My saws have neither a splitter nor a guard so the answer is no, I don't use a splitter. Not because I'm opposed to them, but because I began using tools like this at a time when nobody used splitters and guards were a complete joke. They were a joke because nobody manufactured one that was really workable. They were put on for some reason yet unknown by historians, woodworkers of the era, and anyone with a thinking mind, 'cause they certainly never worked. So - just about everyone threw them away immediately and working without those devices was just the norm.