Here are some shots of the pesi repair as well as the old re-fitting of the blade to the wrongko. Alan, it looks like a wooden piece to me that was then possibly received shellac on top to help match the wood.
I find the pesi repair very interesting.
The blade has obviously had a hard life, but it has some features i quite like. I have only given it a preliminary cleaning to remove the active rust. Some of the pamor material is very bright and silvery and has some interesting characteristics. I think i will have to wait for warmer weather to stain this blade, but i think this is worth working on further.