granted, hyper, and I agree on some parts with your opinion, but if anyone were to see my gear at the moment, under your "no passion" heading, they might think that I am not passionate about my tools.
my swedges, vices, top and bottom tools, and anvils are piled in the only corner of storage I have, they are made of iron, and were lovingly placed there, and they will not be damaged by being in a pile. this fellow has at least got everything there in dry storage, which is more than a lot of people can say!
I stopped by an old mans house yesterday, to see if he would part with his 8" vice, outside in the rain, and the response was "it means too much too me to part with it, it was my grandfathers"
I would rather see a pile of dry vices,in a private collection, than one rusty wet one in a garden for all to see. (the average rainfall on this vice is 4.5metres a year)