Old Nigerian ?? Takouba

[Marius66]

Hello dear members,

I just bought this old takouba sword for few pennies,
Sadly for the moment the blade is completely trapped in the scabbard and the pommel is totally folded / hammered
( thats why it was cheap...)

I first thought the hilt was covered with embosser leather but it is metal, I know that ''southern'' takouba have metal covered hilt, often made of brass.

Good news !!

I wonder first what kind of metal the hilt can be made of ? ( non ferrous/magnet don't work )
Brass oxydation can turn black-dark brown ??

Has someone good clues for clean it and for remove the blade from the leather scabbard ?
I was thinking about a thin and flexible metallic ruler to
introduce step by step in the scabbard ...