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glimshe
I've used the el cheapo for a long time with no issues... Sounds like a life hackers version of "premature optimization is the root of all evil"
dvh
In my country this would get you few side-to-side head shakes followed by quiet whisper: "Americans..."
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wiredfool
We've got to split a couple of pulls in quarters for the cat. One of them is super easy and works in a pill splitter, the other one doesn't break easily. The easiest way to accurately split it is with a cutting board and chef's knife.
verytrivial
Every uncoated pill that has a curved surface can be split by placing it on a hard surface and pressing down on opposite sides with your thumbs. The split is more accurate if it is pre-scored -- place the scoring/groove face up during the split. But even without the groove, it is rarely worse than a 55:45 split in my experience. And no, I have no idea why this story is on HN.
xnorswap
I don't understand what the use case for this is, would someone care to explain?
d--b
breaking pills in half when you're 80 years old, and breaking 20 pills a week by hand bruises your palm.
ungreased0675
Children sometimes get prescribed medication that a pharmacy might only stock in an adult dose pill. If the pills are small, a pill cutter is a lot safer than splitting them with a knife.
Tangurena2
I get prescribed Metformin. The local pharmacies only carry the 1000 mg size tablet. So doc prescribes the only available pill size and I cut them in half.
msisk6
I have a small dog (8 lbs.) that gets seizures. I have a prescription pill for her and the dose is 1/2 a pill three times a day.

It's common in dog medicines to split pills since dogs come in a wide variety of sizes and the dose is typically based on weight.

stratos123
It's hard to break pills in half evenly even when they have a groove for that, and I've had some cases where I want to take half of a pill while the pill is tiny and hard and doesn't have a groove. Doing that with a kitchen knife is extremely annoying and potentially traumatic.

(That said, uh, I don't use a fancy 30$ metallic pill cutter, but a cheap plastic one with a V-shaped slot that holds the pill in place.)

DivingForGold
$30 for a simple pill splitter ? Must be a affiliate deal or similar, the author does not deny this ...
cainxinth
He writes about like it’s amazing that it still works. Meanwhile, I bought a no-name cheapo splitter for maybe $5 15 years ago that still works perfectly fine.
d--b
There could be a version of this where you clamp the pill to make sure the split is right in the middle. Just saying...
erelong
I've been wondering about an automated way to do this and also wondering why they don't make more half doses for some of these pills people need chopped up