I've tried doing this with a serated knife and with those pliers that have a sharp cutting type edge and everytime I end up with splinters. How can I get a CLEAN cut so I don't have to worry about getting splinters in the cake?
The wooden ones. I almost bought lollipop or cookie sticks yesterday because they are the right size, but my hubby pointed out that they would probably start to disinigrate in the cake! 
lol
I've used lollipop sticks and they work perfectly well. 
I don't know whether they're sturdy enough for a larger cake; I've only done two tiers with them, but they don't disintegrate.
You could also try straws. Or, I saw something called "cake jacks" in the local supply store recently and thought they were interesting -- like plastic bolts in a threaded sleeve, which you can adjust to the height you want by screwing or unscrewing.
Can't help on cutting the wooden ones without splinters, but I'm curious to see what more experienced cake-stackers will say. I've only used wooden dowels for non-food-related crafts and I tend to sand off the splinters!
Leily is correct that pruning shears work great! Just don't use the ones you use in the garden. Poultry scissors also work well, but the shears work better, IMO.
I went and bought some big plastic ones today so I'm gonna try those. Can those be cut with a normal sharp kitchen knife?
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