I use mine once in a while. Other than making sure the honing stone and leather strop are in good condition also make sure they are on the correct side/lid. The sharp edge of the blade should be running forward on the stone while running on the backside of the strop (hope that makes sense). I have seen some where the strop and stone were set on the wrong sides or lids... The honing stones can be difficult to find in great condition but yours looks pretty good. The leather strop can easily be replaced if need be. I just cut out the right size out of an old strop I had laying around. My razor didn't come with actual leather but rather some sort of balsa strop perhaps. Whatever it was it wasn't working well but now that it has actual leather it made all the difference, nice sharp edge... All around, I really enjoy this razor...