Ngbandi sickle sword?

[blue lander]

Thank you. I decided to give the blade a few wipes with fecl to lighten the patina up a bit, purely so I could appreciate the workmanship and decoration of the blade better. Even after a generous application of etchant the black patina showed no signs of lightening up. Throwing caution to the wind I tried flitz polish. This also did nothing.

I think lightening this blade would require serious use of abrasives, and that's not a bridge I'm willing to cross.