I have been diligent about stropping but yesterday morning I felt a little pulling which indicates it is time for me to take a further step to maintain and freshen up the edge on my razor. The ultimate result of the shave was still rather acceptable but considering my novice status, my threshold for "acceptable" is not very high yet. I have read the various advice posted here and thanks to all. I have placed an order and have the following items on the way:

Norton 4k/8k combo water stone;
Norton Flattening Stone;
Chromium Oxide - Semi-Paste - 0.5 Micron; and
Balsa Wood Bench Hone (I know I should have easily made my own but I had an itchy trigger finger online last night ).

My plan is to use the Chromium Oxide w/ the Balsa wood - maybe 10 to 15 laps - to see if I can get my razor's edge to freshen up. If so, I will put away the Norton stone until more aggressive/comprehensive sharpening is needed. If more is needed, then I will consider using the Norton 8K to be followed by the crox. I will also pick-up in the future a higher grit stone but I wanted to limit the size (cost) of the shipment lest my wife take particular notice and commence her own purchasing blitzkrieg.

I really hesitate to contact my only razor with the Norton stone until I have an opportunity to pick-up a less expensive razor to practice with as advised above. In the meantime though, I still need to shave and will do what I need to do to keep up the edge on my current and only TI.

Any obvious problems with my plan? What else is recommended? Any advice in applying the Crox semi-paste to the balsa?

Thanks very much as usual.
Dan