That is pretty much what I do as well, except I use mineral spirits with fine steel wool instead of WD40. Definitely oil it afterword. I usually leave the patina in place if it is even, but try and polish it out with 600 or finer wet-dry sandpaper if it is very dark and blotch.
I was surprised to find out that your basic all-purpose metal polish, the kind you would use to clean brass candlesticks and copper pots and pans or the chrome on your boat, really takes the stains off a blade (I was using Twinkle brand, but I imagine that Brasso would work just as well). i was taking the oxidation off of some copper inlay and found that the blade itself started getting nice and shiny, too). The poor-man's blade polish.
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