Riving Knives

[John Branam]

Are there after market riving knives available? I have seen splitters of all kinds but not riving knives. I am looking for something to use with my Ridgid 3650.

[Jim Becker]

You really can't do an aftermarket 'riving knife' since the whole saw blade mounting mechanism needs to be designed to accomodate it.

[John Branam]

Thanks, I do not believe I truely understand what riving knives are. I will just continue to use my spliter. All of the safety talks on the forum lately hav me thinking of upgrading a few of my safety measures.

[Jim Becker]

John, a riving knife effectively does the exact same thing as your splitter, but it follows the blade as you raise and lower it. Because of this feature, it can be curved to fit tight to the blade, eliminating the large gap that you have with a "regular splitter"...especially when the blade is low to the table. The riving knife can also be used for non-through cuts (which is not the case with most splitters) as you can set the top of it just below the top of the blade. For this reason, it can litterally be on the saw nearly 100% of the time, providing the extra safety it affords. (The exceptions would be dado work and with certain types/designs of sleds)

[John Bush]

Hi John,
I recently upgraded to a new TS that has an official riving knife and it makes a huge difference in how safe I feel making more risky, sweaty palm type of cuts. I have some rough maple that has both warped and twisted and after I was able to get one relatively straight edge on the jointer I got the other edge straight on the TS. The board was 9"+ wide with ~~1 1/2" of twist and the riving knife kept the board from binding the blade. I dont' think I would have tried this type of cut without it. This knife is easily removable and a splitter/blade guard assembly can be attached. It is a great addition. I've not used a splitter but if it has similar effect I would try to get one on your TS. Let Santa know and I bet he will deliver. Good luck, John.