Soak the main part of the blade in lacquer thinner or paint stripper until the finish completely bubbles up -- a few hours should do it. Use something that won't scratch the blade to scrape most of the coating off, then use fine sandpaper or steel wool with WD40 as the lubricant to buff the rest of the finish off. You can add thinner/stripper to the mix if some stubborn areas don't clean up fully with the initial treatment.
Don't let the solvent get on the scales though, as it will damage them. Also, don't remove the scales and strip the tang. That part needs to stay protected. If you want to strip the edges of the tang, tape off the scales with duct or electrical tape and use a Q-tip to apply the material only to the metal.
The only problem I see is maintaining a mirror polish on a carbon blade. It will patina eventually and it's actually better if you force the patina early on to protect it. I'm planning to strip a couple of my coated knives, but that's more to reduce surface friction (so I'm told) than to make them prettier. I'll be forcing a patina as soon as they're stripped.
