The knives CS2 players most often call the worst are the Navaja, Shadow Daggers, Gut Knife, Falchion and Bowie. They get criticized for awkward proportions, narrow blades that hide the pattern, or a clumsy first-person view. The upside of that unpopularity is price: the simplest finishes on these models cost around $35 to $50, while the cheapest Karambit is about $370. Below is what players have disliked about each of them since the CS:GO days, and who might still want one.
If you are choosing your first knife, it helps to look at all the knife types in CS2 and where they land in the CS2 knife tier list first, so you don't overpay for a design you won't enjoy in game.
Navaja
The Navaja is arguably one of the least loved knives in the game. Its blade is thin and narrow, so few finishes look good on it. The handle is almost twice as long as the blade, and its worn wooden texture does not help either. On the other hand, the Navaja is still one of the cheapest knives available: the Navaja Knife | Safari Mesh in Field-Tested costs around $35. If the look doesn't bother you, it is an affordable way to get a knife into your inventory.
Shadow Daggers
This is the only knife in the game that the character holds in both hands. That may be why its debut in CS:GO came with a bug: if a player had left-hand view enabled, pulling out the daggers made the crosshair shake, and some players reported feeling nauseous. The design never caught on either. Many found the shape silly, and the short blades leave little room to show off a nice pattern. The price reflects that: the Shadow Daggers | Bright Water costs around $35.
Gut Knife
The Gut Knife was among the first knives added to the game back in 2013, but that does not make it special. For all these years some players have called it the ugliest knife, although the Shadow Daggers and Navaja now compete for that title. Its main strength is a nice draw animation. Otherwise it looks like something left in an old toolbox, and most finishes don't fix that because the handle stays the same. The cheapest option, the Gut Knife | Rust Coat in Battle-Scarred, costs around $40.
Falchion Knife
At first glance this knife has an advantage: unlike most models, its finishes change the handle as well as the blade, which allows for more distinctive designs. That effort is largely wasted, though, because the handle is barely visible while the character holds the knife and can only be appreciated when inspecting it. Good animations and plenty of strong finishes keep the Falchion from being a failure, but this drawback hurts the overall impression. The entry price is slightly higher: the Falchion Knife | Rust Coat costs around $45.
Bowie Knife
The Bowie's main advantage is its large blade, which gives skin designers plenty of space to work with. The same feature is its weakness: in first person the knife covers too much of the screen, and many players find that uncomfortable. The cheapest version, the Bowie Knife | Rust Coat, costs around $40.
Is an Unpopular Knife Worth Buying
Low demand makes these models the most affordable in their category, which is why they often appear among the cheapest knives in the game. If owning a knife matters more to you than its shape, that is a reasonable choice. If you want a knife that looks great and is easier to resell, compare prices in the full catalog of CS2 knives. Cases are not the only source either: since autumn 2025 you can craft a knife with a trade-up contract from five Covert skins.
Which knife do you think is the worst in CS2: one of these or another one?
