@kelly_west74 my 2010 fridge outlasted my 2020 model by years already.

...and my buddy in Calgary had the exact same crimper issue with his hot water line. He was out there on a Tuesday night with a headlamp, cursing at this ring that wouldn't stay put no matter how hard he squeezed. Finally figured out the jaws on the tool were slightly bent from him dropping it once. He ended up having to borrow a neighbors crimper to get the job done. By the time that joint was dry he'd already bought a whole new tool set online out of pure spite.

Man that grinding noise is the worst, glad a zip tie saved you the hassle.

Oh man. That's a rough one. Four years of doing it wrong and nobody said a word? Classic hammer-in hospitality. Guess they figured you were going for that "wavy line of shame" look. If the smith specifically called out 1095, I'd listen. That steel is picky. Full quench it like a hot knife into butter and see if that hamon finally shows up. Or don't. Maybe you're just ahead of the curve with your "fade to nothing" technique.

Man, that bit about the empty holes being just as important really hit me. It's so easy to get caught up in feeling like you're wasting time when you're just finding trash or nothing at all, but that director had it right. Every scoop tells you something, even if it's just that someone didn't bother with that spot.