Thanks Kino. You are correct, those are indeed horn spacers. The middle spacer is missing however. The braided wire rings wiggle because if this gap but are relatively secure and don't slide up and down the hilt. I think I will leave it as it is for now as it looks acceptable aesthetically even without the missing spacer.
Like you I initially thought that the blade was heavily ravaged by rust and neglect when I received it that cleaning would have revealed serious multiple pitting underneath. So I was glad when I found out after cleaning and polishing that it was not the case.
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