Thread: Can't get it right

Patience is key, I guess, and I should have elaborated on my original post.
I've been wet shaving for about two years. I started with a Shavette, and had to stop for a week after every shave. The past few months (6 - on/off, 2 straight) I've been shaving with a SR. It's a professionally honed TI 5/8 "Super Gnome", which I strop at home (the honing is not more than a month old, and the blade shave just wonderfully).
My prep and post are OK (hot shower and face wash before, Alum and ASB after). I get a nice BBS with three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG), but the sides of my neck are abused after just one.
The hair does grow in a different direction there (diagonally downwards, with the jawline) and I'm shaving it straight down (which is like shaving XTG on the first pass, I guess). Could that be it? I just can't find a position or a hold with which I can get the right direction.