Thread: Illinois 827 vs. Tony Miller Latigo/Horsehide

I’ve been shaving with a straight razor for about one year. For most of that time, I've been exclusively using an Illinois 827 Russian Leather strop, with 25 linen and 50 leather, shaving every day. While I got pretty close shaves this way, I learned that I would get irritation if I shaved in certain ways, like ATG passes on certain parts of my face, or too much shaving in certain spots. Over time, my technique adjusted accordingly, and I sometimes, but rarely had any localized irritation, although sometimes I got in-growns and my face did feel a bit raw after some shaves. I assumed that this was normal, and that as I learned more things would continue to improve, as they did in the past.

I recently bit the bullet and got a Tony Miller strop, in part because of all the good things I heard about the quality and craftsmanship. I got the 3" latigo/horsehide combo, figuring I'll just keep using the linen on my 827, since it is nice and broken in. First off, this strop is beautiful, I couldn’t believe how nice it looked and felt, the pictures don’t do it justice.

I changed my routine to 30 linen, 30 latigo, and 30 horsehide. I noticed an immediate and fairly dramatic improvement in the comfort of my shaves. The same things that were causing irritation before now caused none. I have been loving this strop, I was amazed at the huge difference it made.

I’m wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? I love the size and quality of the Tony Miller strop, but I’m wondering if the difference is mainly caused from the switch I’ve made from the rough/high-draw leather of the 827 to the smooth leathers of the Tony Miller strop?