I realize that this may be a polarizing question, but I'm looking for advice regarding the type of pastes used on my paddle strops.

At the moment I'm working with a simple leather strop to keep the edges on my blades. While I'm saving for my TM heirloom strop, I created a pair of paddle strops out of a spindle for a deck fence. Cut in half, the spindle provided me with two paddles, each with two 2" by 10" surfaces that are perfect for strips of balsa. I know, pictures are needed, and I'll post some as soon as I can charge the camera battery.

I've purchased some of Chris' CrO2 for one of the surfaces, ideally as the final stopping surface before leather. However, I'm unsure what I'll use on the other three. I've considered diamond paste, as seen here:

DMT DiaPaste™ Diamond CompoundKit of 1, 3, and 6 Micron - Knifecenter.com

But the recent thread regarding the Dovo pastes have me wondering if they may be just as good, at a fraction of the cost.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

- Mark (S-4-C)