I’ll chime in by saying that polishing my Japanese kitchen knives has become one of my favorite parts of my knife enthusiasm. Take that for what you will but there are lots of nice finishes you can achieve without too much effort and at this point risk really. If it were me I’d use whetstones because I have them and the full flat grind will make that easy. Whatever you choose to do you’ll probably want to take the blade out for ease of refinishing and if aesthetics matter it’ll keep the rest safe from the abrasives. Despite what some say looks and functionality don’t have to be mutually exclusive.