is important to remember we are talking steel not wood. there is no grain direction in steel, especially after it has been hot rolled, cut, cold rolled, cut, then ground and sent to your supplier. what appears to be grain on a sheet of steel is grind marks. i purchased a large sheet of 80CrV2, cut several blanks top to bottom, then cut the balance left to right. no difference in performance or how the blades machined.
an old Schuler warrior