Hello everyone and thank you all for your kind words and help on identifying this strange little knife as actually being a gunong. I am happy that it turned out the way it did as the tang of the blade was so heavily rusted that it had not only split the hilt in three places but was actually forcing the blade out of the hilt itself. The color of the wood is darker than it shows in the photos, which is more than likely due to the flash when taking them indoors at night. Sorry that it has taken so long to reply to the thread but I have been extremal busy lately with the coming holiday. My wife and I are having our yearly 4th of July family picnic and I have only been able to pop in and out of the forum the last few days in between finishing jobs given to me by she who must be obeyed.
Thank you all again and to those celebrating Independence Day have a safe and pleasant holiday.
Best,
Robert