Thanks for the info, gents!
I was thinking of keeping the ferrule and baca-baca, and replacing the rest of the hilt with a simple narra kakatua pommeled hilt with wrapping laquered black.
I thought the hilt it had on now may have been a hilt form from another culture, but seeing as it is a western repair/re-hilt, I won't feel bad getting rid of the rest of it.
Although, the metal buddha, etc pieces on the grip remind me of Japanese menuki. Possibly from a smaller blade like a tanto. Does anyone know if the buddha was a common type of menuki form used? I know the fudo myo-o was a figure that featured in a lot of old katana menuki, but the buddha I am not sure of.
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