Rika 5000 problem

[Andrixxx942]

Hello, I wanted some information from you. I’m new in the world of sharpening stones, I’ve been learning for more than a month. Today I sharpened my knife and I noticed passing to 5000 rika suehiro that after a while of pasting I have as lost the razor edge of the knife, is this possible or did I wrong something? thanks for the answers

[Cigarguy]

Could be a lot of problems. All involving your skill which comes with experience. Nothing to do with the stone.

When I first got into sharpening I was very good at getting a mirror DULL edge. The problem was my technique. Inconsistent angle and thinking that moving up to higher grit stones equal sharper edges. Once I got the hang of it and developed some muscle memory it lead to consistent angles. Before I was not achieving a true apex and thinking that a wire burr equal sharpness which I then proceeded to polish.

Now all my sharpening happens on a 800 to 1200 grit stone. This is my most important grit range. On a really dull knife I'd dropped down to a 200 or 400 grit stone to set the bevel. Then 1000 grit for 90% of final sharpness. After that 3000+ grit for the final polishing and pop. Unless your technique is really bad you're not going to make the edge duller with a polishing stone or leather strop.

Keep practicing and practicing. Soon you'll hit that "a-ha" moment, then you'll be amaze how much sharper you can get an edge on even a 200 grit stone. Sharpening can be frustrating at first until you get to that moment. Then it becomes so easy even as your skills improve.

[JayBee]

My a'h-ha' moment was when I decided to see how sharp I could get my knives off just my 1k stone(skipping the usual 5k rika/leather strop steps) as a little game. I discovered to get it razor sharp off the 1k I had to spend waaaaaay more time getting rid of the burr then I was previously doing. After a few sessions I went back to my usual 5k/strop routine and was shocked how much better my edge was. Not only was it crazy sharp, it stayed sharp for way longer. It almost doubled the amount of time I spent between sharpenings.

[jmcnelly85]

How are you testing your edges? What sharpness tests does it pass before it sees the 5k stone and what happens after the 5k?

[ken123]

I see this a lot, most especially among users who fall for the 1k /6k approach. They get a mediocre 1k edge and quickly jump to 6k to fix the edge. Low grit edges are where the work is. Precise edges. You should go back to coarser grits and learn to do them well first before the 5k Rika. The fault is not the Rika.
Master the 1k (and lower) first.

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Ken

[Kalaeb]

I see this a lot, most especially among users who fall for the 1k /6k approach. They get a mediocre 1k edge and quickly jump to 6k to fix the edge. Low grit edges are where the work is. Precise edges. You should go back to coarser grits and learn to do them well first before the 5k Rika. The fault is not the Rika.
Master the 1k (and lower) first.

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Ken

Yup, take the bass down low. Get hair shaving off the 1k then move on.

[ken123]

I see this a lot, most especially among users who fall for the 1k /6k approach. They get a mediocre 1k edge and quickly jump to 6k to fix the edge. Low grit edges are where the work is. Precise edges. You should go back to coarser grits and learn to do them well first before the 5k Rika. The fault is not the Rika.
Master the 1k (and lower) first.

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Ken

Yup, take the bass down low. Get hair shaving off the 1k then move on.

Exactly ! - build your work on a solid foundation to a precise level of geometry All else follows.

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Ken

[gladius]

Hello, I wanted some information from you. I’m new in the world of sharpening stones, I’ve been learning for more than a month. Today I sharpened my knife and I noticed passing to 5000 rika suehiro that after a while of pasting I have as lost the razor edge of the knife, is this possible or did I wrong something? thanks for the answers

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You could also be using too much pressure and crushing the edge.
IF you get a sharp edge on the medium grit stone then use less pressure on the 5k.

[salemj]

Great advice above.

In addition, make sure your Rika has a long soak (about 10 minutes), and start by using only trailing strokes with no pressure.

[Insnekamkze86]

Ya technique and more time on the 1k stone before moving to the Rika 5k stone. Otherwise what you get off the Rika won't be that sharp. Decided to do the jump from some crappy stones to a Rika 5k because I was lazy and it was nothing compared to my other knife that u used a cerax 1k before using the Rika 5k. Kind of dull in comparison