It sounds like Ailsby is the one who mucked up the blade. So, if it has already been "destroyed", I wouldn't have that much of a problem restoring it.
But to everyone who likes their daggers to look brand new, if you are going to reguild the blade, you might as well sand and restain the grip. And replace all that old, worn leather with new. Right? It looks rather odd to have that nice, shiny, new-looking blade and everything else looking old.
As for comparing TR collectors to others. if someone has a Model A with original paint or a Louis XIV piece of furniture with original paint/stain, it would be worth a fortune. Don't believe me? Ask an antiques dealer or watch the many antique shows on cable. I've seen many cases where an expert informs the proud owner that they have destroyed an item and ruined its value be stripping off all that old 200 year old paint and putting on a nice coat of Sherwin Williams latex.
What about the Declaration of Independence? It is so faded it is almost unreadable. How about a new re-inking so we can read that thing!?
Do you guys dip your coins into that crap that used to be advertised on TV? Well, you have just trashed them. If you had an ancient lamp with burned residue, do you scrap all of that off so it looks brand new?
Any collectible item with historical value should be preserved -- not restored. Restoration should only be done when an item is in poor condition and to stop deterioration. The Mona Lisa (and other paintings) will crumble to pieces if not cared for. They are carefully preserved by experts. They are not repainted so that they look like Da Vinci just put down his brush.
If you want something that looks brand new, there are plenty of repros out there.
