Dedicated Knife & Razor Stones?

I thought I had it all figured out for sharpening all of my knives and razors, with a reasonable number of stones.

DMT325 (lapping and chip repair), Atoma 1200 (lapping\nagura), Chosera 1k, Gesshin s&g 5k, and j-nat for razor finishing.
The only stones that see "double duty" are the Chosera and Gesshin. I really see no need to go beyond the 5k on knives.

Recently I was struggling with a few razors, and figured out it was because the chosera and gesshing were dished, even despite me lapping them after every knife job\before a razor job. Turns out I wasnt getting them totally flat and it required a bit more work with the dmt325. (was previously just using the atoma for a nicer surface finish after I had established "flat" with the dmt)

The question comes in with wear and longevity vs convenience and price, and is arguably, something I need to decide on my own, but I am always open to advice or input. Anyone have specific dedicated stones for knives vs razors?

I've been thinking about adding in a couple of stones just for knives, but really not sure I like anything else out there.
The closest I seem to come would be a Suehiro Rika 5k and possibly a King 1200?.

Would rather not plunk down on another chosera and gesshin as those are slightly more expensive stones. I spent more on these two stones to begin with because I knew they'd work great for both applications. Is there another stone(s) I am overlooking?

Any stone that requires more than a ~5-15min soak is unfortunately out of the question for me. Just have zero patience for waiting on a soak or changing perma-soak water. I am OK with a mid-grit (3-6k) stone that requires up to 15min of soaking (e.g. Rika) because that can happen while I'm working on the 1k.
I really dislike the DMT1200 and Atoma 1200 for sharpening knives. (though I dislike the atoma less than the dmt for this)

Are the stones mounted on a base? Could you mark the stone and use 1 side for razors and the other for knives?

good question

The chosera is sitting on a base. I had seen\read a few examples of the 5k Chosera cracking and decided I should go with a permanent base.

The gesshin on the other hand is un-mounted. I havent experiemented with it at all, but the "bottom" side looks significantly different than the top. Not sure if it's somewhat of a directional stone or not? That's a great idea though about a knife only side. If that pans out then the 1k would be the only issue.

You can try Chosera Superstone or Shapton Pro series both are pretty much S&G. Usually they are note mounted on bases so you can use Von Blewitt advice.

already have a 1k chosera, it is great, but dont want to have to buy another one. I want the chosera with the permanent base as noted.

i dont know why, but I always forget about the shaptons
going to take a look at them again. thanks

If I was after the most similar to a 1k Chosera, would that be the Shapton Pro 1500?
I feel like I've read somewhere that the 1k shapton is more of an ~800grit?

I've always felt like the 1k Chosera was a tad finer than 1k.

Mostly carbon knives if that matters. (a mix of white #1/#2 and blue #2)

Sorry man, I meant Naniwa Superstone series. Naniwa being same company that makes Choseras. My bad. Also I would not be too worried about Shapton comparison to Chosera just get 1500 or 1000 both will do the job.

Is your DMT truly flat? I have heard that DMT plates are quite often not truly flat (compared with DMT lapping plate, for example) and if you are using that for reference flat, you may continue to have issues with your honing.

I am working to build a similar setup where I can have one stone set for both knives and razors - but I have a few more acquisitions to go on the knife stone front, and want to finish my knife stone kit first before jumping into the razor honing rabbit hole.

Currently have DMT lapping plate on the way (i know easier cheaper routes to get dead flat), Gesshin 400, Gesshin 4000, and Takashima Awasedo. I am on the market for a mid grit stone, and haven't decided between JKI's big 1k synthetic, and an Ikarashi (currently out of stock at JNS).

I intend to buy this mid grit stone, (to be used as razor bevel setter) and keep everything dead flat with the DMT, and then buy a finishing stone and set of Nagura that can hopefully also be used occasionally to polish my wide bevel gyuto(s) in addition to finishing razors on.

Love the idea of a one stone set that can do it all. I am confident my knife setup will be good - the question is whether this setup would work well for straights. Time will tell! Good luck and keep us updated!