Splitting and thinning rivercane

[tribaltagz]

I'm Native American and my tribe traditionally used rivercane, the US form of bamboo, in their basketry. I am trying to teach young people the weaving techniques and need a quick way to split and thin the rivercane into usable splints rather than using the tradional method of splitting and thinning with a knife. Any suggestions? Am trying to work smarter and quicker and save a little slicing and dicing on the hands! Thank you! This is an amazing site!