Often, the materials and substrates that we lay our eyes and hands on every day become so familiar to us that they become second nature. Manipulating our brain and hands to work as one takes time and vast amounts of patience. There is a cadence we find after years of practice and repetition that supports a kind of “craft dexterity,” for lack of a better word. The materials we handle daily are both trusted and perceived by our brains as part of our inner rituals. They become essential to our existence as craftsmen. If it is truly a ritual in our lives, it eventually becomes part of you on a deeper level. From the time I was a little boy, my father taught me the “nature of materials,” and as an engineer, he took this very seriously. Wood, alloys, and other substrates were meant to be used for building and creating.  He was a master craftsman. He wore his MIT school ring with great pride. My father  constantly tried to figure out better ways to achieve higher levels of both quali...