My progress so far:
Here's the blade is better lighting... took some measurements...
Make rough sketches of the handle on wood...
Saw, chisel, hatchet, and hammer: rough shape of hilt...
but I broke the guard when I chiseled too aggressively...
In any case this is poplar wood, so not extremely strong nor suitable for the kampilan I think, but good practice for me anyhow... What would the "appropriate" wood be? Kamagong? Amboyna? Ebony?
Those harder woods are probably expensive and even harder to carve...
Thoughts?