Is there an English equivalent to the Indian proverb-"If you have the ability, even grass can be your weapon"?

The original Indian saying (in Tamil) is வல்லவனுக்கு புல்லும் ஆயுதம் (Vallavanuku Pullum Aayudham)

Translation : For the capable, even grass can be a weapon

Meaning: If you have the ability and talent, you can achieve success with whatever (minimal) resources available at your disposal.

Something exactly opposite to the proverbial - "A bad workman always blames his tools"^TFD

So what does a good (skilled) workman do?

Solution 1:

A wise man will make tools of what comes to hand.

It is mentioned as an English proverb in the book The Multicultural Dictionary of Proverbs: Over 20,000 Adages from More Than 120 Languages, Nationalities and Ethnic Groups (by Harold V. Cordry).

Solution 2:

A skilled workman can make anything out of thin air.

Not really a proverb but...

A skilled workman can MacGyver anything.

Make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand:

He MacGyvered a makeshift jack with a log.

He has a shock of short red hair and a pair of rectangular-framed glasses MacGyvered with duct tape

Solution 3:

If you have the ability and talent, you can achieve success with whatever (minimal) resources available at your disposal.

If we are permitted to replace ability and talent with resourcefulness, there's also this idiom, which means to make the most of what one has:

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. - attributed to Elbert Hubbard by wikipedia

Just as the grass in your quote isn't normally particularly valuable as a weapon, lemons in this context refer to what would normally be considered liabilities. The resourceful person doesn't just tolerate or discard the lemons, (s)he turns them into assets, a parallel for the weapons of your quote.

Solution 4:

I think the English equivalent would be:

You can’t keep a good man down.

The idea is that no matter what the circumstances, a “good man” will still succeed.

Very common expression, at least in U.S. English.