I have a Russian strop that I got from my dad who has been a barber for almost 50 years. I know I was spanked with it at least a few times when I was a kid, so it would have to be 40+ years old. The leather is great; however, the linen strop that is part of it feels and looks like it has a waxy buildup on it. Do I need to try to get this off, or is it okay to just use it as is? If he did paste it, I don't even know if the past is really doing anything at this point anyway. Whatever it is, it is not colored at all. There are reddish maroon splotches on the backside of the linen, so I'm pretty sure he pasted that side at one time, but is that also paste that I see and feel on the front side of the linen?

I also have a C-MON strop that he gave me from the same era and the linen looks the same as the Russian.

Thanks for the help,
Tod