I've done a few shaves with my new straight razor - so far so good. But I'm having a problem with a couple of spots:

I can't seem to shave against the grain above the lip. It just doesn't go smoothly, keeps catching hairs. Now, I know it's not the razor - it's a newly professionally honed razor and it works fine ATG in most other places.

Another tough spot is below the chin just where the neck starts. I guess I have mixed direction growth or whatever it's called. In order to get those spots with DE I need to shave WTG, XTG and ATG and usually multiple times (buffing). However, I can't get the angle with the straight - I'd have to put the the blade perpendicular to the floor and go from one side of the neck to the other and I just can't do it. Not to mention that it scares me a bit. So I end up doing multiple passes up and down and overshaving those areas and it's still not as smooth as I want it.

Any suggestions? Is it just a matter of practice or wrong angle or just stretching the skin differently? Thanks.