I'll add to the chorus on a lighter touch and less steep blade angle.

I have several regular straights and use them most of the time. I also have a Feather AC that I use occasionally. Even though I'm more practiced than you in shaving with a straight razor (though not an expert by any means) every time I use the Feather after not having shaved with it a while the first thing I do is give myself a pretty good cut. This serves as a reminder and after that I'm OK.

Remember: you're cutting the hair off, not scraping it off.