A loaned object tests a different kind of care from an object you own.

Owning something lets you decide how much wear you can live with. Borrowing removes that authority, so ordinary use becomes a question of someone else’s standards rather than your own. The care involved is not greater exactly, it is more attentive, because you are looking after a thing and a relationship at once. Most awkwardness around lending comes from that second object, which nobody mentions.

When you borrow this week, return it earlier than needed and in slightly better condition than it arrived. If something goes wrong, say so before it is noticed. And when you lend, make the standard explicit so the other person is not guessing.