Sgian Dubh
Interestingly David, in the second set of pictures upon which you've attached labels, it seems to me the sanded surface under the shellac finish provides a more even, richer (somewhat darker maybe?) and less blotchy appearance. I prefer it.

In your first set of images from your first post there appeared to be differences in appearance, but I couldn't tell which was planed only and which was sanded.

Admittedly, the quality of your images aren't great, and viewing photographs of even superb quality isn't a patch on looking at something for real, so it's possible I'm missing some subtle nuances, but there it is. Based on what I can make out in your 'challenge', sanding (presumably after some planing of that small sample) prior to polishing appears to yield a superior surface than one prepped using planing alone, and sanding would therefore seem to provide a surface that polish enhances better than planed only. Slainte.