Hi Veikko,
It's a pity that cloth-covered cables are not available, so that these days plastic-covered cables are fitted by default. They look and work fine, but I confess I've collected old cloth-covered outers from here and there, so that when I restore a bike I try to use the real thing. The lacquered cloth outers are sometimes a bit cracked, but I like the patina. With new inners of course.
On old cables it's pretty common for the cloth to crack and fall off. This is probably what has happened to your cables.
Cheers
Leon