Or 1 divided 9 =1111111111 and 1111111111 x 1111111111=123456789 which I still find really scary.
Are you sure the handle isn't actually horn? Horn was the plastic of the eighteenth century. It could be boiled in caustic which de natures the horn and reduces it to a pulpy plastic mass that could be pressed into moulds. When dry it reverts back to a solid form. Inlays could be temporarily attached to the inside of the mould and the horn moulds itself around the inlay. Which is maybe what you have here. Is that alchemical enough for you ?
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