Still relatively new to the straight razor shave, but loving every minute of it. I bought a pre-sharpened 5/8 Dovo Black Star from Classicshaving.com a few weeks ago. It came as part of a kit with a basic Sandalwood cake soap in it. I have been reading several posts on here and I have come to the conclusion that my blade doesn't "glide" over the face as many of the users here describe. When I shave it feels more like I am scraping the hair off rather than slicing it. My face also feels scraped afterwards and is very red and sensitive. The reddness and sensitivity goes away within an hour or so, and my face is very, very smooth.

My questions are this:
Is my 5/8 pre-sharpened Dovo really shave ready?
Do I need to go ahead and upgrade from the cheap cake soap that came with the kit to a more expensive cream?
Should I be using an after shave cream or lotion and if so, what?

I have read rave reviews about the Castle Forbes products, but they are a bit pricey right out of the gate. I'm just trying to get an idea of whether I am shaving wrong, or I'm not using the right products to achieve the best results. Any suggestions?