Sharpening anxiety!

[MHV]

The thing I hate with being a beginner is that nagging feeling behind my neck of "am I doing everything right?" even when things are looking fine...

I have a DOVO BEST 6/8 I got from ClassicShaving shave ready with a DOVO Russian leather strop in June. I spent the last months learning how to shave with a straight. Took a while to figure out pressure, angle, and stropping. My poor strop is rather nicked, and I polished it with a pumice stone some time ago to flatten it. I hope to get a new one from SRD for Xmas (and I won't nick it as much!)

Eventually, stropping alone couldn't keep my edge sharp, and after much tortured searching and consultation, I settled on a 2-sided paddle strop with 1 micron diamond paste and CrOx.

My edge lasts about a week (I shave 5-6 days a week) after 5-7 passes on diamond and 15 passes on CrOx. I strop on leather alone before every shave, otherwise I feel like the fabric material of my DOVO strop is blunting my edge.

So, is everything normal? It's been about two months that I'm following this regimen, and my edge seems stable. Will I eventually need to buy stones?