I ended up purchasing a straight from Max-s and he has kindly offered me a free re-hone if/when the blade needs to be rebeveled. Based in the responses so far it seems like the next purchase I make should either be acquiring a 12k Chinese stone or make myself a balsa-paddle and impregnate it with Cro-Ox. As I understand it both would accomplish roughly the same goal - maintaining a shave sharp edge by providing just a little more texture than a linen/leather strop but still being much finer than an 8k stone. Comments/suggestions?

Thanks,
C