Since it was from SRD it is pretty much assured that you have a world class edge there. I might consider stropping technique - I had an absolutely abysmal first stropping effort and messed up my razor (same thing!) - and wonder of you might have dulled it that way. Skipping certainly sounds like a dull blade.

One thing I would also chip in to the mix is that the angle can vary from person to person. My WTG pass is quite literally just a hair over a spine width off my face. 30 degrees won't work for me the first pass, but YMMV.

Good Luck!