I'm sorry, but I really don't like this update, and I like Sawyer's explanation even less.
Why should there be a connection between a crafting skill and item durability? Your explanation (We are assuming that if you know how to make an item, you also know how to use and take care of it.) doesn't make any sense at all and is completely artificial. Why shouldn't a fighter who is not a master blacksmith be able to take care of his gear? By tying the crafting skill directly to item durability, you are not really giving any benefits to the players that take it, but rather punishing the ones who don't by forcing them to do boring backtracking to the village.
Penalty for not taking crafting skill should be not being able to craft, not something else and completely artificial. It's like saying that if you don't take lock-picking, not only are you unable to pick-locks, but you can't even use a key on a door, because well, if you don't know how a lock works, you shouldn't be able to operate it, right?
And as for the argument about having more people with crafting skill in one party, couldn't it be solved by simply designing only one or two such companions?