Blacksmithing/bladesmithing.

I spent must of my youth fascinated by knives, still am, and this got me into classical metal working. By the time I was 18 I had built a pretty decent working forge in my mom's backyard.

Shortly after 9/11 I took a week long class in bladesmithing in Arkansas. Outside of Blade Forums and the occasional knife show, I'd never really interacted with other knife people. Not a whole lot going on in my large northern city.

The way those bastards talked openly about anyone that wasn't white or Christian turned my stomach. I pretty much kept to myself, it hung out with the one chill hippy from Oregon, or the eternally gob-struck British blacksmiths apprentice (You sell GUNS in a GROCERY STORE?!)

I learned a lot on that trip. Nowadays I don't bring up my knife hobby because I sure as shit don't want to be mistaken for one of those ignorant cretins.