I split all my bamboo with a drawknife,,,make the first split in the center, then split in the center,,, note that it takes a very large piece to split out for a backing,6 to 8 in min, the 4 or 5 in when you quarter it then flatten it , it wont be wide enough for bow, just tap the drawknife in the bamboo the prize with the handles and work your way down the bamboo, bamboo splits very easy,,