In my opinion, face preparation and building a proper lather is one of those skills that you really need to perfect for a good shave. After you do it for a while you'll begin to see that with the same razor and a better prep routine and lather, you'll get a much better shave. I occasionally still rush that part of the shave and when I start to notice it, I re-lather or add water and re-lather on my face all over again. What soap did you use?

FYI, I have 3 SRD razors and Lynn has honed my vintage one -- all were great, right from the day I got them.