damascus bolsters

[pipecrafter]

I'm putting together the first knife I've made, and I want to use some damascus for the bolsters. My question is, should the bolsters be hardened and then etched, or can they be etched without hardening and be expected to last?

[AwP]

They'll last just as well not hardened, but the etch tends to look better on hardened steel, you'll get more contrast.