CCCP Russia Shell, Columbus Ohio

i have a strop, 2.5 inches wide.. cloth and leather.

there are two embles in gold. i assume the top is the manufacturer and the bottom is the distributor. at the top it reads:

C. C.
C. P.

in a square

this is encircled with two rings of cyrillic text, at the bottom of the ring, single line larger text (and not 'upside down' like the ends of the 'rings' of text) reads the word "+ KOXA +" where the X is actually the cyrilic character which more closely resembles >|<

also at the top there are the words:

RUSSIA
and
SHELL
both in 'banners'


the bottom reads
COLOMBUS
WHOLESALE
Barber & Beauty Supply
COLOMBUS, OHIO


then has one of the wide diamonds often seen at the end of leathers..
the number seams to be 1 0? 5???

it could just as easily be 168 as 105

no handles.. just a square leather end,
and the cloth has leather stiched onto the end to keep it from fraying..

Leather is thick, dense, and tends to have a very smooth shiny nature..
has of been pressed on the lighter coloured back side with a tiled square pattern (rotated 45% so it might look like a 'diamond' pattern)

due to being stored folded for probably years and some scratches (some old, some new, yikes!) i am hoping to recondition the leather some how.. rub any bick scratches out/smooth, and get the permamnet if gentel wow/bend out of the leather..

anyone seen anything like it? i'll try to get pictures.
any advice?

A lot of strops by various maufacturers were sold as russian. Russian leather is a method of tanning and does not mean it came from russia or the soviet union. Treat it with some neatsfoot oil after cleaning with saddlesoap, let it air dry for several days. How bad is the bend?

POST 1000!!!!:yAm I a blabbermouth or just too damn talkative?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

POST 1000!!!!:yAm I a blabbermouth or just too damn talkative?

---

Sorry. You need to have 2000 before you can apply for blabbermouth membership. :)

Don't know that much about strops, but CCCP means The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, abbreviated USSR, in Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, СССР.

So maybe it's a Sovjet strop after all.


Bart.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

A lot of strops by various maufacturers were sold as russian. Russian leather is a method of tanning and does not mean it came from russia or the soviet union. Treat it with some neatsfoot oil after cleaning with saddlesoap, let it air dry for several days. How bad is the bend?

POST 1000!!!!:yAm I a blabbermouth or just too damn talkative?

---

right.. i assume it is russian-tanned, and that it is horse shell (does shell refer to anything other than horse-ass?)

the cyrillic text and cccp make me think it is soviet. it also says Russia, rather than Russian, FWIW *shrug*

the bend isnt too bad.. i can still use it, and there is no cracking..


would 'russian shell' (regardless of origin) ever be treated/used differently from other leather strops?

Both of my Certyfyd strops are cowhide but are labeled shell, they both are lettered CCCP and lots of cryllic and both say made in usa at the bottom. Feel free to use them as you would any other strop.

I do not think this is a Soviet strop, they are seldom written in English.

Could be Russian and imported by a US distributor.

many strops had CCCP written on them because they were Russian finish but thats as close as the strops ever came to Russia. They were all manufactured right here in the USA. No consumer protection laws back then so people could write whatever they wanted to or make whatever claims they wanted limited only by their imagination.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

many strops had CCCP written on them because they were Russian finish but thats as close as the strops ever came to Russia. They were all manufactured right here in the USA. No consumer protection laws back then so people could write whatever they wanted to or make whatever claims they wanted limited only by their imagination.

---

thanks.

very true..

found this: Vintage Unused Keen-Edge Razor Strop Liberty Silk Nice - (eBay.ca item 260288333417 end time 23-Sep-08 16:22:23 EDT)

same manufacturers? emblem, different distributer.
better shape than mine is.