Caring For Go Stones
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Having purchased some attractive go stones, one will want to care for them properly to maintain their aesthetic appeal. This page describes the methods of doing so.
Table of contents |
Clam shell (white stones)
The main issue with this material is its sensitivity to acid such as oil (from skin, board, black stones, ...)
- First time, wash stones; according to
rgg, the water should not be too hot!
- wash stones with a dry, 100% cotton cloth after play: natural oils from skin do no good to clam shell
- wax to keep a protective layer
washing
Options to wash stones:
- use a fresh egg (egg white)
- mild detergent in tepid water
- soapy water is fine too
- try to avoid soaps with perfumes and dyes
- milk? (not sure: contains fat)
rinsing
- rinse thoroughly
- consider final rinse with distilled water
- beware of temperature changes
- leave stones to dry overnight (note that with harder water, you risk leaving calcium residus behind)
Note: consider testing and balancing water pH (Any pet store or place that sells fish should have pH test kits for 5-10 dollars (US); once measured, water pH should not change much in your area). check that the chemical does not interact with Calcium Carbonate (main component of clam shell)
waxing white stones
- put wax (white powder, ibotaro) in a plastic bag and gently shake around
- acid-free wax polish made from mineral oils (stuff used for polishing cars is acid-free, mineral-oil-based and microcristalline, so it should be ok)
- car shampoo soap with wax?
- Carnauba Wax (see Links below)
- in case stones become especially sticky or difficult to clean, seek the assistance of a specialist
care
One can get carried away in an attempt to preserve stones; best is to keep an eye on them and just wash from time to time.
- remember
- think of oil from board or hands - that's why both should be clean
- keep stones in their respective bowls, preferrably in a protective cloth (see
rgg)
- don't use natural oils or waxes such as bee's wax - it is ok for some time, but will destroy the surfaces of shell stones after 3 or 4 decades
- oil-based soaps?
- that's why you shouldn't
- play while eating,
- rattle the go stones,
- Touching the stones too much,
- Dangling a Stone Above the Board While Thinking,
- Dumping A Pile Of Stones Out Of The Bowl (or keep them in your hands)
- contamination happens (oil gets transferred indirectly from black to white stones; a bit extreme, admitted... a way to avoid this is to use your other hand to manipulate prisoner stones)
- while handling prisoner stones of the other color
- when doing reviews and playing both sides
- when switching sides (you play Black, then you play White)
- avoid excessive temperatures (or temperature changes: think of washing - rinsing)
Slate (black stones)
- First time, wash stones in warm soapy water
- Do not use a metal strainer or container for washing or rinsing because the metal rubs off onto the stones
- Leave stones to dry overnight
- use a few drops of oil to bring back their original lustre
- mineral, or even better: light machine oil (barber's or sewing machine shop)
- store machine oil away from light (it can turn brownish gum and become unusable)
- there would exist special oil for slate floors
- put in a plastic bag with a few drops of oil and gently shake around
- remove oil with a clean cotton cloth so that a thin protective coating is left behind
Glass
- warm soapy water
Jade?
- hot water and soap; just let it soak
Yunzi
- see Yunzi,
- Choosing the right oil (for yunzi stones)
Marble
- Put the stones in a ziplock bag.
- Fill the bag with warm water.
- Put in a few drops of mild soap (such as
Dr.Bronner's).
- Swish the water in the bag, rubbing the stones that are especially dirty.
- Empty the bag into a non-metallic strainer.
- Dry each stone with a clean towel.
Links
-
http://photos.holosys.co.uk/a/1215 lot's of photographs from holosys with various stages of cleaning
- Renaissance Wax:
http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/section_39/section39_08.htm
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax
- version 66 (before WME) contains some quite technical chemistry data on caring for Go stones.
-
Yellow Mountain tips
- KurokiGoishiTen igoblog Q&A:
- Kuroki Goishiten offers a service to clean clamshell go stones: information
here. The left-hand picture is before cleaning, the right-hand one after. The page is in Japanese and they ask that customers for this service contact them before sending the stones.
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