Hello Ian,
Thank you for the information as I now know that there were hilts made from ivory, water buffalo bone and silver over a wooden core. Do you know of any examples of a dha like mine (silver over wood) where the hilt was made of water buffalo horn? I know that to some my insisting on using ivory (if at all possible) to replace the missing hilt on an item that is most likely of little value when there are other less expensive and more readily available options might seem a bit strange, but I would rather leave it as is than use something I know to be wrong. If I cannot find a suitable piece of ivory in the next few months I will most likely substitute water buffalo bone or horn if I find that it was also used as a hilt material for these knives . Again my thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions.
Best,
Robert
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