From Blog
Tools magnify skill
Caring about your tools only counts when there is skill behind it. Leica, Amit Verma's Spiti photographs, and why bushings and bar diameters mean nothing if the kit can't make you stronger.
Published
by Adarsh Gopal
I’ve always taken an uncynical view: if you truly care about your craft, you will care about your tools. You’ll care in a way that makes others think you’re crazy, or obsessive to a fault.
I went through the Spiti photos Amit Verma shot for Leica and they’re stunning. They take me right back to my own trip there in 2014. They capture the scale, the ruggedness and the isolation of the region.
The craft is palpable. The output earns the tool its reputation.
And that’s the key thing, isn’t it?
The Leica is a thoughtfully built tool. Machined controls with great tactile feedback. Superb lenses. Bodies milled from a single block of metal. It’s built to be rugged, beautiful and terrifyingly good at translating an artist’s intent into something a viewer can feel. And Amit still went further, printing his own work and chasing down a German paper until the blacks looked right.
For obsession over a tool to rise above hype, there has to be skill behind it. No amount of joy or enthusiasm makes up for a lack of skill. Without it, you fawn over the how and forget what the output was. The tool remains a toy.
This is doubly true for gym equipment. All the obsession over bar diameters, bushings, bearings and camber angles means nothing if the equipment can’t make you stronger.
And thought, care and design are palpable when you use gym equipment. A slack guide rod or a poorly maintained bushing shows. Knurling that’s too aggressive won’t let you rep out volume. Too short a ladder on a Viking squat and you’re hinging.
Tools reflect intent and magnify skill. Provided the user has the knowledge, self-awareness and context to put them to good use.