Hi Rasdan thanks for your kind words
As for" opening the grain"[i must mention that all the sanding was done with strokes running parrallel to the length of the blade only]now after the whole sanding and polishing process if i looked down the blade i could not see the pamor ,the sanding causes the visable surface to blend /smear together so the pamor is barely visible[best way i can think of explaing it] so a quick whipe with battery acid gives it a slight etch just enough to make the pattern visible again.Do you know what i mean by sealed grain?
Also i forgot to mention that i only sanded the blade up to about 3 inches before the ganja[just before it starts to taper outwards] this was so i didnt remove any of the original engraveing.
Any information on technique the profesional restorer would have done on any of these stages would be most welcome