The 45 degree angle thing took me like three years to figure out on my own. I had a buddy who did cable installs back in the day tell me to hold the stripper at a slight tilt rather than straight on, and it was like a lightbulb went off for me. I mean, I used to go through braid repairs constantly before that, and now I almost never get a nick unless I'm rushing. Idk why those little details never show up in the YouTube tutorials but they make all the difference.

Oh man, that sucks. I hate it when teachers just say "you're doing it wrong" without showing you exactly what to fix. Good on you for figuring it out though. Eight inches and 45 degrees is pretty standard for most airbrush work. Sounds like your teacher wasn't explaining it right in the first place. Glad you found the sweet spot and got it working.

Trouble is often the best teacher, and sometimes we need things to break before we make them better.

Oh man, I used to be all for keeping it on the shelf no questions asked. But after hearing the arguments at a similar meeting near me, I actually got why some parents are worried. Idk, it's just hard to argue with the whole "kids can see worse online" thing, that kinda changed my mind a bit.

Yeah, "checking your grip" is exactly right. I used to have the same problem and I thought my hands were just done for. Turns out I was squeezing those handles like they were going to run away from me. Switching to a pair of loppers with those big soft grips was a game changer, seriously. Also, I started wearing those cheap padded gardening gloves and it made a huge difference for my morning stiffness. Sometimes it's the little things you don't think about that mess you up the most.