Jeff, I went through it on my right knee and am considering my left knee. I don't think the left one needs replacing yet, but my Ortho surgeon needs to make another payment on his yacht, so he thinks I do.
The operation is obviously completely painless, since you will sleep through it. The next few weeks will be anything but painless, with PT to keep the joint moving and increase the range of movement.
A couple of weeks of that is nothing compared to waiting a whole summer for deer season to start
You will be glad you had it done and can walk painlessly through the woods again. One of the guys in my shooting club had both his knees replaced at the same time and was driving a week later. He's a lot tougher than I, though.
Nothing in that surgery will prevent you from posting pics on the Knifemakers forum, so I assume we can look forward to seeing a lot more of your work.