A knife in CS2 replaces the default melee weapon with a different model and finish. The model is the shape, such as Karambit, Butterfly Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman, Falchion, Shadow Daggers, Bowie, Navaja, Stiletto, Talon, Ursus, Skeleton, Nomad, Survival, Paracord, Classic Knife or Kukri. The finish is the paint, such as Doppler, Fade, Case Hardened, Tiger Tooth, Marble Fade, Slaughter, Crimson Web or Lore.
Knives belong to the Rare Special Item tier, the gold slot in a case with about 0.26% odds per opening. Because knives are rare and easy to show off, they anchor the top end of the skin market.
What decides how much a knife is worth?
Four things stack together. The model matters most: Karambit, Butterfly and M9 Bayonet usually top the list. Then the finish, then the wear tier and float, then special traits like Doppler phase, Fade percentage, Case Hardened pattern or StatTrak. A Factory New Butterfly Knife | Fade with a high fade percentage can cost many times a Battle-Scarred Gut Knife | Safari Mesh, even though both are knives.
Some finishes only exist on some models, and some finishes cannot reach every wear tier because of their float cap. That is why two "Factory New" knives can have very different floats and prices.
How do you get a knife in CS2?
Three ways. Open cases and hope for the gold slot, which is expensive on average. Buy one from another player, a marketplace or the Steam Community Market, which is how most owners get theirs. Or, since October 2025, trade up five Covert skins from the right collections and receive a random knife or gloves from those collections. Knives cannot be produced by a normal ten-item trade-up, and they cannot be used as inputs in one.
Knives are also a favourite target of scammers because of their price, so use a trade URL, check the item in the trade window, and never confirm a trade you did not start.