nitre strawing?

[Patrick]

Why did the Germans go in for strawing? I�´ve never understood why. They tell me that DWM originally only intended to straw parts on their commercial Lugers to make them look nicer and that it prevents rust on parts that are often touched. Does it prevent rust? Strawing doesn�´t seem to last as long as it should and I�´ve never seen it used on weapons from other countries. I suppose it just looks nicer and if the use of nitre salts could make it last longer, I�´m all for it.The DWM strawing procedure stipulated "a hot salt bath" whatever that may mean (nitre salts?). Patrick