Indeed the phenomenon of military style hilts was an apparent popular convention of the period post Gandamak Treaty (1879) .As the British occupied Afghan regions nominally, and tribesmen of various Khyber region tribes with para military levees attached to the army often favored their own blades, these hybrid 'saylaawa' (=Khyber knife) were often seen.
Many of these hilted with the European style hits had the Mazar i Sharif stamp on the blade, presumably from hilting in these shops near the Kaar Khaana e Jangalak (Machin Khana) in Kabul.
The European military style hilt seems to have been known in degree in Afghan regions as Daoud Shah is seen wearing a sword with similar hilt design at the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak, May, 1879.
There were suggestions that this design was a pattern of 1889 regulation hilt, but as far as I have known that has never been substantiated.
These military style swords with this distinct hilt form seem to have produced in Kabul from 1893-1903 (I have one dated 1896) but it has not been clear which units used them.
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