An apparatus (1) for the preparation of cheese, comprising a vertical tubularcolumn (2) for receiving and compactingcheese curd and a guillotine knife (50) for cutting off curd blocks, whereinthe guillotine knife in operation moves back andforth between an open position and a closed position, and wherein theguillotine knife is provided with guiding means which comprisetwo parallel girders which have mutually facing surfaces with guiding slotswhich receive the longitudinal edges of the guillotineknife, wherein the longitudinal edges of the guillotine knife are providedwith plastic guide strips (62) overlying the longitudinaledges, which guide strips are provided with a number of recesses (63) boundedby intermediate sections and end sections,the recesses leaving part.beta. of the longitudinal edges of the guillotineknife exposed, wherein the guide strips are arranged on theguillotine knife so as to be slidable back and forth in longitudinal directionover a predetermined distance, and wherein the outersurface of at least a number of the sections of the guide strips cooperateswith the guiding slots for the longitudinal edges of theguillotine knife.
