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PaperclipPerfector  2yr ago (text post)   4728 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 27, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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What's your philosophy on spending on hobby equipment? Let that be better kitchen equipment, better sports gear, better gaming gear, whatever.

I strongly lean towards the "A bad carpenter blames his tools" and "The magic is in the artist's hand not the paintbrush" camp and think that when partaking in a hobby the "right" way to do things is to practice frugality in the initial stages and upgrade the equipment as you grow out not in.

Some examples of this in practice;

  1. I used a rackety old bicycle I bought used for years until I built up enough fitness where the cycle was the limiting factor and not my legs. Then I bought a name-branded bike and was instantly much faster. (For aspiring cyclists, yes it actually takes years.)
  2. Used shitty grocery store knives until I developed enough knife skills to justify owning a Victorinox Fibrox. Still nowhere near justifying one of those Japanese blades.
  3. Bought a good gaming setup with a good GPU, Mouse, and 120Hz monitor after years of gaming on a shitty setup.

However, I'm seeing the holes in this line of thought as I am in a place now where I can just afford the "good" equipment to start off with. There exists no Frugality or Thriftiness God who will look down on me for breaking the old ways, if anything, I might be somewhat of an extremist in that regard.

But it feels "wrong". One of the things that helps me sleep easier at night is that I live this way. But why? Any arbitrary things helping you sleep well at night? Or is it just a made up struggle?

I strongly lean towards the "A bad carpenter blames his tools" and "The magic is in the artist's hand not the paintbrush" camp and think that when partaking in a hobby the "right" way to do things is to practice frugality in the initial stages and upgrade the equipment as you grow out not in.

There's truth to this, and in the past, I tended to think the same. But now I believe that's not the best way of starting. The problem is that the beginning carpenter doesn't know what or whom to blame, so spending enough money on the tools to be reasonably certain that it's indeed you who sucks, and that you can work on your technique, is very valuable. Also, this cuts out on some sources of frustration, and can keep you motivated.

At least that's what I found for anything handcraft related. YMMV.

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