Trisha,
I separate my ribbons by means of a pair of forceps bent at the tip. The
two tips of the forceps function just like your two slides with the bent
part touching the sections. So I use only one hand to do this (squeezing
the forceps a wee bit together as it touches the sections then releasing
it so the sections would separate). If the waterbath is too hot, the
section would stick to the forceps. So I lower the waterbath temperature
and/or cool my forceps on the ice I use for my blocks. That's how I
learned to do it. I guess it would take some getting used to, but it's
really easy once you get the hang of it. Histo technics have no right or
wrong. Whatever works for you would be your best technic. So try out all
the suggestions from histonet and see which one would work best for you.
Good luck!

Salvacion S. Delovino