I agree with Philip and have had the same thoughts. If there had once been strips in the recesses there would have been empty spaces where they had been secured under the turk’s head knots. I have a 17thC Austrian felddegen with such recesses in the grip and no signs that they ever contained strips. I believe the recesses are simply to improve grip (especially in wet or gory conditions). My observation is that grips with recesses containing strips is typical for Iberian swords, and they are typically secured with ferrules rather than turk’s head knots.
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