Splitting cheese after pressing

[bansidhe]

Can one divide a large cheese into smaller cheeses right after pressing and before brining? Then wax them and age them normally.  I ask because I want to do a 3 gallon make of a cheese than can ripen in 4-12 weeks.  Instead of opening a cheese and then rewaxing or vacuum sealing it, I'd rather just open one smaller cheese and allow the other(s) to continue aging uninterrupted.

Has this been done in the home cheese making kitchen?

If this can be done, does the shape of the cheese matter as far as aging is concerned?

[rsterne]

A while back I cut a "truckle" (tall wheel) in half, and brined the two halves separately, and it worked fine.... The brining time may be reduced, depending on the shape of the cheese, because a thinner cheese has less distance to the middle, and more surface area for the same weight.... There is a rough rule of thumb that says brining time should be 1 hour per pound, per inch of thickness (smallest dimension), but I think we need longer than that for our small wheels.... I use up to twice that time for a cheese that should have more salt, but stick to that for one using PS to create holes, because it is inhibited by salt....

Bob

[Bantams]

I would divide it after the brine. Otherwise your salt will not distribute properly. If the interior has any mechanical openings you will have far too much brine entering the interior vs the original rind. 
I really think the larger the wheel the better, so I personally would divide after aging - eat part, rewax the rest. 

[DeejayDebi]

Can one divide a large cheese into smaller cheeses right after pressing and before brining? Then wax them and age them normally.  I ask because I want to do a 3 gallon make of a cheese than can ripen in 4-12 weeks.  Instead of opening a cheese and then rewaxing or vacuum sealing it, I'd rather just open one smaller cheese and allow the other(s) to continue aging uninterrupted.

Has this been done in the home cheese making kitchen?

If this can be done, does the shape of the cheese matter as far as aging is concerned?

Have you considered vacuum bags instead of wax? just so much easier and cheaper and both work well.