Nice job Robert and congratulations on getting a Mandaya knife.
Until recently I did not know how hard it was to get one of these. Part of the problem is that the scabbard wood seems to be made of a soft wood and may not survive.
Early examples vs lower status examples not having any silver - I don't know for sure. Not much evidence if any exists regarding early examples. What has been an established pattern (for the most part) is that upper status pieces seem to get the silver treatment.
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