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Hi Markus,

I don't know what the term would be in the Maritime's, but my Connecticut friends would qualify you as an honorary Yankee! Very nicely done, and all the more impressive for just jumping in with an idea.

Regarding splitting, it was the most difficult aspect of rodmaking that I had to learn. All other aspects of rod making can be improved or simplified with some sort of better tool or better method, or incrementally improved, but splitting is all feel and intuition, and either you finally have it or you don't. When you finally get it it will be suddenly and as though you always did it, and the next time will be all muscle memory as though you did it all your life.

Here are a few suggestions regarding splitting when first starting (some figured out / some stumbled upon):

- Split from the top of the culm towards the bottom. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the way the fibers lay upon one another as they grow, it will be easier to steer the split.
- Spit in colder weather if you can (below 40 degrees F). The colder the culms are, the straighter the spits will travel (thickens the oils in the bamboo). If you want to see something neat, leave one out in freezing weather if you can and try splitting it frozen. You'll wish you had a walk-in freezer to keep them in all year.
- When just learning, split the cum in halves until you have 16 pieces (not the usual sixes into 24). Your strips will be slightly wider and easier to control, but still not too wide, and it will be much easier to only split in halves rather than thirds and sixes.
- Split into 1/4-culm sections, stagger the quarters, and cut to length before you flame (if you flame). The shorter/narrower sections will warp much less during flaming, end up straighter, and make the straightening and roughing process much easier later on.

Regarding your skills and training, you appear very handy and you'll pick this up in no time.

Chuck