Hello Dave,
very nice alamang you have there. The handle is a very strange form. I have a similar example, look here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=alamang
By my one isn't a cap at the mouth of the scabbard but I think that the reason why it's worked this way could be to prevent a demage of the outer silver fittings after years of use. I have seen some swords/daggers/knifes where the outer silver fittings are demaged (cutted) from years of use by a sharp blade.
Regards,
Detlef