Some DIY strops

I decided to try my hand at sharpening on a stone. I bought a Norton India stone and made a nice walnut box for it. I then added a small paddle strop.



I found the paddle strop to be a bit light weight so then made a 12" x 3" version. Both coated with Dialux green compound. Results so far have been great. I recently also added a 2k Shapton Pro as an interim step between the the Norton and the strop with superb results. I used veg tanned leather glued onto plywood for the strops. The one below is rough side up, I also made another one with smooth side up. The knives in picture are the Honey Badger ball bearing flippers.

John, my neighbor is in the leather business and he gave me this whole roll of leather. I cut pieces to size wet it and then rolled it with a heavy roller to harden it up. Then melted some of the green compound with some mineral oil and applied it to the dry leather. I then left the completed strop in a warm place for a few days allowing the compound to absorb into the leather. As a finishing touch I added a rubber base to stop the strop from sliding around during use.
Not my neatest work but perfectly functional. I now just give the knives a few passes on the strop every week or so which really keeps the edge nice and sharp until it gets blunt enough to take back to the stones.

@RA40 pleased that my post motivated you! Post a photo when you're done.
@earlthegoat2 yes I agree. I have made one with smooth side up no compound and also tried smooth side up with compound. It took a lot more work but did manage to get the compound to stick. It's fun experimenting.
@Fiv3r now that I use my strops regularly I am really beginning to see their value in maintaining edges between sharpening. My giant 12x3" one gets used many times a week between my EDC knives and the kitchen knives too.