There’s an expression that’s always rankled me: “It’s a poor carpenter that blames their tools.” I most often see it used to shame someone for complaining, often rightly, that the tools or resources they have are inadequate or inappropriate for the job at hand.
I humbly propose that a good carpenter has their own tools, each of which has been selected to suit their preferences, is appropriate to the job, and is of a higher quality than the ones being griped about. That’s why they are not complaining.
Furthermore, when forced to grapple with a tool that is not quite up to the job, a good carpenter generally has years of experience and specialized knowledge to rely on when trying to mitigate the problems the poor tool creates.
Someone just starting out has no such advantages. One of the hardest things about being a novice in anything is that you don’t know enough to separate your own skill and knowledge problems from equipment problems.
Millions (well, tens) of years ago, when I was somewhat newer to the world than I am now, my boss at the time sent me an image file to edit. I spent hours and hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong: why couldn’t I edit this stupid image?
Easy: the file wasn’t editable.
I was not the problem; the tools I had to work with were not what I needed to do the job. Years later, that same boss sent me another image, with another editing request, in that same useless format and got an almost immediate response: “I sure can, but I will need it in an editable format.”
I’ve had similar experiences with art supplies, in machine shops and wood shops, even in my own kitchen1. With expertise comes the knowledge to identify when you are dealing with the type of problem you solve with skill-building and practice, and when you are dealing with the type of problem you solve by getting the right tool for the job. Sure, there is nearly always a workaround (I could, for example, have recreated that image from scratch, incorporating the desired changes), but that workaround is seldom worth the extra effort and trouble if it can be avoided.
Anyone who earns their keep working in a field isn’t spending extra money on a tool because they hate solvency. When a carpenter, an artist, or a cook springs for the good thing, pay attention. Ask them why they bought it. Sometimes, it’s a personal preference, but often it’s because it does the job better, faster, or less frustratingly enough to more than justify the cost.
Now, this isn’t a screed telling you to get the top-of-the-line everything for every passing interest. You may end up there someday, but more likely, you will end up with a mix of “higher” and “lower” quality tools that suit your purposes. As Adam Savage puts it:
It can still feel like an indulgent luxury to have tools in your shop that do one thing, and one thing only. What you have to remember is that you did not begin at this place where you are buying acrylic saw blades instead of combination circular saw blades, or upholstery hammers instead of standard claw hammers, or fabric scissors instead of cheap-o all-purpose scissors. You arrived here as a consequence of meaningful experience. You’ve made enough stuff—including mistakes—to know what your workflow patterns are and to know the benefit of having a tool that will do the job right on the first try.
You roll out pasta one (1) time by hand, and unless you are an actual Italian grandma, you either swear off homemade pasta or buy yourself a pasta roller. Hell, I own (and use!) a grapefruit knife because it is the exactly correct tool for the job, unitasker-hate be damned.
Whoa whoa whoa, who is the psychopath using cheap all purpose scissors for fabric?