The final clean up is accomplished..... When the knife is completed....totally, just prior to packaging it up for shipping I carefully go over the entire knife, under a lighted magnifier, and using tools such as a sharpened brass rod (3/32" dia or smaller), an old toothbrush, Q-tips, and acetone, I clean ANY dirt, specks, etc. As my eyes get older, I find that sometimes these days, I have missed a minor scratch or swirl mark here or there....and when I find those, it's not uncommon for me to pull out the sandpaper/sanding stick and do whatever it takes to fix things. IF you ever catch yourself saying "That's good enough".... then IT IS NOT! Fix it, or you will regret it later.
The last steps are, in order... sharpen the blade, then clean/wax the entire knife with a quality automotive paste wax. (I'm not a fan of RenWax or similar)