+1 to that, the Wallace Collection is incredible - I think it's one of those things in London that not nearly enough people know about.

It's also got an interesting history: "Bequeathed to the nation by the widow of the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess of Hertford in 1897 on the condition that no object should ever leave the collection, even for loan exhibitions." - from my write-up on https://www.niche-museums.com/36

Love than Stone Henge is listed on https://www.niche-museums.com !

That's awesome. I used to make knives with my dad, as a kid. He was a dentist with his own lab, so he taught me how to use all the lab tools, and we used lost-wax to cast various ornaments to be attached for decoration.

I admit I used to get pretty annoyed after spending hours on the various steps. And I don't really enjoy sharpening either.

Years after he passed away, I found myself on a weekend campout, relating to some scouts the amount of work my dad used to put into making a quality knife. I told them I could baton with this knife he had made for me, no problem. So I gathered the wood, and with one whack knocked the blade clean off!

Upon examination, he had used epoxy to fit a blade with no tang! Later after I returned home, I compared this to his own knives, and they all had tangs.

I am still not sure why or how mine ended up that way--guessing he thought he could finish it up fast and a kid would not exactly expect to baton with this thing...

I haven't forged anything yet, looking forward to an opportunity to spend some quality time playing early next year.

I've made a couple knives this year, though. Milling, and then grinding on absolutely the wrong kind of grinder for the job. So that was exhausting, but fun.

> a nice change from programming

I absolutely agree. I took up metalwork because I wanted to make something visible, that you could touch. Weaponry isn't really my thing, but I'll probably make more knives, I enjoy the esthetic constraints, history of the art and materials.

Knives aren't always weapons - I think the satisfaction comes from making a tool, it's easy to tell when you've done a decent job (and when you haven't...)

A good knife is rarely a weapon. Even people who use weapons as part of their profession don't use the weapon very often.

vs a woodworker who could conceivably use a carving knife multiple times per day.

I'm good at fighting. Which is why I recognize it is a losing game.

Tools win. Build something.