A chopping blade for cutting against a shear bar has a main body made of hardened steel. The blade body is formed with at least one cutting-edge region, a fastening region for fastening the blade to a carrier and in each case a transition region between the cutting-edge region and the fastening region. The main body bears a hard material coating in the cutting-edge region. The hardness of the main body is uniform throughout over all regions. A chopping drum carries a multiplicity of these chopping blades on its periphery and, upon rotation of the chopping drum, the chopping blades cut material upon running up against a stationary shear bar.