I am stropping on an Ilinois #827 and have noticed lately that one side of the razor shaves more comfortable than the other side. This strop uses the rough side of the leather and I don't know whether the compression has come loose or if I roughed it up with a sloppy stroke but the bottom line is the strop now has a defininate grain that is just like a beard...you rub it one way and its smooth but rub the other way and its rough...and its affecting the way my razor shaves.

I've tried applying dressing and rubbing it with a bottle until I have to shave with an electric because my arms are shaking too bad for even a Mach 3 and it still makes no difference. It's maybe good for 20 or 30 strokes and then the grain is back.

Any suggestions?