An apparatus for cutting annular elastic bands from a rubber tube and comprising a knife-blade, a counter-knife, a mechanism for moving said knife-blade, said knife-blade during the cutting operation forming an angle with the counter-knife, and a means for flattening an end portion of the rubber tube and indexing said end portion beyond the counter-knife. The mechanism for moving the knife-blade displaces the knife-blade in the longitudinal direction of the knife edge so that an elastic deformation of the tube in the longitudinal direction of the counter-knife is substantially eliminated. A loop is formed at the edge of the flattened tube initially cut through by the knife-blade which loop is placed around a finger during the finishing of the cutting operation.
A method for making one or more resilient retainer members, such as rubber bands or the like including providing an oppositely disposed set of upper and lower platen members each having a plurality of cutting elements extending outwardly with the cutting elements being spaced apart to provide a predetermined width for the rubber band, folding the rubber band, and placing the folded rubber band between the platen members so as to cut the rubber band material into a plurality of individual rubber band elements which are of an endless, one-piece construction.
