowls... don't mock me :) Suffice it to say - these weren't ideal. Anything else anyone has used? I'm looking for something between food-containers and $300 wooden things. Really... I'm quite open to suggestions. So far as actual imports go (hopefully a last option)... what is the consensus regarding the "black Go bowls" from Samarkand? I'm referring to the $29,95 ones... not the $4,95. I think the food containers don't look so bad in comparison to the latter. A direct link, if you are unfamiliar with them: http://www.samarkand.net/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=B01BC.html&cart_id=534 6082_69614 I really do like the look of them and they are (in comparison) relatively cheap... but even then, I have to question the $30 price tag for what amounts to two plastic bowls. Does anyone own these or similar bowls? Perhaps maybe just seen them? I'd be interested to know if you feel the $30 price is justified. The only other place I've seen selling these same bowls is Ishi Press... where they go for > $35 if I recall correctly. They don't appear to be available at Yutopian. Suggestions? eshylay eshylayNOSPAM@hotmail.com ( remove the "nospam" bit if you email me) ======== Newsgroups: rec.games.go Subject: Re: Thoughts on Go bowls?... From: dame_zumari@yahoo.com (Louise Bremner) Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 08:02:12 +0900 Sculptor wrote: > I have a set of the black plastic Go bowls from Samarkand and am really > pleased with them. They are not at all like what you would normally think > of when plastic comes to mind. They're quite nicely made with no seams from > the mold or a cheap finish. The surface is smooth and yet not like glass. > It's sort of hard to describe but has some very subtle texture to it. Maybe that's the same plastic that's used to simulate high-class lacquer soup-bowls. Amazing stuff. You can see them in department stores in Japan--real and imitation lacquer bowls side-by-side, with only the differing numbers of zeros on the price tags to identify which are which (to my eyes at least). Note that the plastic bowls are far more sturdy than the lacquer ones. ________________________________________________________________________ Louise Bremner (log at gol dot com) If you want a reply by e-mail, don't write to my Yahoo address! ======== Newsgroups: rec.games.go Subject: Re: Thoughts on Go bowls?... From: The Nose Who Knows Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 09:37:13 GMT On Sat, 27 Apr 2002 21:50:14 +0200, eshylay wrote: > It most certainly is a drawn-out process acquiring Go equipment in non > Go countries :)... > So long as some form of progress is happening - I'm happy, I guess :) Consider yourself one of the "early adopters" of Go, the ones who create the market demand so that local manufacturing and/or distribution can finally ramp up and bring the distribution costs down. > So far as actual imports go (hopefully a last option)... If you want "style" in your Go equipment (as opposed to "eccentric charm" :-), the only options at the moment seem to be import. If enough people keep bugging local distributors and/or equipment manufacturers, eventually someone will listen, so do ask even if you already know the answer is "no, we don't carry that". The only way to make it happen is to make the demand visible. > what is the consensus regarding the "black Go bowls" from Samarkand? > I really do like the look of them and they are (in comparison) > relatively cheap... They are truly beautiful; the word "plastic" just doesn't come to mind looking at them. They are subtly textured, accurately made without seams or injection blobs, and just look as though they are something much classier than plastic. *Every* time I've explained to someone that they are made of plastic, I'm greeted with astonishment. I liked them so much I bought another pair for a travel set -- they're nice and light, especially once I replaced the glass stones with plastic ones, they're far less likey to damage than wood, and never fail to attract attention. > but even then, I have to question the $30 price tag for what amounts > to two plastic bowls. If you want style, you're never going to get it for the cost of the materials. If you want a couple of plastic tubs for the cost of the materials, they can be had for very little cost, and they will look like the soulless mass-produced crap that they are. You're paying for the design and workmanship, which are far more expensive than the materials. -- \ "[On the Internet,] power and control will shift to those who | `\ are actually contributing something useful rather than just | _o__) having lunch." -- Douglas Adams | http://bignose.squidly.org/ 9CFE12B0 791A4267 887F520C B7AC2E51 BD41714B ======== Newsgroups: rec.games.go Subject: Re: Thoughts on Go bowls?... From: The Nose Who Knows Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2002 00:23:16 GMT On Sun, 28 Apr 2002 18:11:07 +0200, eshylay wrote: > I'll be paying $33.44 shipping on a $29.95 item... I guess I'm forced > to find the humor in this :) Samarkand are a small operation, they can't afford bulk discounts easily. Shipping fees are a big hit, especially when you consider they've already been paid to get them from the Japanese manufacturer to Samarkand. > I tell you Symeon... "eccentric charm" (as you so nicely put it)... > isn't looking so bad ;) (That was me actually) Let me put it this way: Just because something is worth the price, that doesn't necessarily mean you can afford it. There is nothing wrong with finding a nice cheap set of bowls that are just the right size. Do some shopping at "op shops" for odd-looking tupperware that strikes you as nice. I have a friend who found a pair of woven, patterned reed bowls with lids at a thrift store for AU$2.00, that have nothing to do with Go, but are exactly the right size and go well with his board. > And regarding "...the soulless mass-produced crap that they are", am I > detecting a wee bit of less-than-healthy passion in that statement? :) I'm saying that your average department-store cheap plastic containers are not going to exude class, because at no stage has anyone put any craftsmanship into them; that's simply not a criterion used when stocking the shelves of those stores. And there is nothing wrong with that, it's just something to be aware of. When you buy cheap bowls at a convenient department store, you're putting little effort *and* little money in -- your purchase will be proportionally lacking in style. But as for utilitarian functionality, a bowl is a bowl. It's certainly better than no bowl at all. Don't feel pressured to get "official" bowls if you can't afford them. There are any number of bowls that will look fine with stones in them next to a goban. Indeed, the current Japanese style of bowls you see at Samarkand are by far not the only style of bowls used; those in the Orient who can't afford turned wooden bowls are quite happy using little woven baskets, or bowls made from big bamboo stalks, or pottery bowls. Use whatever equipment your budget allows. If you want class, you'll have to pay for it either with money, *or* with effort in shopping around creatively for something that isn't the standard but still has class. And you can be far more proud of a pair of bowls that still look great even though they were never meant to accompany a goban and only cost you a few dollars in a second-hand store; you now have a story to tell about your equipment, making it far more interesting than my mail-ordered stuff. It's only important that you play the game, regardless what you use to play it. Expensive equipment may get you a few "ooh"s and "ahh"s, but all that is forgotten once the game begins :-) -- \ "I saw a sign: 'Rest Area 25 Miles'. That's pretty big. Some | `\ people must be really tired." -- Steven Wright | _o__) | http://bignose.squidly.org/ 9CFE12B0 791A4267 887F520C B7AC2E51 BD41714B