Omkin, a good recommendation would be to send your nice razor to one of our honemeisters to get it shave ready (see the classifieds). It will do a couple of things for you. First your razor will truly be shave ready when you start hacking away at your whiskers. Buy an inexpensive razor from ebay or antique shop/show to practice your honing skills. The other thing is that you will now have a proper shave ready edge to compare against the edge you developed with your hones.

As a newbie to straights you will have removed one of the two variables in trying to solve the eternal question of why I didn't get a good shave the first time. Since you will have a shave ready edge that leaves technique. Also, if you haven't already done so, get a copy of Lynn's CD (also in the classifieds). It is over 3 hours of great information for the beginner. It is a good investment.

If you tried to rationalize that one razor (or several) upfront cost will pale against the cost of disposables, you are fooling yourself...