Not as close a shave as I'm used to
How many passes did you do? I've found that once you develop your technique and become more comfortable with using a safety razor, the cuts will be fewer and the shave will be closer. I also learned that you do one pass with the grain, a second pass against the grain, and a third across the grain. When I do this not even babies' bottoms can compare.
Congrats on saving money and the environment (in a small way). You'll have to figure out responsible disposal of the blades. I took a condensed milk can, carefully pushed a big knife into the top of it, drained it fully, and labeled it "sharps." I keep this under my sink with a piece of tape over the slot. Each time I retire a blade it goes in the container. Someday my descendants will tape it securely and it will go in the trash (because I've been shaving this way for well over a decade and have yet to fill it, but also I really stretch the life of my blades for no good reason).