The Best Trade-Ups for a CS2 Knife (New Update)
By using five Covert skins in a CS2 trade-up contract, you can receive a random knife. This new feature in the game can help you add awesome knives to your inventory. However, you should select the original items cleverly to make the whole deal profitable: Covert skins are also rare and expensive.
Also, it’s really helpful to understand how the knife selection in the CS2 trade-up contracts works. If you want to get good and popular knives, you need to know which models are in the source collections, and plan trade-up recipes to aim for something specific.
In this guide on DMarket Blog, we highlight the best trade-ups for CS2 knives and explain how the system works, so that you can create recipes yourself.
Knives and Covert Skins in CS2 Collections
Throughout the extended existence of official cosmetics in Counter-Strike, Valve has released 46 weapon skin collections. Not all of them include Covert-level items, but many collections still have skins of this rarity level.
Knives are not listed in Counter-Strike collections, which may be somewhat confusing. They are part of case drops, and these cases are directly associated with specific collections. Here is a detailed explanation, with Chroma 2 as an example.
- Chroma 2 collection includes two Covert skins: M4A1-S | Hyper Beast and MAC-10 | Neon Rider.
- These Covert skins are also part of the Chroma 2 case.
- The Chroma 2 case may drop five knife models (Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, and M9 Bayonet) of six color skins (Marble Fade, Doppler, Tiger Tooth, Ultraviolet, Damascus Steel, and Rust Coat).
- Therefore, if you take only M4A1-S | Hyper Beast or MAC-10 | Neon Rider as your five source skins in a trade-up contract, you will receive one random knife from the Chroma 2 Collection.
Sure, it’s not necessarily a recipe for financial success. M4A1-S | Hyper Beast is an expensive and popular skin on its own. To make your knife trade-up reasonable, you should consider the market value of the source material you use. MAC-10 | Neon Rider could be a better choice, especially with high Float Values.
One set of knives is present in a few cases/collections. For the Chroma 2 knives, you can take cheaper Covert skins from the Chroma, Chroma 2, and Chroma 3 collections. This scheme works for other knife types as well.
Knife Cases/Collections
At first sight, it may seem that Valve created a very complicated model for putting knives into containers. The logic becomes more straightforward if you consider sets of available knife models.
- There are three sets of possible color schemes for CS2 knives.
- Cases include these sets with different knife models.
Our article about CS2 cases with knives breaks down these knife sets and lists all the related cases. Please check it out to be mindful of the possible outcomes of your trade-ups for Counter-Strike knives.
Covert Weapons in CS2 Collections
There are plenty of Covert skins in Counter-Strike, and this selection is inevitably going to grow. Many CS2 collections include one or two Covert skins.
Please, check out all the available skin collections on this DMarket Wiki page. Choose one to see all the Covert weapons in it. Click any skin you are interested in to see the related cases.
You can also use filters on the DMarket platform and see all Covert skins.
The Best Knives to Aim for
Some knife models and skins are traditionally more popular and valuable. It’s a good idea to aim for them with your trade-up contracts.
Here are the top 5 knives for CS2 trade-ups.
- Karambit
- Butterfly Knife
- M9 Bayonet
- Bayonet
- Skeleton Knife
As for skins for these knives, consider aiming for the following top 8.
- Case Hardened
- Doppler
- Gamma Doppler
- Fade
- Marble Fade
- Crimson Web
- Tiger Tooth
- Slaughter
The Best Covert Weapon Skins to Use for Knife Trade-Ups
If you aim for a specific knife, you need to take only Covert skins from a related collection. Another approach is to take the most accessible Covert weapon skins and accept any knife the trade-up will craft for you.
To find the cheapest items, you can look for less popular guns. For example, the R8 Revolver, Sawed-Off, and P90 are on the lower side of the CS2 weapon tier list, therefore Covert skins for these weapons are cheaper. Still, some skins for top-tier assault and sniper rifles are also quite accessible.
Here is a list of the top 15 relatively cheap Covert skins to use for CS2 trade-ups, knives and gloves.
- Sawed-Off | The Kraken
- P90 | Asiimov
- MAC-10 | Neon Rider
- R8 Revolver | Fade
- P250 | See Ya Later
- MP9 | Starlight Protector
- FAMAS | Commemoration
- Five-SeveN | Angry Mob
- Glock-18 | Bullet Queen
- AUG | Chameleon
- AK-47 | Legion of Anubis
- AK-47 | Nightwish
- AK-47 | Head Shot (for CS2 gloves)
- AWP | Chromatic Aberration (for CS2 gloves)
- M4A4 | Temukau (for CS2 gloves)
CS2 Trade-Up Recipes for a Knife: Profit and Target Items
Depending on your approach and preferences, you can take trade-up recipes for the max profit or for receiving a target item.
It’s always worth remembering that no recipe has guaranteed results. The CS2 skins market is unpredictable, especially after such fundamental changes as the possibility to craft knives from Covert skins. The price of the source items and the received knife may not bring you mind-blowing revenue.
As the process of trade-up is random, you can not predict the exact knife you will get from a contract. A nice portion of luck is needed for both profit and target items. You can buy the following CS2 skins on DMarket here.
Target Recipes
| Target Knives | Case/Collection | Source Covert Skins |
|---|---|---|
| Karambit | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. M9 Bayonet | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. |
Chroma 1, 2, 3 | Galil AR | Chatterbox, AWP | Man-o'-war, M4A1-S | Hyper Beast, MAC-10 | Neon Rider, PP-Bizon | Judgement of Anubis, M4A1-S | Chantico's Fire |
| Karambit | Gamma Doppler M9 Bayonet | Gamma Dopple |
Gamma 1, 2 | Glock-18 | Wasteland Rebel, M4A1-S | Mecha Industries, FAMAS | Roll Cage, AK-47 | Neon Revolution |
| Butterfly Knife | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. Huntsman Knife | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. |
Spectrum 1, 2 | AK-47 | Bloodsport (expensive), USP-S | Neo-Noir, P250 | See Ya Later, AK-47 | The Empress |
| Butterfly Knife | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. | Operation Breakout Weapon Case | P90 | Asiimov, M4A1-S | Cyrex |
| M9 Bayonet | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. Bayonet | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
Revolver Case, Operation Bravo Case, Winter Offensive Weapon Case |
R8 Revolver | Fade, M4A4 | Royal Paladin, Desert Eagle | Golden Koi, AK-47 | Fire Serpent (expensive), Sawed-Off | The Kraken, M4A4 | Asiimov (expensive) |
| Skeleton Knife | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. | Fever Case | FAMAS | Bad Trip, AWP | Printstream |
| Skeleton Knife | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. | Fracture Case, Shattered Web Case |
Desert Eagle | Printstream, AK-47 | Legion of Anubis, MAC-10 | Stalker, AWP | Containment Breach |
| Huntsman Knife | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. | Huntsman Weapon Case | M4A4 | Desert-Strike, AK-47 | Vulcan (expensive) |
| Talon Knife | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. | Prisma 1, 2 | Five-SeveN | Angry Mob, M4A4 | The Emperor, Glock-18 | Bullet Queen, M4A1-S | Player Two |
Profit Recipes
| Accessible Covert Skins | Source Case/Collection | Potential Knives |
|---|---|---|
| Sawed-Off | The Kraken |
Winter Offensive Weapon Case | Bayonet, Karambit, M9 Bayonet, etc. | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| R8 Revolver | Fade | Revolver Case | Bayonet, Karambit, M9 Bayonet, etc. | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| P250 | See Ya Later |
Spectrum 2 | Butterfly, Bowie, Falchion, Huntsman, etc. | Gamma Doppler, Lore, Black Laminate, etc. |
| MAC-10 | Neon Rider | Horizon Case | Navaja, Stiletto, Ursus, Talon | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| AUG | Chameleon |
Operation Phoenix Weapon Case |
Bayonet, Karambit, M9 Bayonet, etc. | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| P90 | Asiimov | Danger Zone Case | Navaja, Stiletto, Ursus, Talon | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| Five-SeveN | Angry Mob | Prisma |
Navaja, Stiletto, Talon, Ursus | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. |
| Glock-18 | Bullet Queen | Prisma 2 | Navaja, Stiletto, Talon, Ursus | Doppler, Marble Fade, Tiger Tooth, etc. |
| AK-47 | Legion of Anubis | Fracture Case | Skeleton, Survival, Nomad, Paracord | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
| AK-47 | Nightwish, MP9 | Starlight Protector | Dreams & Nightmares | Butterfly, Bowie, Falchion, Huntsman, etc. | Gamma Doppler, Lore, Black Laminate, etc. |
| FAMAS | Commemoration | CS20 Case | Classic Knife | Fade, Crimson Web, Case Hardened, Slaughter, etc. |
Conclusion
The possibility to trade-up Covert skins for a CS2 knife makes these iconic items more accessible. If you know the content of cases/collections, you can figure out which possible knives can be created with specific weapon skins—and which skins are needed for a chance to get specific Counter-Strike 2 knives.
Randomness is still a big part of this process. Trade-up contracts with Covert skins guarantee you a knife, but the pool of possible drops is still too vast to predict the outcome. It is a good idea to select the cheapest source items for the best trade-ups and let luck treat you to an excellent knife.
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