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Riving knife vs splitter: which plate moves with the blade

Updated: 24 October 2026

You are looking at a title that says riving knife and splitter in the same line, and you are not sure which plate you are buying. The difference is movement. A riving knife rises and tilts with the blade. A splitter is fixed to the table or the guard, so the gap grows as you lower the blade. A crown guard is the hood, and it is neither plate. The [riving knife comparison](/hub/hand-tools/riving-knife) is the six steel plates in this set, not a guard. Peter F. used HSE guidance for the UK figure. A purchase through our links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a title that says riving knife and splitter in the same line, and you are not sure which plate you are buying. The difference is movement. A riving knife rises and tilts with the blade.

Our top picks

PACKOVE PACKOVE 2.5 mm

Best overall

PACKOVE PACKOVE 2.5 mm
1.2/10about £26.50
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Ohoho Ohoho N506855

Rank 2

Ohoho Ohoho N506855
8.6/10about £22.03
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RUB0B0SHOP RUB0B0SHOP N695948

Best value

RUB0B0SHOP RUB0B0SHOP N695948
7.1/10about £23.47
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On this page
  1. 1.What each word refers to
  2. 2.Why the moving plate is the closer control
  3. 3.What UK guidance asks for
  4. 4.What to buy for the saw you have

What each word refers to

A riving knife is a steel plate just behind the blade, clamped to the arbor so it lifts and tilts with the blade. It sits in the kerf and keeps the cut from closing on the teeth that are coming back up. A splitter does that job only at one height. It is fixed to the table or it hangs from the guard, so the gap grows as you lower the blade. A crown guard is the hood. A DIN 38820 knife is not the quick-release plate on a DeWalt jobsite saw.

Why the moving plate is the closer control

On a knife, the gap you set at full height is still the gap at half height, because the plate moved with the blade. On a splitter, lowering the blade opens the gap, so a shallow rip can run with the splitter doing little. A piece too short to reach the knife never loads the plate, so kickback is still possible. Thickness is a separate test. The plate has to be thicker than the blade body and thinner than the kerf. Movement does not fix a plate that is too thick. The 8 mm gap is a fitting setting, on how to fit a riving knife.
PACKOVE PACKOVE 2.5 mm

Testsieger

PACKOVE PACKOVE 2.5 mm
1.2/10about £26.50
View offer

What UK guidance asks for

HSE’s rip-saw page and WIS16 ask for a riving knife within 8 mm of the blade at table level, rigid, in line, and chamfered on the leading edge, with the crown guard for a through cut. A power feed does not stand in for it. The HSE text uses the words riving knife. That is the figure for the saw benches HSE describes. PUWER and L114 sit on equipment used at work. An older saw may have been supplied with a guard-mounted splitter and no knife mount. The splitter does less as the blade comes down, and a knife listing will not bolt on if the mount was never there.

What to buy for the saw you have

If the saw has a riving-knife mount, buy the plate on the diagram for that model and type. Several amazon listings use a code the UK diagrams we checked do not use. The replacement riving knife page puts N695948 next to N791854, and N506855 next to 1004695-77. Do not choose here by the word splitter in a title. If the saw only has a guard-mounted splitter, a jobsite knife from this set will not attach. The PACKOVE page, at £26.50, says splitter and riving knife, states 2.5 mm, and names no saw.

Common questions

What is the difference between a riving knife and a splitter?
A riving knife is clamped so that it rises, falls and tilts with the blade, and the gap you set stays about the same. A splitter is fixed to the table or the guard, so the gap grows as you lower the blade. A crown guard is the hood over the teeth and is a third purchase.
Which one moves when I raise the blade?
The riving knife moves with the arbor. The splitter does not. If you raise the blade and the plate stays at the same height relative to the teeth, you are looking at a knife. If the plate stays parked and the teeth move away from it, you are looking at a splitter. Isolate the saw before you change height.
Is a splitter good enough?
It can hold the kerf at the one height it was set for. It does less when you lower the blade, because the gap opens. HSE’s rip-saw guidance asks for a riving knife within 8 mm at table level, plus the guard, on the saw benches it covers. On a home saw that only has a splitter, that is a limit of the machine.
Is the crown guard the same part?
No. The crown guard is the hood over the teeth. The knife or the splitter is the plate in the kerf. Some guards clip onto a riving knife, so a search for one shows the other. A through cut on the saws HSE describes uses both the guard and the knife.
Can I add a riving knife to an old saw that never had one?
Only if the saw has a mount that a knife can enter. A listing cannot add that clamp. A guard-mounted splitter is not a mount for a DeWalt jobsite plate. If the saw is used at work and it cannot take a knife, the person responsible for that equipment needs a competent plan.
Why do listings say splitter and riving knife in one title?
Sellers use the words as if they were synonyms, and shoppers search both. The PACKOVE listing in this set does it in one title and still names no model. Read the mount and the part number. If the title will not say whether the plate moves with the blade, it is not ready to buy from.
Does UK guidance use the word splitter?
The HSE rip-saw page and WIS16 specify a riving knife, a gap within 8 mm at table level, and the guard for a through cut. American articles use splitter for the fixed plate. Use those articles for the mechanism only. Use HSE for the UK figure, and your saw’s manual for the clamp.

Related pages

Riving knife thickness and kerf

Riving knife

Best riving knife: one saw, one code, then a listing

Replacement riving knife: match the code before the stars

How to fit a riving knife without drilling the plate

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. HSE WIS16, Circular saw benches (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. HSE, Circular saw benches — rip saws (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. HSE L114, Safe use of woodworking machinery (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. DeWalt UK, DWE7492 instruction manual (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Spare Parts World, N791854 for DWE7485 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Spare Parts World, riving knife 1004695-77 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 22 October 2026)