Yeah from what i've gathered Burt is all about saving time, which is a good thing. Couple years back he and Jason Knight did a like 12hr livestream together and in it they mentioned how they don't even hand sand their damascus blades anymore beyond a certain point. belts to 400, then hand sand 220 then 400, not trying to even get it to perfection, and then a sandblasting to finish it off. I've seen many of Jason's blades in person and looks no different to me than one that somebody took to 2k grit by hand. Quesenberry does the same time saving on his handles, if you've ever seen his G10 or Micarta handles, he stops at 400 grit. literally, no higher. looks great to me!