First attemp making paddle strop

Hi Everyone,
This is my first attempt at making a pasted paddle strop. I want to thank everyone who has posted info on making these, but I would especially like to thank jjpHarris for his description and pictures of the four sided paddle strop he made and I would like to thank ChrisL for the very quick and economical service in providing the chromium oxide.
I purhcased a piece of poplar at Home Depot and I cut it to length and carved the handle. I then lapped it to make sure the surface was flat. I obtained some scrap leather at a website call bonanzle.com. It's kind of like an ebay wannabe. I cut it and glued it to the wood with contact cement and then I proceded to smooth it with sandpaper until I finished with 600 grit. I used some Neatsfoot oil to condition it and then I applied the chromium oxide very sparingly. Tommorow I will give it a try. The first picture is the finished paddle strop and the second one is after the chromium oxide has been applied.
Anyway, it was fun to make, I just hope it works reasonably well. Thanks again for all the info on this forum.