Fenwick rod o-rings

[Rockin' Randy]

My brother in law gave me several old handmade salmon rods out of Fenwick blanks. The ferrules are metal and the male end has an o-ring. I can't get them to go together easily. I have lightly sanded with emery cloth, cleaned, looked for dings and nicks. I believe the o-ring is the problem. My question is are these rings typically greased with something? To me that would go against all fishing rod logic as I would be afraid it would attract sand or dirt and really make them stick. But, I've never owned a rod with o-rings either.