So, one shave in and your can determine whether or not the edge is good and in need of a professional honing. I've met rodb at a razor meet and we discussed our shaving history. He can hone his own to shaving satisfaction, and with natural stones to boot. Actually, I've seen him discuss a variety of stones (I'm not into naturals or old fashioned barber's hones but he apparently is) and he has met up with and explored honing with an established honing mentor in our area. I don't think he needs the help of a honing mentor, given his experience, I'm just saying he hangs out with and explores advanced honing topics with one.
We have plenty of posts from beginners who suspect their razors edges aren't good enough. One of the problems is poor stropping technique. If this guy (rodb) said the razor was pre-stropped and good to go I'd believe it. It's probably a lather problem, an angle or pressure problem or perhaps the edge was improperly stropped ("rolled over"), which wouldn't be the case here if you hadn't stropped it. If you have a tougher beard I could see how a mild edge wouldn't be as effective as a super-sharp one, perhaps you could inquire what the edge was finished with. I don't think beginner's are better off with super, scary sharp edges, something middle-of-the-road would probably be best (unless they have previous experience with the shavettes/disposable straight-razor-like shavers). Technique goes a long way to eliminating the pulling. I wouldn't send it to a professional if it was honed and finished by rodb.
Dork, are you transitioning from a cartridge directly to a straight? Have you used non-swivelling disposables or a DE yet? At least now you know to maintain awareness and control over your open razor even when you're not intending to cut the hairs of your face. Hopefully this will be not only the first, but also the last time you inadvertantly slice your flesh open.