Hello David,
Just a minor quibble: I believe we should drop usage of this name since it is based on only a single source which (most likely) got misinterpreted in the West:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...&postcount=177
(the whole discussion is certainly worth a look and starts around post #130).
It's certainly unfortunate that we don't have any "genuine" name for these "naturally formed" hilts. However, continued use of an at best ambiguous name does not really help IMVHO.
Regards,
Kai