Abstract: A die for extruding filaments from molten plastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene is heated until steady extrusion conditions are reached. The direct heating is then stopped, so that the die is only partially heated from the molten material while it is extruded. The extruded filaments are sheared by a blade interacting with the die. The resulting chips are cool enough for flowing to an outflow hopper without sticking to one another or to the blade. Sticking is further prevented by maintaining a strong cooling air stream within the hopper and around the blade and by making the extrusion holes in the die diverge at their output ends and by arranging them near the periphery of the die for maximum mutual distance.