Despite all the modern materials available steel still holds a special place in the hearts of hobby machinists.
That a material like silver-steel[1] you can turn pretty easily on a small lathe and then later harden with just a blow torch to make a new useful tool is a little bit of magic.
Steel’s still real.
1. I think what we call silver-steel is roughly similar to some of the US “drill rod” grades.
Couldn't have said it better, steel is real indeed! In the past decade the only thing to grab my interest _more_ than programming has been metal working (mostly steel). Welding as a process and field is incredibly fascinating (and fun! [and loud]), watching the liquid pool while welding never gets old.
I particularly enjoy how "predictable" steel and other physical materials are, in that they can be utilized and engineered to perform differently across a range of environments (stainless steel being one example).
And of course we have rust/oxidation which is always fun (such an "earth problem" heh)
