Apparatus for slicing tobacco bales comprising a plurality of parallel sharp prongs or lances (1) which can be moved to penetrate the bale (7) in a horizontal plane while the bale is supported on a lift device (14). A retractable bale (9) is arranged to be movable parallel to the prongs so as to separate the slice from them after cutting and has downwardly dependent sharpened teeth (10) attached to its lower edge so as to extend between the prongs. <IMAGE>
