I am also fairly new to straight razor shaving. I think that if you just hang in there for awhile and take your time you will get the razors you have working just fine. Every time you shave, it will get better. I have around a hundred shaves now and I am just starting to think I know what I'm doing, there is quite a learning curve. Another thing that has helped me is sticking with one razor, at least for four or five shaves. Too many variable just complicate the learning process.
Randy