It is claimed
that 'the bad workman blames his tools'. I have always
thoguht that this comes from the fact that the good workman buys good
tools, looks after them, and uses the right tool for the job.
I'm not sure who makes that claim, though it is a saying from
folklore. ...
The sting in the tail of this saying is that traditionally (that is porbably
until the 1930s/1940s) a workman made his own tools - and thus blaming them
was blaming one's own workmanship. Also the reason why (again,
traditionally - tho'
this tradition only just about survives) you never use someone else's tools
without their permission - or even touch them.
Andy