The guy at woodcraft suggested using regular old brown paper grocery bags, instead of 320-400-ish sandpaper, to knock off the raised grain after staining. Well, I just tried it and it seemed to do a pretty good job.
I remember talking to a friend of mine who does auto paint jobs and custom helmets and hockey masks. He said that on the occasion he can't find any 2000-ish grit for his final inspection wet sanding, he'll just grab some printer paper.