I am guessing it is in the "some or all of the above" category. When you say you may need to improve your honing skills I take that to mean you have honed the razor after you got it from the vendor and you could be right on that. I think the chin and neck just below it have some of the toughest parts of anyone's beard and will really test the sharpness of a razo particularly going against the grain. A razor that is adequate doing the cheeks could be a bit dull for that area. Being a relative beginner to straight shaving and not doing it every day could also mean that your shaving technique is a little iffy too. Put all or some of that together and you could have some trouble on one of the harder sections of the face to shave.

Bob