I keep reading that the Spanish real (sometimes called 'Pieces of 8') gained its moniker because it could be divided into halves, quarters, or eigths.
What I'm having surprising trouble confirming, is whether this division was in the modern sense of "breaking" currency by offering lesser coins of equal sum, or if they literally were cut into multiple wedge- shaped pieces.
Edit: additionally, what was the preferred tool to cut them? Knife? Shears? Some sort of bladed press?
So I think that you are under a slight misunderstanding, as we aren't talking about the Spanish real when speaking of pieces of eight, but the so called "Spanish Dollar". It was not called 'pieces of eight' "because it could be divided into halves, quarters, or eigths." These silver coins which are remembered in popular memory as "pieces of eight" were eight real coins. A singular coin would be a piece of eight, piece being a word for "a coin", and pieces of eight refering to multiple 8-real coins. This old article by W.G. Sumner, “The Spanish Dollar and the Colonial Shilling.” talks more about the coin and its value, which might be of interest to you, but the sum is that the name comes from its value of 8 reales.