I think the kami's mark should be the most pristine detail on the entire knife as it's his signature, his advertisement of his abilities, and provides value to the khuk, both historical and monetary.
Also, the new Tirtha working for HI is not using the same mark as the old "beer-mug" Tirtha - the new Tirtha's mark looks like a plant with 4 branches, two above and two below, kind of like a capital letter Y on top of another capital letter Y. I don't have a pic available, but I could take one.