Counter-Strike 2’s cosmetic system is by far the coolest out of all competitive games. Being able to buy and trade skins makes owning skins more like investments than digital cosmetics. Knives are the most prestigious skins in the game, and they also cost the most.

CS2 has a lot of knife models, mostly pulled from CSGO’s knife pool. If you are out looking for a skin, the first thing you usually do is decide on the knife mode. Do you want the classic-looking M9 Bayonet? The goofy shadow daggers or the flashy Butterfly knife? Then, you decide on which skins you want the knife for.

In this article, we will help you with the first part—deciding on knife type. So, here are all the knives in CS2 ranked, from best to worst.

S-Tier: Karambit, Butterfly, M9 Bayonet

This was going to be obvious. The Karambit, Butterfly, and M9 Bayonet are hands down the best knives in the game. The M9 Bayonet looks minimalistic, sleek, and clean. It looks like an army knife, and that’s the main appeal of it.

On the other hand, you have the Butterfly and Karambit. Both are known for their brilliant animations. You can never get bored with spinning the Karambit or fiddling with the Butterfly knife.

However, these are the crème de la crème of CS2 knives, hence they are the most expensive. Even the bad skins of these knives can cost in the hundreds and thousands of dollars.

A-Tier: Bayonet, Skeleton, Bowie, Talon

Moving on to the A-tier, we have the Bayonet, Bowie, Skeleton, and the Talon Knife. All of them are top-tier knives in their own right.

Starting with the Talon Knife, it’s often called the budget Karambit. The design is very similar to the Karambit except that the Talon Knife has a bigger blade and more details on the handle. It has the same spinning animations as the Karambit, albeit not as good as the original.

The Skeleton Knife is one of the most unique skins in the game. It has a hole in the middle and has a symmetric blade. There is no handle; the blunt part of the blade is wrapped with fabric to create a makeshift handle. There is a lack of good skins for this knife, but overall, it’s one of the most unique-looking knives in the game.

The Bayonet is the simpler version of its M9 counterpart. A lot of people still debate which Bayonet is better, and honestly, it mainly comes down to personal preference. It has the same charm as the M9 but with a simpler design.

A lot of people might hate me for putting the Bowie in A tier, and that’s justified. But the Bowie is one of the best big knives in the game. Sure, it has a very large blade and looks more like a machete than a knife, but that’s also the appealing part of it. Some of us like big knives, and it’s here for that sake.

B-Tier: Flip, Nomad, Huntsman, Survival, Classic

For the B-tier, we have the Flip, Huntsman, Nomad, and the Survival Knife.

The Flip Knife is known for (you guessed it) its flipping animation when you equip it. The design of the knife looks quite clean, and even the lower conditions look decent with this knife. If you are planning to get a pattern-based skin, the Flip Knife is a good choice, as pattern-based skins really pop out on this knife.

The Nomad, Huntsman, and Survival Knife can all be put together, as it makes sense. They are all big knives and share design features. You can’t really go wrong with any of them. The Nomad has a rare equip and inspect animation. The Survival Knife also has a rare equip animation where the character flips the knife and catches it from the other end. The Hunstman doesn’t disappoint either, as it comes with a pretty sick default equip animation.

Lastly, the Classic Knife. It was released as part of paying homage to CS 1.6. It’s modeled after the same knife that was used by the CTs and Ts in the old game—pretty cool skin with some good history behind it.

C-Tier: Shadow Daggers, Paracord, Stiletto

Now, we are moving down to the lower tier. The skins in this tier aren’t bad, but there are better options.

The Stilleto is quite an underrated knife. For some people, it’s considered S-tier, while others avoid it like the plague. It’s a very small and minimalistic knife. It’s not for everyone, but for those who like these types of knives, the Stiletto is considered quite good.

The Paracord is a straightforward battle knife. It’s got a straight shape and lacks any curves or edges. It’s probably the most simplistic blade in the game, and some people prefer that. In this tier, Paracord easily stands out as the best.

Last up is the Shadow Daggers, the only dual-blade knife in the game. However, the Shadow Daggers aren’t considered a good knife in the game. But it does have a dedicated fanbase that loves and enjoys the skin. Plus, it’s quite cheap and much better than the options that you get at its price.

D-Tier: Ursus, Navaja, Falchion, Gut

This is the bottom tier of knives in CS2. These are technically the worst knives in the game, and you can find much better options. But they have their own appeal as well.

Let’s start with the Gut, which is more or less a worse version of the Survival Knife. But it’s cheaper than the Survival Knife, so you can go for it if you are tight on budget.

Then you have the Falchion, Navaja, and Gut Knives, which just look really bad. The Navaja looks like a really bad copy of the Butterfly Knife that doesn’t even flip. The Falchion and Gut are just not that appealing to most players.

Conclusion

CS2 knives come in all shapes and sizes. From the classic M9 Bayonet and Karambit to the weird Shadow Daggers, every knife has its own appeal. None of the knives offer any competitive advantage and are purely cosmetic. So, you can pretty much go with anything that you like in your budget.