Regarding the nickel alloy - here my photographic skills and other circumstances could be deceiving - I have put so much WD 40 on the blade (beware us from rust!
), that it could be used as reflector in the night. I guess, I overplayed a little bit.
Anyhow it seems to me, the "white" material is to dark to be PURE nickel, it is absolutely not shiny. Other thing - the dark material seems to be an older one, it's not so homogenous as the new one, and of course laminated. Yet it couldn't serve as a proof, I guess the smiths of today are sometimes using old material, sometimes it's already laminated, and if not, lamination takes not so long.
I could try to take "authentic" colour pictures, yet I am afraid, it is beyond the capabilities of my camera, and the blade isn't correctly stained.
I think, Gio is wright regarding the bulge on hilt, it is simply the place of ramification, under the bulge the core of antler is visible. In any case, it is one of the most comfortable hilts I have had in my hand.
Thank you, Detlef, for showing another example, the edges on your gambar are much finer.
I am interested to know, if the smiths of today are making such sirah cecak, gandhik with such lambe gajah, and such general shape.