I recently bought a Rika 5k and really fell in love. I had been using DMT plates up until then and the silky feel of the Rika just totally turns me off the diamonds (I still use them to make big repairs).

So now I am looking for a 1k stone to go along with the Rika under a ~$50 budget. I am hoping to permasoak both stones for quicker access, so I'd like a stone that's good for that. Right now I soak the Rika for 15 minutes or so then dry the stone completely in my garage. I sharpen 2-4 knives and 1-2 tools once every couple weeks so it's not critical I permasoak but it would be a bit more convenient.

I do have the diamonds but would like the stones to be used for sharpening all my knives, which go up to K390 and HAP40.

I am considering:

King KDS 800, 1000, or 1200 (Not sure about these and the harder steels)

Cerax 1000 (Frontrunner, seems to be a straight upgrade to King, but don't know about soaking)

Naniwa Green Brick (a huge stone that seems really well liked for a long time)

Suehiro Akamon (maybe a lower end stone than the Cerax but seems to be well liked)