Hi everyone, as my username suggests im James and as my post count suggests im new!!

Beginning of last year i decided to grow a beard and i began go to a decent barbers near me to trim it and do the cheek/neck lines, but after a while this got tedious and expensive so i started to try and do it myself, length of the beard was easy to do with my adjustable electric, i can fade the sides into the hair fine, and with no guard on i can pre-trim the cheek/neck lines

Then i started to try shaving the remaining stubble with a normal gillete razor but can never get it all off and trying to get the cheek line done with one is a nightmare soni started to look into straight razors like my barbor uses, and plumped for a £4 shavette of unknown brand that uses snapped DE blades thinking it a cheap way to see if i can do it myself

My first attempt at the cheek lines was easy to shave but didnt them crooked, but shaving was fine, my neck however i struggle and cut myself to ribbons so never used it on there again

Today i decided i will learn how to do it properly and then ill buy a decent straight razor (got my heart set on a lovely dovo) ive read all i need to on stropping/honing/types of blades and maintenance etc, and various shaving techniques

To the shave direction issue, i did my cheek lines as normal and they were fine, i trimmer my neck line with clippers and lathered up,

I found for the first pass i could only shave against the grain, not with it which is odd, going with the grain it was grabbing and wouldnt shave, so i did first pass all over against the grain and it was fine, quite enjoyed it

Second pass i did with the grain and it was fine, it felt quite smooth

But there are a number of bits that require me to go left to right or right to left instead of up or down the neck and i cant for the life of me get the blade to shave smoothly

So the two questions at the end of the very long post are

1) why can i not shave with the grain 1st pass but only against it?

2) how doni shave sideways to get those last little bits off?

Thanks in advance