Pretty sure the point of the splitter is to give a helping hand to old seeds that can’t quite make it through that first push on their own but are otherwise perfectly viable. If this allows people to pop and breed older, perhaps nearly lost, strains then I say go for it. Allowing those older strains to simply die doesn’t help the gene pool either. Of course, regular seed runs are the best solution, but if a seed cracker can help, so be it.
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I soak until the seed stops floating and than I put the seed in Moist dirt and pray to the gods.
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I think soaking defiently helps, I’ve had old seeds that were having problems cracking there own shells and did a 24 hr soak with great results.
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OK, so here’s some anecdotal evidence that I have collected over the past weeks, that has convinced me that soaking is particularly helpful with really old seeds.
I’m doing a private seed preservation run for another member with some seeds that are 10-11 years old. I’ve received 3 separate shipments of 11-13 seeds each and have used various methods to try to get them to germinate.
1st batch - soaked for 24 hours and then straight into peat pods - in a temperature controlled environment (steady 25C) - 4 popped, 2 survivors, both female.
2nd batch - dunked in diluted hydrogen peroxide and then soaked in fresh water for 24 hours, then into paper towels in a baggie to wait for them to pop - 6 popped, 2 survivors, both female.
I almost gave up, but the point is to make seeds.
3rd round - threw them in water and left them for 3 days, then into paper towels in a baggie - 8 popped and put into peat pods, 7 survivors, 1 struggler that will be culled.
I don’t know the sexes of this last batch because they are still seedlings, but I am betting I will finally find a male.
Based on this, I won’t hesitate to soak old seeds for 3 days if I want good germ rates.
Take it for what it is worth.
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I use soil from my grow bags that has residual nutes place soil into 1-gal plastic pots place seeds pointed side down 1/4 to 1/2 inch down cover with fine soil and keep moist while they sprout 99% success this season . One did not sprout seed might have stuck to my finger lol . All Started under LEDs this season .
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I have always done paper towel method in a ziploc. It works 90% of the time for me. After they grow a in tape root I plant directly into red solos. Then After a bit transplant to soil. Works almost every time for me. It is not how everyone does it, but its how I have had success. When I was younger I soaked em, this didn’t work for me everytime and I had to throw out seeds multiple times. Walked away from it. I just germed 30 plus year old seeds with a 8/10 germ rate in a paper towel in a ziploc.
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I soak and germ my seed in reverse osmosis water. Let em grow out to about an inch or 2. Then soil. I have more success germing that eay
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LOL, Stoners are more superstitious than baseball players in the finals when it comes to sprouting seeds 
And I’m no better either!
I’m still batting 1000 with Jiffy pots…
Yeah… I know better…BUT!!.. 
Cheers
G
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Thanks for linking @SpeesCees August 2018 contest answers. Super interesting to see what OG had going on contest-wise even just a few years ago.
*edited original so others have context for what I was appreciating
I have always soaked my seeds in a glass of water with a capfull of hydrogenperoxcide.Most seeds open in 12 to 24 hours up to 48 hrs…I also like soaking as any seeds that have no swelled and sunk after 48hrs are usually duds.
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Smart man right here.
Nice to know what to expect.
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I wouldn’t rule them out that quickly without giving them a little help cracking.
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Myself i enjoy the science of horticulture also but i still like to KISS put the frikin seed in the dirt and see what happens and i prefet my own quality control
Peace out and stay safe
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Same here @rocket
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“Soaking seeds - why do you guys do it”
I find it much easier to drown them in water
compared to smothering them with soil-less
maybe it is just personal choice 
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Simple answer is so that I can only pot up seeds that have sprouted. And it’s easier to and faster to get them to pop facing the right direction when they have a partially emerged tap root.
I put them between 2 sheets of paper towel. I also think that more water softens the shell better than direct in the ground, but that’s just speculation on my part.
This would require a LOT of pots, so I sprout like this and only pot out the most vigorous.
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Curious about this as I just dropped a pack of seeds.
Plan on running these hempy style, and would think it would be easier to direct sew the seed to the perliter/vermiculite solo hempy, rather than sew the seed into a rapid rooter, then transfer to a hempy.
Thoughts??
Especially if you were to let the little taproot get some length, then you could put in with care and water per schedule.
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I didn’t read the entire thread, but here’s my take on it…
I like to mix up a little batch of kelp tea, and soak my beans in it before I plant into soil. I was told a long time ago, that it helps to germinate old seeds. I figure it can’t hurt-
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