Hi and welcome to SRP from another UK new member

I've had 3 razors from IE now and they are all nice an sharp so don't think that's the problem.

With respect to keeping the lather warm, what I tend to do is use a large shaving mug and preheat it in a sink of hot water (along with my brush) while I'm showering, then, once the lather is made I reduce the amount of hot water in the sink to a few inches and sit the mug in that. That works for me without having a specific miss scuttle. However Steve Woodhead is a good guy (I bought a shaving mug for my dad from him).

Good luck
Jason