Well researched and thorough article on the state of film. Certainly not wondering why my film camera biz is brisk and prices on 35, MF and Large Format have been rising for some time now. Large Format prices have been solid for a few years now.

https://www.zorkiphoto.co.uk/2017/02/2017-the-year-that-film-returned/

I occasionally build my own. Part of the fun of film... Mamiya lens n finder, Linhof 4X5 back. 4X5 film sheet is 13 times larger than digital full frame. IQ and Resolution is huge.

I've only used one B&W lab, a boutique lab run by a friend of mine, that didn't scratch film. He used Nikor reels and tanks and hand processed. All the others used roller transport machines.

That said, if your lab has a Refrema dip-and-dunk machine, it is safe. I put one in a facility in Charlotte back in 1990 and we loved it for sheet film down to 135.

Biggest problem with non-boutique labs is that you generally have no control over the developer and time. A very wide range of results can be had by choosing different developers and varying the time, temperature, agitation, and dilution of the developer. This affects contrast, grain, gamma, and edge sharpness, as well as effective film speed. Many labs process all B&W at the same time and temp, in the same developer, with the same agitation. With the wide variety of films available, you may or may not get acceptable results.

I don't claim to be an expert at predicting the future, but I believe that film and vinyl will eventually go away. I believe that the vast majority of people still using film started with film and have some film equipment, maybe just a camera or two. There is a surge in vinyl at the moment, but actual sales are minuscule compared with pre-digital sales. The next generations of people will grow up with less and less contact with these things along with any interest in them. It's that way with just about everything over time. Things change.