Apparatus for cutting plural aligned ply strips includes plural knife blades disposed in a spaced manner such that each knife blade is aligned with and in closely spaced relation to an associated ply strip. The knife blades are pivotally mounted in a common housing and are coupled to a single rotational drive for allowing each knife blade to assume the same predetermined cutting angle relative to its associated ply strip, where the cutting angle may be varied between ±45°. The plural knife blades are coupled to a rotational drive by means of plural circular drive gears and are connected to a linear drive for displacing the knife blades into contact with the ply strips for cutting the strips at the predetermined angle. The severed edges of the aligned ply strips are formed in mutual linear alignment and do not include projecting triangular patterns, or crenelations.