Hey Tim. i don't think brushing this blade with a little warm vinegar on a sunny afternoon is liable to do much damage to the blade. The idea of doing such an etch isn't necessarily to see the blade quality, but to showcase the pattern within. Sometimes these patterns can be very beautiful. On the otherhand, i have a kris that i treated this way and found that the pattern wasn't really much to look at afterall so i lightly polished it away. In either case though, i think the blade looked/looks much nicer then when i first recieved it.
