[expand]
The completed blade required final finishing—polishing, handle attachment, decoration, testing to ensure it performed as required.
The Polishing:
The blade was polished progressively finer—starting with coarse stones removing grinding marks, progressing through finer grades creating smooth surface. The polishing enhanced pattern visibility—making layers more distinct, creating contrast between different regions of the composite structure.
The finest polishing used leather charged with fine abrasive—stropping the blade to mirror finish on high-status weapons, leaving working swords at less extreme polish that was adequate for function while requiring less labor.
The Testing:
Before a blade was accepted as finished, it was tested—struck against various materials, flexed to verify it returned to straight, examined for cracks or defects that grinding might have revealed. Some sources mention spectacular tests—bending blade into circle to demonstrate flexibility, cutting through helmet or shield to verify hardness.
The testing risked destroying blade that had consumed weeks of labor—but better to discover failure at testing than in combat where it would kill the wielder. Blades that failed testing were returned to forge, reworked if possible, scrapped if not.
[/expand]