Hi Spunjer,
The only thing that I have ever seen like this before was a dagger. It had a steel core that included the tang with a nickel bronze, not brass overlay. Is there any place one the blade where you could test it to see if it is bronze without doing any damage? Maybe you could remove the grip and if the blade has a separate gangya you could test it in between where it wouldn't show. What ever it turns out to be it is a very interesting piece.
Robert
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