so I scratched the itch and began work.
The hilt was so rotten that it pulled apart with my bare fingers. I am pretty confident that the hilt was a quick and dirty fix for a sale, and probably not in the land of origin. The wire was in pieces, as was the brass strip profile round the grip (is there a term for this) not from damage, but applied in pieces. The Cork was rotten and crumbled. The hilt profile was "soldered" in a lumpy fashion, and was in places more like cement or "cold solder" or resin than metal. Finally stripped down, and the flat full tang is in places paper thin, so I wonder if it was ever meant to have the brass "profile strip" wrapped round it.
And now the photo's, which may or may not be in order!
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