Hello,
A newbie with a few questions, but first a bit of history if you'll indulge me. Last summer I decided to switch to a straight razor, I didn't know why at the time, I just knew I wanted to. As a previous poster stated, without doing the proper research I got a "fantastic deal" off ebay, which turned out to be a P.O.S. razor (Zeepk if you are curious). I probably could have gotten a better shave if I had used a serrated steak knife from the kitchen. I gave up after the first few attempts, tired of wearing toilet paper and the sting of razor burn, and went back to my Gillette Sensor Excel. Fast forward to the present and I have decided to give straight shaving another chance. I stumbled onto this site and have spent the better part of the last day and a half reading just about everything. I think my reasons for wanting to shave with a straight razor are stated by member MRGAD in his post, "Why Shave Straight." I think that pretty much sums it up.
As for my tools of the trade, I have a Filarmonica 3/8 straight, a Dovo strop, and soap, all purchased from ClassicShaving.com. The badger hair brush I have was a gift and is from The Art of Shaving. I have watched the videos for stropping and shaving and I have not had much luck and I know there is a learning curve to shaving straight, which brings me to the questions:

1. I have stropped my razor first on the linen side, then leather, tested it on the hair on my forearm, which now feels very smooth by the way, but when I try it on my face, it feels like it is dragging and not cutting the hair...not a very pleasant feeling. Could it be because I have yet to learn the correct angle on which to hold the blade to the skin?

2. Could it be my stropping technique?

3. Do I need to send my razor out to have it honed before shaving with it?

4. Or should I invest in and start with a larger razor to learn the correct technique?

I know this is a long post but any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.