Bernard,
Mercenary commented about the split at the tip of the handle - it's thought to resemble the (bones) joint, thus making a handle to act more like a joint to fit more naturally to the grip. I have my own “scientific” explanation: less contact surface - less friction!!!!
The lady is a jeweler who was commissioned by a Jordanian prince Ali to supply shashkas to his bodyguards, which are traditionally formed of ethnic Cherkess. She was baffled by a complicated split design whereas it’d be much easier to make a non-split construction by welding a silver strip to the tang (similar to shamshir grip construction) and then weld sides to it. She held a leather strip, instead of silver, to demonstrate it. She also mentioned about her frustration with restorers in other countries, and lack of proper skills in Turkey, China, etc and how she approached different artists who did everything “wrong” and “messed everything up”. She learned the hard way, should have asked the Forum
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