I absolutely agree that the material of this hilt is secondary. It's a nice solid addition to your collection and it seems like an old example. As i stated at the beginning of this thread, it looks like bone to me. I don't particularly think it is whale bone though. Again, doesn't really matter as long as the price you paid didn't reflect an ivory purchase. The use of bone and antler for hilts has always been a means of the lower classes finding cheaper alternatives to more expensive materials. This looks like a nice, well carved example of that and you should be happy with it. Enjoy! :)