The ring does bind the handle, of course (not neccessarily as a repair for an existant split, but it helps prevent and contain any that do occur), as does the guard, as did the grip wrap. Precious metal is usually seen on kampilan in the form of nailed on coins on the pommel, or inlays in the blade. The toothbrush looking metal part that covers the "croc jaw" is certainly unusual though. I'm not sure why people are fascinated by the thinness of the metal in a way that seems critical of age or authenticity; many old ferules etc. are quite thin, including Moro ones; I'm not real nuts about the phenomenon,but I actually see it more on old pieces, with the exception of Chinese. The silver does not look ground upon to me, and a soft-buff would've hit the wood [
] which I don't see; I think it was cleaned with a chemical wipe, such as Tarnex, etc. As to kampilan being plain users without decoration; I really don't agree; I'm not saying they're not badass fighting blades, but the hilts are often highly carved, and while the hair tufts may have some religio/magical purpose, they've always mostly seemed like showy decoration to me; not dis-similar to a Lakota's leather fringed garments, or a Zulu soldier's feathers, etc.