Suehiro Rika vs Arashiyama 6000

[patrokov]

the rika can be permasoaked too... its a vitirified stone

Thanks Jon. I had thought it could be but was confused by this sentence on Japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com
"Requires soaking in water - but only soak for as long as it takes to stay wet on the surface."

[cazhpfan]

By "response" you mean "feedback," right?

What stone do you start with before making the jump to 4k?

Thank you!

I have the Arashiyama and I like the response of the stone. Its a hard stone that isn't prone to gouging(not that I've done anything to deliberately do that of course) but it is very easy to use as it cuts quite quickly with a couple of spritzers of water, doesn't load and will leave a decent smooth shine on your edge. The only thing about this,for me, is that I would prefer using an intermediate 4000grit before the arashiyama as I don't like to spend too much time trying to finish off the stone on the 6000grit with such a big progression. I guess what I'm trying to say is,a little more time on my 4000 makes life easier for me on the 6000 arashiyama.
Ease of care for me is simple,keep it aired and comfortable until you use it,and clean it gently after each use. After washing I just let it dry on a rack before it goes back on my shelf.

[cazhpfan]

Thank you very much for rounding up the great info!

1.The issue, I believe, is subjective feel vs actual grit size. In the case of the Takenoko/Arashiyama, it's compounded by the stone being sold under two names with different grits even though it appears to be the same stone.

2. From JapaneseKnifeSharpeningStore:

Suehiro Rika:
"This stone offers, what appears to be, a 3000x edge (not very shiny) however the edge quality is 5000x, no question about it. This stone makes a great stopping point for double bevel knives."

Takenoko
"This is a great stone in the quality of edge it provides. If you like an edge that bites then this is the stone for you. I find it cuts very fast yet isn't aggressive and it has such a great feeling, providing feedback, and making the sharpening experience more pleasurable. This stone will allow you to skip the use of many coarse and medium grit stones thus reducing your sharpening times without reducing quality of your end result...From my own testing I believe this stone to be the same as the Arashiyama 6k."

3. And Dave once offered a refund to customers who had bought both the Arashiyama and the Takenoko originally thinking they were two different stones.
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/sh...hp?tid/850519/

4. One additional benefit of the Arashiyama is that it can be permasoaked like the Bester.

5. As for the jump, there are plenty of 1000/6000 combo stones. There are plenty of threads with people who use 1000/1200 and then jump to either the Suehiro Rika or the Arashiyama. But as I said before, only one thread that I could find where they were directly compared.
http://www.cheftalk.com/t/63213/toji...60#post_335445

[Sherski]

By "response" you mean "feedback," right?

What stone do you start with before making the jump to 4k?

Thank you!

If, by feedback, you mean how much metal the stone seems to be taking off the blade, and whether or not it feels hard,soft, sludgy/muddy/, and doesn't load up, then yes.

I use the green Chosera 1000grit as a starting stone. I don't normally use it as a stone to reprofile an edge (although you can) but I use it when I can feel my edges needing a fresh start and they just need a little 'perking up' before I progress.
Find the stones that fit your blade collection best. I think the pursuit of the holy grail of stones would create a lot more butthurt for someone with limited spending power. I personally like working with a set of stones that I can afford (as a chef de partie, that means probably about 2 months of saving up? ) that fit the following criteria:

1. Does it have a good reputation for being a stone that doesn't behave unpredictably even when cared for properly?
2.What polish can I expect to get for that given price range?
3. Can I get a stone at that price without having excessive loading, slurry build up?
4. How will it fit on my set up? - some people just sharpen on wet tea towels; I have a Suehiro monorail stone holder; some guys prefer sink bridges etc.
5. How will that finish tie in with the next step in sharpening? I.e. how will it 'blend' with the next grit progression or stropping?

This list isn't exhaustive. By all means, it's not. But I think if you're an enthusiast with lotsa cash, why not buy a couple for sh*ts and giggles to find out? If you're like me and need to pick, you'd simply have to weigh out the pros and cons of it all and see which fits the bill best. And last thing from me, treat your stones with care. If they're splash and go, keep them that way, and if they're not meant to be soaked forever, laziness or convenience might not be the best excuse to leave stones in water. I might get criticism for saying this but because I know I don't have a deep pocket to draw from, I just do what is within my ability to preserve my sharpening days

Hope that helps you out.

[cazhpfan]

Awesome post!

I find that you and I are in the same boat money-wise; I also need to be very judicious in how I spend. Thus comes the need to ask questions/get feedback from others...

I am planning the following stones for my rotation:

Some sort of diamond plate for lapping/thinning (will probably have to save-up for an Atoma as they have the most consistent diamond application)
Late 400
Bester 1,200
Arashiyama 6k
Homemade leather strop w/chromium oxide (I might build a felt + diamond spray strop eventually).

What do you think?

Thank you for all the help--it's super useful!

If, by feedback, you mean how much metal the stone seems to be taking off the blade, and whether or not it feels hard,soft, sludgy/muddy/, and doesn't load up, then yes.

I use the green Chosera 1000grit as a starting stone. I don't normally use it as a stone to reprofile an edge (although you can) but I use it when I can feel my edges needing a fresh start and they just need a little 'perking up' before I progress.
Find the stones that fit your blade collection best. I think the pursuit of the holy grail of stones would create a lot more butthurt for someone with limited spending power. I personally like working with a set of stones that I can afford (as a chef de partie, that means probably about 2 months of saving up? ) that fit the following criteria:

1. Does it have a good reputation for being a stone that doesn't behave unpredictably even when cared for properly?
2.What polish can I expect to get for that given price range?
3. Can I get a stone at that price without having excessive loading, slurry build up?
4. How will it fit on my set up? - some people just sharpen on wet tea towels; I have a Suehiro monorail stone holder; some guys prefer sink bridges etc.
5. How will that finish tie in with the next step in sharpening? I.e. how will it 'blend' with the next grit progression or stropping?

This list isn't exhaustive. By all means, it's not. But I think if you're an enthusiast with lotsa cash, why not buy a couple for sh*ts and giggles to find out? If you're like me and need to pick, you'd simply have to weigh out the pros and cons of it all and see which fits the bill best. And last thing from me, treat your stones with care. If they're splash and go, keep them that way, and if they're not meant to be soaked forever, laziness or convenience might not be the best excuse to leave stones in water. I might get criticism for saying this but because I know I don't have a deep pocket to draw from, I just do what is within my ability to preserve my sharpening days

Hope that helps you out.

[BeerChef]

Just got a rika yesterday and even after just a few knives I can say I love this stone. Worked wonderfully on w2, as, and some random stainless. Hit my hiromoto with some .5 diamond on felt after the rika and had the best edge ive put on it yet.

[labor of love]

Just got a rika yesterday and even after just a few knives I can say I love this stone. Worked wonderfully on w2, as, and some random stainless. Hit my hiromoto with some .5 diamond on felt after the rika and had the best edge ive put on it yet.

Good to hear. Rika is a great stone. Wonderful feedback and a bargain at its price.

[dough]

Arashiyama is a great stone but covers a broader range of polish... it somewhat covers the 6-8k range particularly if you know how to work the slurry. the rika is a dynamic quick 5k that does not dish overly quick and is good with most steels.

you should get the arashiyama mounted if you buy one because they have a tendency to crack after enough drying cycles. the other fact is the arashiyama is the same stone as the takenoko which leads to grit can be subjective and your attitude that you think you dont need an 8K for a knife is more to do with your style both sharpening and cutting then a comment on actual grit.

i like both stones and think they both have a place but the arashiyama covers a broader range and imo is a more enjoyable feeling stone to use however the rika is a more useful stone in a progression. i must admit if i could only have one or had to stop at one or the other id choose the arashiyama bc i like cutting with that edge better then an edge finished on a rika.

also with all that said you arent me and dont seem like me so i say buy the rika and dont look back. imo its a more useful stone particularly for a beginner on a budget.

[slowtyper]

the rika can be permasoaked too... its a vitirified stone

Is it okay to permasoak stones that have cracks? I have the arashiyama but it has many cracks so I glued it to a piece of tile. I'd love to permasoak it if I could but I've never tried.

BTW do you know if https://toshoknifearts.com/shop/shar...tone-1000-grit is a vitrified stone?

[patrokov]

So it seems that I have:

ecchef: Suehiro rika hands down for being more versatile and better feedback. (Would you like to elaborate on what you mean by versatile?)
Mucho Bocho: kind of a vote for the Arashiyama
Sherski: likes the Arashiyama but likes an intermediate grit first so that the arashiyama goes faster (but no comparison to the Suehiro)
BeerChef: likes the Suehiro Rika but no comparison to the Arashiyama
labor of love: same
dough: Arashiyama because he likes the final edge better (although a Suehiro Rika might be more useful in a progression)

So, some final thoughts:
1. My budget of two stones (for now) is self imposed just so I don't get carried away.
2. I don't think I will ever need to go higher than 6000 (just a lowly home cook), so either the Suehiro or the Arashiyama could fit that bill. I see more people say they like the cutting edge of the Arashiyama, which makes me lean toward it, as I cut far more often than I will sharpen.
3. The major factor the Suehiro Rika has going for it is that it may be quicker cutting than the Arashiyama and has better feedback.

SOOOO.... I am still leaning toward the Arashiyama. Anyone in South Florida who might want to let me use their stones so I can feel for myself? After all, what I'm asking is whether I'll like chocolate or vanilla better without ever having tasted either.