Well here she is. Should i leave it or sand down and etch?
Larry,
With it sanded down and etched it will reveal even more details you can't see just yet, the way I do it is so simple, after sanding to the grit I want, usually around 1000 give or take a few hundred grit, then finish it back with 400, for a more durable finish, I will generally check the hamon at 400, that way you can easily see any scratches you couldn't see before and the hamon. Then take it on up, re-etch to see how it looks and then back to 400. OK, after you get to your target grit, I etch with Radio Shack PCB ( I think that's what it's called) Etchant, neutralize with Windex (value brand is fine) then, here is the best part, a squirt of WD-40, then I scrape some red rouge off a stick as finely as possible, making a slurry out of it with the WD-40 use your bare finger and pick out any hard pieces that didn't dissolve and polish your pants off! I take extra time with a little pressure, I put a little more work into the bottom 2/3 than the top 1/3, I like the patina'd look of the gray, it contrasts well. If I like the results I'll finish up the bottom 2/3 with Flitz, using the last little bit on the top side, I usually end up doing this numerous times, starting with 180 grit, all the way back up the grits again, until I'm happy with it, if it really doesn't satisfy me, I will re-HT it over again. Yeah, I've got a Hamon sickness, and it's all Don Hanson's fault!!!!
Rex
Btw the way I am loving my DT-48!!! It is awesome for hamon, so far I've used it on 1084 and W-2.
