Knife Skins

Knife Skins are among the rarest and most valuable cosmetic items in Counter-Strike 2. Obtainable through weapon case openings, knives feature unique models and skin finishes that replace the default combat knife.

Overview

Every player in CS2 starts with a default knife. Knife skins replace this default model with an entirely different knife shape and animation set, each with its own unique inspect, draw, and attack animations. Unlike regular weapon skins, knife skins change the weapon's 3D model entirely, not just its texture.

Knives are always classified as Covert (red) rarity or above and have an extremely low drop rate from weapon cases — approximately 0.26% chance per case opening (or roughly 1 in 385 cases).

Available Knife Types

CS2 features over 20 distinct knife types:

Knife	First Introduced	Notable Features
Bayonet	CS:GO launch (2013)	Classic military bayonet design
Bowie Knife	Operation Wildfire (2016)	Large fixed blade, aggressive design
Butterfly Knife	Operation Breakout (2014)	Iconic flipping animation, fan favorite
Classic Knife	2020	Recreation of the CS 1.6 knife
Falchion Knife	Operation Bloodhound (2015)	Single-edged curved blade
Flip Knife	CS:GO launch (2013)	Folding knife with smooth open/close animation
Gut Knife	CS:GO launch (2013)	Short, wide blade — usually most affordable
Huntsman Knife	Operation Huntsman (2014)	Large hunting knife with aggressive draw
Karambit	CS:GO launch (2013)	Most popular — curved blade with spin animation
Kukri Knife	CS2 launch (2023)	CS2 exclusive — Nepalese curved blade
M9 Bayonet	CS:GO launch (2013)	Military combat knife, popular and premium
Navaja Knife	Horizon Case (2018)	Spanish folding knife
Nomad Knife	Prisma Case (2019)	Tactical fixed blade
Paracord Knife	Prisma Case (2019)	Survival knife with wrapped handle
Shadow Daggers	Shadow Case (2015)	Dual daggers with unique backstab animation
Skeleton Knife	Fracture Case (2020)	Minimalist skeletonized blade
Stiletto Knife	Horizon Case (2018)	Switchblade with flick-open animation
Survival Knife	Prisma Case (2019)	Military survival knife
Talon Knife	Horizon Case (2018)	Karambit-inspired with distinctive curve
Ursus Knife	Horizon Case (2018)	Bear claw-inspired blade

Skin Finishes

Each knife type can appear with numerous skin finishes. Popular finishes include:

Doppler (Phases 1-4, Ruby, Sapphire, Black Pearl) — Most sought-after
Fade — Gradient from gold to purple
Marble Fade — Red, blue, and gold marble pattern
Tiger Tooth — Golden with black stripes
Crimson Web — Red base with spiderweb pattern
Slaughter — Silver with red patterns (diamond, angel, heart)
Case Hardened — Blue/gold pattern (blue gem patterns are extremely valuable)
Vanilla (no skin) — Clean default metal finish

Float Value and Wear

Like all skins, knife skins have a Float Value that determines their wear condition:

Condition	Float Range	Effect on Knife
Factory New	0.00-0.07	Pristine, minimal/no scratches
Minimal Wear	0.07-0.15	Very minor scratches
Field-Tested	0.15-0.38	Visible wear marks
Well-Worn	0.38-0.45	Significant scratches and wear
Battle-Scarred	0.45-1.00	Heavy wear, paint chipping

Not all knives exist in all float ranges — each skin has minimum and maximum float values.

Pricing

Knife skin prices range enormously:

Budget knives (Gut Knife, Navaja): $50-150
Mid-tier (Flip Knife, Falchion): $100-500
Premium (Karambit, M9 Bayonet, Butterfly): $200-2,000+
Ultra-rare patterns (Sapphire, Ruby, Blue Gem Case Hardened): $2,000-50,000+

Obtaining Knives

Case openings — ~0.26% chance from any weapon case containing knives
Steam Community Market — Direct purchase from other players
Trading — Player-to-player trades via Steam
Third-party marketplaces — External trading platforms