Sorry for my late response to the questions and comments that have been posted.
Ken,
The wood does not have an oily feel to it when being handled of rubbed. In fact it feels more like a piece of horn or a piece of burl of some type, but the grain is wrong.
Ian,
Thank you for your thoughts on this piece. The brass disc guard has been filed completely flat and shows no evidence of ever having a rim or stampings of any kind. As for the carving I am in agreement that it most likely does not represent a wheat stalk. A good friend has sent me an email suggesting that the carving could possibly depict a Ginger flower (photo below) right before the petals start folding out. The steel ferrule though unusual could have possibly been made from the necked down portion of an old larger caliber steel shell casing. I know that brass casings have been used for years to make knife fittings so why not use an old steel one if it is handy? Though the blade matches perfectly to ones used on some of the 19th/early 20th century Philippine daggers in my collection I am not suggesting that this piece is from there. I have no idea of where this piece is from.
Best,
Robert