First off, welcome to the SRP. You have certainly come to the right place. I am only about 5 months in to str8 shaving myself and by no means an adept, but I had been wet-shaving for nearly a year when I took up the straight and have had a fairly smooth transition. Sounds like to me your razor needs honing, but there are so many variables. Having it properly honed will eliminate one of those variables. Check the Vendor's Corner, or there are several members here who offer free honing. With that said, I would hold off on getting a hone; get your shaving technique and lathering down first. As long as your strop is not too nicked up, it should be fine until you have gotten better at stropping, then spring for a good one. And the nicks can be repaired with a pumice stone, or sanded out. Lathering is another thing; read all the tutorials you can. For a little over a year I used a lather bowl after loading the brush with soap. 2 months ago I switched to face-lathering; wished I had started off this way. I have very hard water though, and lather building has always been tough for me. Well, that is my two bits; surely someone more qualified to offer advice will come along and help you more. Good luck and hang in there.

JLW