Grinding through that many birds solo is brutal, and your grip is always the first thing to go. Once my hands start cramping up I switch to a stiffer knife so I'm not fighting the blade, and I take 30 second breaks every 6 or 7 birds to stretch my forearms and shake out my fingers. A tennis ball in my pocket helps too, just squeezing it between batches keeps the blood moving. Also, sharpening halfway through makes a huge difference because a dull blade forces you to squeeze way harder than you should.

Why do the cheapest pieces of paper always turn out to be the ones that decide everything? Same thing happens with food handler cards, CPR certs, even a notary stamp. They cost almost nothing and take a few hours, but the second you don't have one, some gatekeeper shuts the door in your face. It's a weird system where a $60 card or a two hour class means more than years of actual work. We all learn the hard way that the little stuff nobody respects is the stuff that keeps you out.