I'm in favor of not messing with it. Here are some of my arguments;
1) From what the pics show the handle and wrap look well done.
2) There does appear to be some age to the rehilt, yes I know that can be faked
3) More importantly; the rehilit incorporated the ferrule and baca-baca. This means someone understood or at least wanted to preserve what was there. I lean toward someone knew what they were doing as these things have a habit of being removed and sold.
4) It's kinda a unique and someone went through some effort to do it that way which means it may have some history behind it.
All that said; nice piece! These are a favorite of mine, so I have fondness for them and like to see them preserved un-altered as much as possible.
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