Abstract: A placement aid for making straw stars has a locking ring (10), which has an interruption (11) and by shortening said interruption can, in opposition to a restoring force, be fitted into the post ring (3, 4, etc.) of the central disk (14).

Abstract: A hand tool for splitting straw into strips has a pot-shaped element with a bottom and an open side opposite the bottom. A tube is mounted in the bottom coaxially with the pot-shaped element and has an end face which is flush with the outer side of the bottom. The tube, which defines a passage for stalks of straw to be split, extends from the bottom into the pot-shaped element. A rod is disposed internally of the tube coaxially therewith and has a cross-sectional area smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the stalks to be split. A plurality of blades project radially from the rod to the inner wall of the tube and are uniformly distributed circumferentially of the latter. Each of the blades has a cutting edge which faces the bottom of the pot-shaped element. The cutting edges extend along respective generatrices of a cone which converges towards the bottom of the pot-shaped element.