15 Best Cheap CS2 Knife Skins

Introduction

---

It’s no secret that CS2 knife skins are expensive. If you look at pro matches, you’ll see them using knives that cost an eye-watering amount of money, but you absolutely don’t need to shell out multiple months’ worth of wages if you want to rock a cool knife skin. If you go beyond the M9s, Butterfly Knives, and Karambits that are so ubiquitous at the highest levels, you’ll see that there’s a world of more affordable skins out there that can really make you stand out. In this article, we’ll look at some of the best cheap CS2 knife skins in the game (in no particular order) to show you don’t have to spend crazy amounts of money in order to get a beautiful knife.

If you’re new to CS2 knife skins, it’s a good idea to read our introductory article on them first.

What is a Cheap CS2 Knife Skin?

---

When talking about CS2 knives, it’s important to consider the context. Obviously, spending way more than $50 on an ingame cosmetic item can seem outrageous, but the simple fact is that CS2 knives cost a lot of money compared to ingame cosmetics in most other games.

Unlike skins in most other games, CS2 knife skins do offer a significant benefit in the sense that they can be resold or traded, though. If you get yourself a knife and you get tired of it after a certain amount of time, you can always trade it for another knife or sell it entirely.

There are obviously no guarantees that you’ll get all of your money back (so don’t spend money you can’t afford to lose on skins) but knowing that your money doesn’t instantly vaporize the moment that you purchase a knife can make the purchase feel a lot more tolerable.

For this article, we’ve considered a maximum budget of $500. Most of the skins in this article will cost way below that price, however. Rather than just listing the absolute cheapest knives out there (which would all have similar finishes) we chose to offer a wide variety of different styles and aesthetics.

Classic Knife Slaughter

---

Price: ~$359 (FN)

If you ask us, the Classic Knife is a criminally underrated CS2 knife. It has everything people are looking for in a CS2 knife: a rare inspect animation, a good pullout animation, and a decent-sized blade. Additionally, it also has some cool history behind it (as it’s based on the 1.6 knife) and it comes with an idle animation. The fact that a knife that ticks all of these boxes without being extremely expensive is amazing.

The Slaughter finish might have lost some of its popularity in favor of newer and shinier finishes, but it’s still a respected finish. On top of that, it’s also pattern-based, so you can find some really cool and rare patterns to personalize your knife further. Just be aware of the fact that people generally don’t overpay for Slaughter patterns anymore, unless there’s a centrally placed diamond or something like that.

Bowie Knife Doppler (P1 & P3)

---

Price: ~$460 (FN)

Doppler skins have gone through the roof since CS2 released, and they are not showing any signs of slowing down. As such, the Bowie Knife Doppler might be priced out of this article in a couple of months, but as of right now it’s an amazing knife to go for if you want to enjoy the beautiful Doppler pattern to the fullest.

The Bowie Knife has a huge blade, which really allows the deep and lively finish to come to life. Additionally, a semi-recent update added a second hand to the Bowie Knife viewmodel (over the course of CS:GO’s lifespan, only one hand was visible when holding the Bowie Knife), thus eliminating one of the major gripes that people had with this particular knife.

If you want to get into Doppler skins, the Bowie Knife is a great choice.

Gut Knife Rust Coat

---

Price: ~$113 (BS)

Some people want shiny baubles to impress enemies and teammates. Others want to look as mean as possible while doing the dirty work for their team. If you’re part of the second group, the Rust Coat family of knives is for you.

Rust Coat finishes are among the most affordable ones out there, and that’s great news for people who like slightly more realistic knife skins. The Rust Coat finish really comes to life on a Gut Knife, if you ask us. It looks like a knife that was found in the back of a shed and taken to the battlefield, and if you like that kind of gritty and grimy aesthetic, the Gut Knife Rust Coat will not disappoint.

Falchion Knife Vanilla

---

Price: $183

The Falchion Knife is a polarizing skin. Not a lot of people seem to react to this knife with a ‘meh’; you either love it or you hate it. However, if you like smaller and perhaps slightly goofier knives, the Falchion Knife is a good choice.

It has a cool inspect animation (plus a rare inspect animation) and looks clean and sleek, especially in its vanilla (meaning no special skin finish has been applied to it) configuration.

Flip Knife Tiger Tooth

---

Price: ~$395 (FN)

There are no gold knife finishes in CS2 (yet), so if you want to get yourself a golden knife, a Tiger Tooth is the closest thing.

Flip Knives are OG knives and get a lot of respect across the entire scene, so if you’re looking for an iconic and well-loved knife, this could be it.

Some people don’t like how ‘flimsy’ the Flip Knife looks and feels in the game (it has no rare inspect animations or anything) but others really love it for its sleek and satisfying opening animation. It could be argued that the Flip Knife has been surpassed by the (newer) Stiletto, but the Flip Knife has an undeniable old school charm to it that’s hard to replicate. Additionally, it also has a bigger blade than the Stiletto, which allows cool finishes to steal the show.

Shadow Daggers Black Laminate

---

Price: ~$129 (FN), ~$90 (BS)

To some, Shadow Daggers are a bit of a ‘meme’ CS2 knife skin. And yes, they can also look a bit unimpressive due to their small size and cone-shaped design. This has also earned them a certain nickname in the community that we can’t really repeat here.

But if you like this ninja style of knife, you’ll be happy to know that pretty much all Shadow Daggers skins can be bought for way below the $500 mark. These Black Laminate daggers look sleek and stealthy, and they can be paired with a wide variety of loadouts due to their neutral colors. They’re also one of the cheapest CS2 knife skins in this article. What’s not to like?

Stiletto Knife Damascus Steel

---

Price: ~$336 (FT)

The Stiletto Knife was initially mocked for being a ‘toothpick’, but community sentiment has been turning over the past year or two. The only downside to this knife is that it has a very thin blade, which means that knife finishes don’t really get a chance to fully shine if you rock this knife.

Aside from the blade, there’s lots to like about the Stiletto. It has a very satisfying pullout animation and a rare inspect animation. The sound that the blade makes when it’s fully extended after pulling it out is also one of the most satisfying sounds in the game.

On top of all that, it’s also an iconic weapon even outside of CS2. Everyone will know what a Stiletto is, and if you like this sleek mobster-style weapon, you can grab a nice Damascus Steel one for a relatively affordable price. We chose Damascus Steel because it looks like a clean, realistic weapon that you might see in a mob movie or The Last of Us.

Classic Knife Case Hardened

---

Price: ~$218 (FT)

A word of warning: Case Hardened knives are a bit tricky. They’re pattern-based, so there’s an entire subscene of Case Hardened enthusiasts out there who are looking for the coolest-looking patterns. As such, it can be quite difficult to accurately price a Case Hardened knife. Generally speaking, the more blue it has, the more expensive it will be.

While max blue knives (referred to as ‘blue gems’) can go for absolutely insane amounts of money, regular Case Hardened skins can often be found quite cheap. If you’re looking for a knife with a pattern-based finish and an interesting contrast of colors, the Classic Knife Case Hardened is a good choice. Just take note of the fact that they can be difficult to sell.

Huntsman Knife Black Laminate

---

Price: ~$137 (BS)

Along with the Classic Knife, we consider the Huntsman Knife to be among the most underrated knife skins in CS2. It’s brought down by the fact that it shares a relatively boring pullout animation with the (much less popular) Gut Knife, but aside from that it has everything that something like the M9 Bayonet also has. It has a huge blade, a black handle that isn’t distracting, and it looks mean with its jagged edge.

The Black Laminate finish is a great alternative for the (more expensive) vanilla knives. And if you want a black and stealthy looking knife, this one is a great choice.

Quick tip: Black Laminate skins don’t look drastically different even in more worn finishes. So if you’re interested, go ahead and grab a Battle-Scarred knife. Pretty much no one will be able to tell the difference in an actual game.

Huntsman Knife Marble Fade

---

Price: ~$345 (FN)

The Marble Fade finish has lost some of its shine (literally) compared to how it looked in CS:GO, but it’s still an amazing-looking finish.

If you’re the type of person who loves multi-colored lights and bright patterns, the Marble Fade is a great choice for you. On the Huntsman Knife’s massive blade, the finish will stand out even more. Marble Fade knives are pattern-based, but the Huntsman Knife Marble Fade doesn’t really have any special or rare patterns. You can shop around for knives with more of a certain color, but they should all cost pretty much the same.

Paracord Knife Fade

---

Price: ~$343 (FN)

Fade finishes are among the most popular ones in CS2. This means that they’re also extremely expensive, generally speaking. If you want to get a Fade knife and you’re on a budget, you have to look towards less popular knives, and out of those, we prefer the Paracord Knife.

It looks sleek and has a modern tactical vibe to it. On top of that, it also comes with a rare inspect animation to give some random flair to your knife switches. Its regular animations are kind of boring though, and the blade is quite small (both elements that explain why it’s not that popular) but with a shiny and fancy finish like Fade, you won’t be bothered by that as much.

Flip Knife Autotronic

---

Price: ~$314 (FT)

The Flip Knife Autotronic looks like a knife that comes right out of a Transformers movie. Autotronic is one of few finishes that also changes the handle of the knife that it’s applied to, so you’re getting the full package here. The wine red accent colors along with the carbon fiber and steel patterns on the blade and handle makes this a very unique looking knife. When applied to the Flip Knife, it can even remind you of an Autobot that’s transforming when pulling it out.

It’s definitely not for everyone, but there’s no doubt that the Flip Knife Autotronic is a unique and interesting choice.

Navaja Knife Tiger Tooth

---

Price: ~$145 (FN)

The Navaja Knife regularly gets labeled as the bottom-tier pick by players. It has a tiny blade, a pullout animation that doesn’t look very cool at all, and there are no special animations to be found here. But that does mean that it’s extremely affordable.

Tiger Tooth finishes are usually firmly in the mid-to-high tier when it comes to their pricing, but Navaja Knives are so cheap that you can get it for under $150 (at the time of writing). What’s more is that the Tiger Tooth finish very nicely matches the knife handle. The shiny wood that’s used there looks very awkward on most finishes, but combined with the Tiger Tooth finish it gives the whole knife a kind of high-class exotic hunting knife vibe.

Ursus Knife Crimson Web

---

Price: ~$231 (FT)

The Ursus Knife is sleek, clean, and comes with a rare pullout animation and a rare inspect animation. Those are all reasons to love a knife, but most people really don’t like the dark green handle that’s on most Ursus Knife finishes.

Because of the fact that the Crimson Web finish changes the knife handle to black, the biggest issue of the Ursus Knife is removed. What’s left is an ultra sleek, deep red knife with a pattern-based finish. The more full webs are on a Crimson Web knife, the more it (generally) costs, though the differences in lower tier knives like the Ursus aren’t that big.

Tip: Ursus Knives don’t wear very much at all. As such, you can find Field-Tested knives that have almost no scratches on them, saving you some money. Just make sure the Float Value isn’t too high, and you should be good to go.

Talon Knife Night Stripe

---

Price: ~$379 (FT)

Talon Knives have earned a solid reputation as high-tier knives. As a consequence, they usually can’t be found for moderate prices unless you’re going for an extremely unpopular finish like Boreal Forest. Generally, we don’t recommend going for the cheapest finishes just to get a higher tier knife (it mostly looks off, and it can make trading/selling a lot more difficult) but Night Stripe on the Talon Knife just strikes the right chord.

Talon Knives wear pretty cleanly, so a Field-Tested one will not look to battered. There will be scratches, but they look awesome in combination with the dark, gritty finish and the aggressive curves of the knife. The Talon Knife Night Stripe looks like something you’d see in a Predator movie, and we love the knife for it.

Conclusion

---

Getting a cheap CS2 knife skin doesn’t mean that you’re skimping on the looks. Sure, the most popular knives in the pro and skin enthusiast scene all look and feel amazing (which is why they’re so popular) but there are plenty of gems to be found in the lower tiers of the CS2 knife world.

With this list, we’ve given you tons of options to consider. We tried to avoid giving you too many duplicates (we could list the Classic Knife in basically all finishes, for example) so that you can also mix-and-match a bit. If you like the Ursus Knife and Slaughter finish, for example, feel free to go for that.

Hopefully, this list has given you some inspiration for your next purchase. If you have any suggestions to add to the list, feel free to reach out in the comments!