Abstract: Hand tools described for use in covering a longitudinal portion of a strand with a slit, flexible, protective tube comprise a pair of planar members, each having a face surface with a longitudinal guide groove therein, that may be held face-to-face to define a tubular guide path for the strand, plus other related elements.In use of such a tool, a strand to be covered is moved longitudinally relative to said guide path, a covering tube is guided at an angle into the guide path and as the tube intersects with such path, a portion of its longitudinal slit is opened just prior to the intersection. This results in the strand entering the opened slit portion which then closes over the strand and the resulted covered strand moves away from the point of intersection. In preferred embodiments, an angled portion of a small diameter rod fixed within the tool is used to open the tube slit for entrance of the strand and rollers are used to steer the covering tube from its angled path into the guided path of the strand.