I used my press and relatively high heat to draw the top bar. Frankly because I have no other option atm. I don't have access to a powerhammer atm. And press + wootz + medium heat is really not a good idea.
In the weekend after next, another smith is coming over for a visit and I've convinced him to draw the bottom bar into a useable bar with me, using a sledgehammer and working as a team. From that I am going to cut test pieces 4 5 and 6. It'll be interesting to see the difference between the 2 ways of forging and how well the pattern shows up. What I suspect is that the hammered bar will have a bolder pattern because the increased number of heating cycles + the more 'gentle' deformation should encourage carbide growth.
I have once accidentally made a ladder-ish pattern. Once I have done my first rounds of experiments with these pieces for understanding the heat treatment better, I am going to experiment with pattern manipulation. It would be cool to make a mohammed's ladder.