Am I asking for too much?

[Charlie Mike]

I don't know if I'll ever be satisfied. With anything.

My girlfriend says my standards are unreasonably high. She says that is one of the many ways that the military screwed me up. The guys at my Bill W. meetings say that this is a quality of many alcoholics and is related to the need to be in control.

I'm one of those guys that "if you want something done right, do it yourself." It really is because I fear that someone else's standard of quality might be below my own.

I think all of us scrutinize knives more than the average guy who buys a knife from walmart and thinks he has found "the" knife. I personally won't buy a knife if the liner isn't at least 3/32" but I'd prefer 1/8" or more framelock. I'm the same way about the knives I customize or repair for others. I will not let a friend or customer walk away with a knife that I wouldn't carry myself.

 

[mwerner]

A question of philosophy, I imagine.
One could apply this to many things.... I'm a guitar picker. Mostly for my own amusement, though I guess I could be called a professional in that I actually have been paid a couple of times for playing music...(not much!)

Anyway, I have played some very fine instruments and at one time owned a very nice Martin D-18. Those go for a pile now, mine cost 600 bucks back in '77 or so.
Times got hard, we quit playing in public, and I sold it.

I now have a Mitchell, an Indonesian product that cost 200 bucks new. I'm quite satisfied with it. "Good enough for Folk Music", as we used to say. I appreciate the good stuff, but if the cheapie works, I'll play it.
I'm fairly fastidious about the bicycles I repair and maintain; it's a pleasure to work with top-quality components and gear.
Still, I also repair and refurbish a lot of junkers. I sell these to people who seem eminently satisfied with them, so I am as well.
Many of these folks would not appreciate the difference between a 200 dollar restored entry-level bike and a 1200 dollar "nice" bike.
I don't concern myself; different strokes for different folks.