I collect these, and to my knowledge this form is the southern type, indeed from the Sinai, Negev an up to Jerusalem latitude, more or less. The northern type is fitted with a similar blade (or, whatever blade that came on the way), and has a Syrian shamshir-style hilt.
The preferred blade, however, on that southern type was European-made trade blade, mostly German. Those trade blades are of various qualities, but in general are better than the local imitation blades which are thicker, heavier and not so nice to the eye.
Recent info claims there is still one swordmaker who lives and produces such sabers in Gaza, fitted with grey plastic grips (I've seen shabriyyas with such handles).
In my collection I have Badawi sabers with leather baldrics sewn to the sheath, sabers with similar 'field procedure', one made from Khevsurian sword, one from quadara, one from Turkish-Ottoman military cavalry saber, one from a broken British 1908 saber, one from an unidentified antique European (long)sword ...
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