Leather Shields

A method often used in real life for strengthening wooden shields was to strap leather to their fronts. I think this would be a fine addition for Minecraft! You could "upgrade" your shield this way in the Smithing Table, giving that building station more utility. As the toughness of the material would make it more difficult to split the wood, I imagine as a nice added buff, maybe these Leather Shields could take reduced stun from axes? Give me your thoughts!