wrote
Most of the SEA examples in my collection are sheathed in soft, light
woods of various sorts. One, a Philippine barong, has a sheath that is
noticeably luan.

The draw of some of the weapons split the sheath- they were, or could be,
very consumable. Some weapons were never drawn except for mortal combat, or
the first move defending attack from surprise was a strike with the sheathed
weapon that opened it bare.
Court weapons are often sheathed in decorative woods- or stuff that belonged
to rich guys.

Handles are usually a very dense wood, however.

Oh yeah- and lots of use of other rare and precious materials; ivories,
coral and stone, nuts; wonderful stuff.

Chas