Abstract: A machine for untying bales, such as bales of paper in a papermill, and characterized by being adapted to hold the ties, such as wires or metal bands, until after cutting and disposal of the bundle of material from the ties such as to separately dispose of the ties to avoid the ensuing damages and maintenance and to reduce manual labor. The present machine comprises a trolley, a frame suspended to the trolley such as by a hoist, a plurality of cutting heads, one for each tie of a bale, movably suspended to the frame, with each cutting head characterized by a combination of a cutter and a pair of catch members arranged to sequentially catch and hold the ties during cutting and until after the bundle of material of the bale has been disposed of to separately dispose of the ties harmless of the equipment processing the bundle of material.