Stefan, if I only knew... I'm just like you - not a specialist, just a person who looks for the information in books, on the web, on this forum. So, tulwar hilt appears occasionally on the Khanda blade - never knew about it
Maybe there were two different styles and schools of Khanda fencing?
The hilt on the Akaal's Khanda (the correct link is
http://www.akaalarms.com/largeEdged/.../ewkhandB.html ) is definitely older than our hilts are. I remember reading (in Rawson?) that later hilts and swords are more extensively decorated than older ones, which were simpler. I personally think that both our swords were made in the end of 18th – beginning of the 19th century. But let’s wait what specialists like Jens, Rand or Ward will tell...