Etching vs Sanding when Anodizing

[EdsElephant]

Hi all,

I am doing some home anodizing with batteries. I have tried both just sanding the handle down then anodizing, and also using Whink as an etch. I have done a couple different knives and clips and they turned out fine. But my SpydieChef came out terrible. Now, I could have messed up cleaning it, but I wondered if you all have any thoughts on using etch when anodizing.

Stephen