Quote Originally Posted by DWFII View Post
No offense to anyone, but I suspect there's also a difference between a Craftsman (and, just for the sake of refining the idea, let's stipulate a capital "C") and a hobbyist. I am not taking anything away from the hobbyist. That's where the passion begins. But the hobbyist never really has to answer for his work; never has to embark on that never ending search for excellence; never has to face...or believe in the idea of "good, better, best."
Shenanigans!
I'm a "hobbyist" sock knitter and am currently in the middle of making a pair of kilt hose for a man whom some of you know. When I attached the cuff to the first sock I discovered that there were some technical problems, so now I have to rip out 5 hours' worth of work and redo it. I could leave the sock the way it is, say "it's good enough" and never think about it again. But I can't do that. The hose have to be right. In other words, I have to answer for my work, I have to make the socks the best I possibly can (I think that's called the "search for excellence"), and if I didn't believe in "good, better, best" I wouldn't be using the best Merino yarn I could find and I wouldn't undo work that wasn't right and I wouldn't be making bespoke, custom designed hose.
Similarly, the Mrs. and I (again, "hobbyists") make cakes for weddings, parties and whatever else someone wants a cake for. To make the icing the best texture it can be, I have to buy shortening in a 50-pound box and pay $50 shipping, on top of its cost. I could say, "Crisco's good enough; I'm not a craftsman, after all." But if it were your daughter's wedding cake that was ruined by inferior ingredients, you (or her, either) wouldn't care what I called myself; you'd be calling me a few choice names of your own.
As for who's a "master", "craftsman", "amateur", "journeyman", "apprentice", "jack-leg" or whatever, who cares? As long as the customer and the maker/seller are honest with each other and are satisfied with the deal, I don't see why someone not involved needs to get upset about somebody else's business.
As the wise man said, "That's all I've got to say about it."