It is a quandary Rick.
Whilst not being present in the day and knowing the exact historical context, it is hard to say if they were either made with the holes by the carver for the option of the staple/s, or the staple/s were removed.
I can't see them just falling out given that the bar had a slight to acute bend on the other side, and once fitted, why would one remove this feature?
Are the holes just there potentially as an option only?
Surely it is not that the majority of those taken, everyone thought they'd just discard them.
Attached is another guardless one like those you note, form an Iranun gently curved cutlass sized Kampilan, it's guard made for double staples.
Knowing the provenance, were those used in active piracy vs status pieces, without the staples for stealth reasons in night raids? I've pondered this in so far as not having protrusions that could knock against the hull or be caught against something in the dark, effectively giving up the element of surprise.
I've another on the work bench with only holes for a single staple only... they look so very clean and pristine within that I wonder if it ever had a staple fitted, there is nil evidence of anything pressing ever against the inner surface.
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