Black is a deceptively tricky color for CS2 knives: plenty of "dark-looking" finishes turn out to be gray, dark blue, or mixed with another color, like Ultraviolet, whose handle slides into purple. Four finishes work especially well for a dark-themed loadout: Black Laminate with its dark metallic surface, Night Stripe with its camo pattern, Night with its flat dark coloring, and the premium Doppler variant, Black Pearl. Prices span a wide range: from ≈$30 for Shadow Daggers | Black Laminate in Well-Worn to ≈$770 for Paracord Knife | Doppler (Black Pearl) in Minimal Wear. One of the better picks for price versus looks is Kukri Knife | Night Stripe, from ≈$40. Below: how each one looks, where it comes from, and what drives its price.
Shadow Daggers | Black Laminate (Budget Entry)
Shadow Daggers in the Black Laminate finish has a dark metallic surface with a distinctive stonewashed texture across the paired blades; depending on lighting and wear, it can read as near-black or dark gray, with no strong mixing of other colors. The finish launched in September 2021 with the Operation Riptide Case, then was added to the Dreams & Nightmares Case in January 2022; it comes in all five wears, with a StatTrak version.
The model itself is inexpensive, which makes this the cheapest way to get a genuinely black blade: from ≈$30 in Well-Worn to ≈$50 in Factory New.
Kukri Knife | Night Stripe (Most Recognizable)
Kukri Knife in the Night Stripe finish is a dark, stencil-sprayed, night-camo pattern; where the stripes fall shifts with a given copy's pattern, but the overall dark tone holds across every one. The finish launched in February 2024 with the Kilowatt Case, then was added to the Gallery Case that October; it comes in all five wears, with a StatTrak version.
The price gap between wears is substantial here: from ≈$40 in Field-Tested to ≈$150 in Factory New — but Factory New listings are thin on the market, so the price there can swing more than usual.
Falchion Knife | Night (Cult Favorite)
Falchion Knife in the Night finish has the blade and handle painted in separate solid dark colors, with no pattern or metallic shine; across the different models that carry it, the tone ranges from near-black to dark gray, but on the Falchion it sits closer to black. The finish launched in May 2015 with the Falchion Case, alongside the model itself — one of the oldest finishes in this roundup; it comes in all five wears, with a StatTrak version.
Price: from ≈$60 in Field-Tested to ≈$260 in Factory New — listings at the top wear are scarce, so price there is especially sensitive to demand.
Paracord Knife | Doppler (Black Pearl) (Premium Gem)
Paracord Knife | Doppler in the Black Pearl gem is a rare Doppler variant with a predominantly dark surface and distinctive purple and rainbow iridescence; depending on the lighting, the blade can look nearly black or show a noticeable colored tint. The finish was added in March 2025 with the Fever Case, alongside the five other new finishes it brought to this model; it exists only in Factory New and Minimal Wear.
The priciest pick in this lineup: from ≈$660 in Factory New to ≈$770 in Minimal Wear. Listings in both wears are thin (4 lots in Factory New and just 1 in Minimal Wear at the time of writing), so the higher-float copy can sometimes cost more — worth checking the current price before buying.
Getting a Black Knife
Black Laminate on Shadow Daggers drops from the Operation Riptide Case and Dreams & Nightmares Case from 2021-2022. Night Stripe on the Kukri Knife comes from the newer Kilowatt Case and Gallery Case from 2024. Night on the Falchion comes from the 2015 Falchion Case, one of the oldest active sources in this lineup. Black Pearl on the Paracord Knife comes from the 2025 Fever Case. All of these cases can be bought on the market; opening one needs the matching key, and whether a given case is also in Valve's current weekly drop rotation can change over time.
The second route is a trade-up contract: five regular Covert-rarity skins turn into a random knife or pair of gloves from pools that depend on the collections of the input items used. There's no way to target a specific model or finish in advance — the input skins only set the pool of possible outcomes.
What Determines a Black Knife's Price
Knife model. The same finish costs very differently across models: Black Laminate on the inexpensive Shadow Daggers runs for a fraction of what the same finish costs on a Karambit or Butterfly Knife — that's a premium for the base model, not the color.
Float and wear. On copies with a high float, scuffing becomes more visible, so the blade can look noticeably lighter than a Factory New copy. Black Pearl's wear options are even more limited — only Factory New and Minimal Wear.
Pattern. On Night Stripe, where the dark stripes fall shifts with a given copy's pattern, though it doesn't affect the overall dark tone. On Black Pearl, how strongly the purple and rainbow tint reads can also vary from copy to copy.
StatTrak. A kill counter usually raises the price, but with thin liquidity on a given model-and-finish pair, the StatTrak premium can swing unpredictably.
Comparing all four picks — model, finish, wears, and price from each extreme:
| Skin | Finish | Wears | Price From | Price To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Daggers | Black Laminate | all five | ≈$30 (WW) | ≈$50 (FN) |
| Kukri Knife | Night Stripe | all five | ≈$40 (FT) | ≈$150 (FN) |
| Falchion Knife | Night | all five | ≈$60 (FT) | ≈$260 (FN) |
| Paracord Knife | Doppler (Black Pearl) | FN/MW only | ≈$660 (FN) | ≈$770 (MW) |
Prices reflect LIS-SKINS listings at the time of writing. The "≈" mark means an approximate price; quotes and the availability of specific wears can change.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which black knife is the best starting pick without a big budget?
Shadow Daggers | Black Laminate is the cheapest option, from ≈$30 in Well-Worn. If you want a more recognizable model, Kukri Knife | Night Stripe sits in a mid price band, from ≈$40.
Why isn't Ultraviolet in this lineup?
Ultraviolet has a dark blade, but its handle is painted purple — that's a two-color combination, not a uniform black like Black Laminate or Night. It fits a purple-knives roundup better than a black one.
What's the difference between Night and Night Stripe?
Both share a similar dark, "night-ops" look with no metallic shine, but they're two separate finishes, not an official matching set: Night paints the blade and handle in separate flat colors, while Night Stripe applies its paint through a stencil, so where the dark stripes land shifts with the pattern.
Can you get a black knife through a trade-up contract instead of cases?
Yes, but the outcome is random: a trade-up contract made from five regular Covert skins yields a random knife or pair of gloves from the pools tied to the input items, not a guaranteed model or finish.
