With all due respect, I'd not sure how much weight I'd give a African PH's opinion on this topic. And I might ask him the following question, do you drive a Land Rover or a Land Cruiser?
There is a patina and a cachet to hand work and British made that on some subjective level is indisputable. But objectively the better steel of modern metallurgy and the superiority in results of CNC machined parts is a matter of testing, standards and QA/QC regimes.
It's sort of like where a gun shoots vs. where you shoot the gun. The first is a matter of barrel regulation. The second is a matter of gun fit. I'll agree that, as to the second issue, there is no substitute for individualized, personal attention. But, as to the former, I think others might want to reconsider their position, no matter have emotionally committed they are to fellows in shop aprons using hand tools.
One final thought--whether you go to Eibar, Brescia or England on a pilgrimage of appreciation of the gunmakers art, if you chose to travel by jet aircraft, rather than steam or sail, I hope that the parts in the jet engine powering your aircraft are the product of modern metallurgy and casting/forging techniques and not soft steel and handwork.
