I'm forging a simple steel war axe out of a few ingots and some leather, and out comes this masterwork blade covered in curving lines and detail. It'd be cool if they didn't show up unless you made the weapon fine. That way, everything wouldn't look so fragile and ornate, and bandits wouldn't have shiny gear.

I hope someone makes a mod for this.

I'm not sure about removing all ornamentation. Maybe making a difference between standard gear and upgraded gear, make the standard shabby and worn and the upgraded increasingly shiny and intricate.