The Not So Humble Straw Splitters

The majority of straw splitters, as discussed below were the paddle type and were very important in transforming the straw goods industry. However the little straw splitters pictured above, are incredibly rare finds.

There is a wooden heart, with 3, 5 and 6 piece fins/cutters all in wood, a book with initials and date and a cutter/fin for 5 and 7 pieces. Also a small wooden barrel with a wooden fin/cutter for 5 pieces. These little pieces from the straw splitting industry are very unusual. Maybe love tokens, the fact that they are novelty shapes adds a new element to the straw splitter. These smaller items including the cluster of three were for making smaller straw items like flowers to go on the straw bonnets.

The making of straw hats goes back to the 14th century. What started as a cottage industry developed into a large scale industry in the 19th century. Often using cheap child labour to produce the straw plaits, from the age of 4 years old.

Straw prior to the 1800’s was laboriously cut by hand with knives, it was a slow and an unreliable process. Straw splitters changed all this, they were invented possibly by the prisoner of wars in Britain, who used a lot of straw for their marquetry work.

The first straw splitters were bone with wooden handles, but by 1815 a paddle shaped straw splitter had been invented. This often had several sizes of fins to produce different thicknesses of straw splints. This humble device transformed straw plaiting in the UK enabling finer straw of superior quality to be produced rivalling European countries.

The straw splitter shown at the bottom of the article has six different sizes. The straw would be pulled through one of these splitters dividing the straw into different thicknesses of splints depending on which size was required.

This straw would then be plaited and went on to be used to manufacture straw hats and other ware. Luton being the main area for the hat production for over 200 years with several other counties such as Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Essex and Hertfordshire feeding into it.

Sometimes you can find these straw splitters with names stamped on them.

Who would have thought this straw splitter was so important in transforming the straw plaiting industry in the UK in the 19th century?