Homemade paddle strop question

I am planning to make a paddle strop that I plan to use for pastes. I have access to leather (Tandy) and balsa in the area. I assume that the price difference wouldn't be too dramatic between the materials, but my question is which one is recommended. I've heard good things about balsa with paste, but most of the ones for sale at SRD and Tony Miller have leather. I plan to make at least 2-sided with 1 micron diamond and 0.5 CrOx. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. (I accidentally started this thread in the hone section, my bad)

This worked so well I now have two of them one from CrOx and one for CeOx

http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...trop-hone.html

Homemade paddle strops are fun to make and experiment with. I would vote for leather over balsa if forced to choose. Let's see what others have to say.

I have experimented with leather, printer paper, post-it paper, newpaper, velum, felt, and micropore tape. After all this I still have no idea which of these is best. So you may just have to decide for yourself. Pick one and give it a go.