I have been using a straight for 8 months now and love it! But I have been having trouble keeping it straight. I am using a 5/8 Ralf Aust. The hones I have are a Norton4k/8k, a dragons tougue, and a llyn melynllyn. I also use pasted balsa, a pasted SRD strop, and a Tony Miller strop for finishing. My problem is that it will not stay sharp for more than a 2 months before needing honing and no more than a few shaves before needing the paste. In all fairness, my whiskers are quite coarse and I do not expect my razor to last as long. But it should last longer than it has been. Before every shave I strop between 40-80X's. It is usually sufficient. However, if it pulls any, then I go to the pasted strop. If I have to use the pasted strop 2-3X's in a row, then I go to the stones. I have honed it twice. Any suggestions would be appreiciated. Thank in advance!