I one-bid for an old vintage strop on an obscure gambling website called ebay.com. The pic was bad and the description general but WTH.

It arrived in interesting condition; the middle, stropping area is in wonderful condition, smooth and consistent, but the top 3 inches and bottom 4 inches where you grip it are kind of granulary and unsightly.

I think it will be a functional addition for everyday use. I think that the previous owner must have only put dressing on the middle and left the rest to deteriorate.

BTW, I think it's a true russian, it's got a cool emblem with CCCP in the middle surrounded by a bunch of Cyrillic writing.