It looks good to me, also. Although not commonly seen, the leather buffer is seen once in a great while on authentic daggers. This one shows obvious age and what appears to be mildew. These daggers did not come from the producers with buffers, but could have been added by owners to help protect the blade from moisture, etc. I would like to see the blade to crossguard fit without the buffer just to ease my mind. Based on the photos, I can see nothing to question, other than what's under the leather.