Many Counter-Strike players will tell you that while a well-placed shot with an AK, a spray with an M4, or a takedown with an AWP feels great, it is the very rare knife kill that matters most.
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Why not show off a little with your knife while stabbing the enemy in the back? The knife is arguably the weapon most players will “see,” as you spend the bulk of a round running with your knife out before swapping to your weapon of choice.
2013’s Arms Deal update changed Counter-Strike forever by introducing unique and special knife finishes, with blades of all shapes and sizes painted in various colors and textures. Some of these knives look even better with the improved lighting and shadows in CS2.
Here is every knife skin in CS2, from the default knife to those worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Every knife skin in CS2
Bayonet
A Counter-Strike classic with a smooth pull animation. The Bayonet is a clean knife that takes just about every skin thrown at it.
Bowie Knife
The Bowie Knife is the largest knife in CS2. An elongated and thick blade with a large handle, it is ideal for single-color, non-textured skins.
Butterfly Knife
Arguably possessing the best animation in CS2, the Butterfly Knife is much-loved among the community. There’s nothing like running toward A Long on Dust 2 while flipping this around before taking out your AWP and netting the first kill of the round.
Classic Knife
A remake of a Counter-Strike classic of old, with a slight abstract texture along the edge of the blade. Some skins overwrite the custom texture on the Classic Knife, while others enhance it.
Falchion Knife
The Falchion Knife is basically an extra-thick Flip Knife. The better skins for the Falchion are those that split the blade and handle, as opposed to covering the entire knife with the skin.
Flip Knife
One of the cleanest knives in CS2, the Flip Knife looks and feels great and takes many skins well. It’s been a staple for years now and only gets better with new skins.
Gut Knife
Ah, the Gut Knife. It’s not for everyone, but the wider blade and the hook at the end make for a unique profile. The base vanilla edition of the Gut Knife looks the coolest in my opinion, with the wooden handle intact.
Huntsman Knife
The Huntsman Knife has a reverse edge toward the tip of the blade for sawing and takes custom skins quite well. In most cases the dark grey handle survives the paint job, so it’s best with a brighter skin.
Karambit
The almighty Karambit. An amazing animation with a sharp profile, and when held with the character’s reverse grip looks truly menacing. It’s one of the most expensive base knives in the game and looks brilliant with a variety of skins.
Kukri Knife
The Kukri Knife was the first CS2 knife skin, joining the collection in early 2024. Featuring a curved blade with a smooth draw animation, it falls somewhere between a Huntsman and a Navaja Knife and is undoubtedly popular among the players.
M9 Bayonet
A slightly larger version of the Bayonet, the M9 Bayonet features a sawtooth reverse edge similar to the Huntsman as well as a textured grip.
Navaja Knife
Another Flip Knife ripoff, the Navaja Knife is a personal favorite of mine. The glossy finish of the handle with the easy flip tab makes it a classy blade and looks brilliant under CS2’s new lighting.
Nomad Knife
The Nomad Knife is sharp and thin, taking many of Counter-Strike’s classic skins very well. It’s great with textures, such as Slaughter and Crimson Web, as the blade is wide enough to enhance them, with plenty of detail on show.
Paracord Knife
Version 2.0 of the Bayonet. The Paracord Knife has a textured handle with slits between the top of the blade for rappelling—not that you’ll be doing much of that in CS2 but it looks sick nonetheless.
Shadow Daggers
What’s better than one knife? Two, of course. The Shadow Daggers are smaller blades but the character holds one in each hand when running and spins them around when inspecting them. Definitely go for a skin that maintains the base color in the center of the blades, as skins like Urban Masked and Stained look a little dated on these.
Skeleton Knife
The Skeleton Knife is basically a Bayonet with a Karambit inspect animation. The character spins the weapon around their finger at speed, with the colors blurring into a circle.
Stiletto Knife
The thinnest blade of the lot, the Stiletto Knife has a flip animation and tapers to a single point. Great for stabbing and thrusting, but doesn’t take many skins well in my opinion.
Survival Knife
A Bayonet, Gut Knife, Paracord Knife, and Huntsman all in one. The Survival Knife has a textured handle for the player’s fingers and is menacing in black. Night Stripe or Fade are my go-to’s here.
Talon Knife
The budget Karambit, the Talon Knife caught the eye of many players when it was released. It too has a similar animation to the Karambit with the player swinging it around their finger, but the bone-colored handle turns most players off.
Ursus Knife
The Ursus Knife is a simple blade with a green ceramic handle but takes textures incredibly well due to its wider profile. There aren’t many bad skins for the Ursus and matches that of the Bayonet for animation quality.
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