Provided is a blade material having high strength. The blade material contains, in % by mass, 0.5 to 0.8% of C, 1.0% or less of Si, 1.0% or less of Mn, 11 to 15% of Cr, and 0.1 to 0.8% of V, the remainder includes Fe and inevitable impurities, and has a thickness of 0.5 mm or less, wherein the structure of the blade material as observed after polishing the surface thereof has ferrites and carbides, the carbides have an average particle diameter of 0.5 μm or less, and a proportion of carbides containing V in the carbides is 50% or less in terms of a proportion in an area of a field of view.