I have found this electrical tape in several of my switch boxes. It appears that -- instead of wire nuts or wall nuts -- the wires have been twisted, soldered a bit, and wrapped in this odd tape. The under layers around the conductors are a sticky, rubber consistency, while the outer layer is a cloth-type (like hockey tape for those familiar).

My house was built in 1955, and I have already found some shoddy electrical work elsewhere so I have some trepidation about this stuff. Can anyone identify it? Is it still safe/up to code in the US?

I have found this electrical tape in several of my switch boxes. It appears that -- instead of wire nuts or wall nuts -- the wires have been twisted, soldered a bit, and wrapped in this odd tape. The under layers around the conductors are a sticky, rubber consistency, while the outer layer is a cloth-type (like hockey tape for those familiar).

My house was built in 1955, and I have already found some shoddy electrical work elsewhere so I have some trepidation about this stuff. Can anyone identify it? Is it still safe/up to code in the US?

EDIT: Found one reference to it in the EE SE. One of the comments suggests that the stuff can be dangerous if it dries out.