I reckon that they used the fibre and brass and whatever else simply to make the handle look a bit more attractive. I used the couple of bits of brass shim for the same reason, just to break the monotony of all leather.
I've never seen a really old knife with a compressed leather hilt, probably 1920's or 1930's might be about as old as I've ever seen for one of these sort of hilts. They might have been around earlier, I don't know.
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