Paddle strop leather

I'm currently having a conversation with a woodworker about strops for razor usage. I know that many of you aren't giant fans of paddle strops, except for use with paste, but I've found it slightly difficult to use hanging strops because I don't want to put a hole in my walls. I think I would prefer a paddle.

The gentleman I'm speaking with makes tools for woodworking and strops for such tools. Thus, his strops are normally made with the suede side out. I know little about leather, and I'm on unfamiliar territory communicating. As best as I can tell, a full grain vegetable tanned hard leather(such as cow, horse, or kangaroo) with the skin side out is the ideal kind of leather for a strop. So tell me, what is it about certain leathers that makes them preform better than others in a strop?

As a side note, is fine grained suede type leather from a split hide acceptable for using as a substitute for pasted balsa? I've enjoyed talking with this artisan, I'd like to purchase something. I currently find that I'm using pasted balsa frequently and I'd like something a bit more sturdy. Perhaps I could just buy a regular tool strop and apply paste to it.

I use kangaroo leather for my strops, and they are usually hanging strops. I was selling pieces of the same leather to some guys overseas who were into knife and tool sharpening, and who were very serious about it. They would bond the leather to a hard surface to make bench strops, and told me that the kangaroo was the best you could use for that. A bench strop is just a short paddle strop, so...

I think the thing they liked was that the thinness of the leather meant it compressed very little as the blade travelled over it. Also, since kangaroos don't sweat, there are no pores, and the grain is very uniform.

In practical terms do these things make much of a difference to us? I dunno.

I like paddles. Finished side out.