What do these knife scales look like? Leather? Fiber?

[North Shore]

Its a Buhl Sons & Co Toenail blade and frame collaboration with Geo. Bishop Saws out of Ohio.

One side of the frame is rotated inward and the large brass spacer is out of whack so it has issues closing but yes both blades are meant to close. I would like to have it restored for function but a question I had was what to do with the scales and what would they be made out of?

 

[waynorth]

It is a composite of some kind, that is kind of soft and wears easily. I have seen that "brown-showing-through-black" on some old LF&C knives. I don't know the actual material. Can you push a pointed object into it, North Shore?

Interesting way to add a bail!!

 

[MattWRog]

Give it the burn test, your nose will usually tell you. Stick a red hot nail or soldering iron into a scale and take a whiff and note if it melts or just burns.