Fade guide for all CS2 skins: Everything you need to know about fade skins

Why is a fade skin special?

Let's start at the beginning, the special thing about the fade skin is that it is influenced by the pattern index. The pattern determines how the color gradient is placed on the skin and where it starts. If you don't know how the pattern index works, you can read our article on the topic: "Pattern Index and everything you need to know about it" to drop by.

With the fade skin, it is important to see as much of the color gradient as possible and that the colors are distributed as evenly as possible. The whole thing is specified as a percentage; each fade skin has a certain percentage of the color gradient.

This percentage is between 80% and 100%, with the exception of the Falchion Knife, where it is also possible to get 110% Fade, but more on that later.

Depending on the percentage of fade the skin has, this can significantly increase the price of the skin, the higher the percentage, the better the skin.

What does it mean what percentage of fade the skin has?

The fade skin consists of three main colors: purple, pink and gold. Some fade skins also have the color grey near the handle of the knife.

Depending on the fade percentage of a skin, these colors can be seen in different proportions. The higher the fade percentage, the less gray is visible and the more purple can be seen at the tip of the blade.

Of course, it is best if almost no gray is visible, so it is also desirable to have as high a percentage of fade as possible so that the gray is no longer visible on the skin.

A fade skin with a percentage of 100% is also called "full fade" because the entire blade is covered with the color gradient of purple, pink and gold.

Which fade skins are particularly rare?

Of course, the fade skins with the highest percentage of fade are particularly selected. At the top is of course the full fade with 100% fade percentage, but fade skins with 99% or even "only" 95% fade percentage are still relatively rare.

The higher the percentage and therefore the greater the rarity, the higher the price of these skins.

How do I find out what percentage of fade my skin has?

Unlike other properties such as the pattern index or the Float Value the percentage of the fade cannot simply be read off when examining the skin in Counter Strike.

Fortunately, there are browser extensions that make life very easy for us, so we don't have to struggle through any lists to match the right pattern index with ours.

To give an example of such a browser extension: CS2 Trader. Simply add it to your browser, navigate to your Steam inventory and there, as shown in the picture, you can see directly what percentage of fade your skin has.

An alternative, if you don't want to install an extension, is to switch to CSFloat and check your inventory there. The page will then show you directly what percentage of fade your skin has.

How expensive is a Full Fade (100% Fade)

A full fade is significantly higher than the market price, in some cases it will even be more than twice as expensive as the normal market price.

Of course, it also depends on the knife/weapon that carries the skin. The float should not be neglected either. Finally, the prices of skins generally fluctuate. As you can see, there are several variables that play a role in determining the price. 

It is therefore not possible to give an exact price at this point, but one thing is certain. The price will be far above the average market price of the "normal" fade skins.

What is the most expensive Fade Skin?

The most expensive fade skin is the Butterfly Fade. The price is around 2,500 dollars for a regular Butterfly Fade. For a full fade butterfly, this price rises again significantly to over 5,000 dollars.

The most expensive Fade skins that are not knives are the Glock-18 Fade and the AWP Fade, where the regular price for both skins is around 1000 dollars.

What is the cheapest Fade Skin?

The cheapest fade skin is the R8 Revolver Fade in the Worn conditionThis is around 5 dollars. The cheapest Fade knife is the Gut Knife, which you can buy from around 200 dollars.

The different fade knives and what to look out for

The Fade Skin is available for every knife in Counter Strike. Fade knives can only have a float value between 0 and 0.08, which means that fade knives always have the condition brand new or minimal signs of use.

Therefore, in addition to the percentage of the fade, it is also important to pay attention to the float. It is not only important that the float is particularly good, but also where the scratches are placed on the blade.

With the Karambit Fade, for example, it is important that the scratches are not on the edge and therefore not on the edges of the knife. This means that a skin with a poorer float but no scratches on the edges can sometimes be more expensive than a Karambit Fade with a better float but poorly positioned scratches.

It is therefore important to always look at the knife yourself in order to be able to evaluate it.

For the sake of completeness, we have listed all the fade knives available in Counter Strike here:

• Butterfly Knife Fade (Butterfly Knife)
• Karambit Fade (Karambit)
• M9 Bayonet Fade (M9 bayonet)
• Skeleton Knife Fade (Skeleton Knife)
• Talon Knife Fade (Talon knife)
• Nomad Knife Fade (Nomad Knife)
• Bayonet Fade (Bayonet)
• Stiletto Knife Fade (Stiletto)
• Flip Knife Fade (folding knife)
• Classic Knife Fade (Classic Knife)
• Ursus Knife Fade (Ursus knife)
• Paracord Knife Fade (parachute knife)
• Huntsman Knife Fade (hunting knife)
• Bowie Knife Fade (Bowie knife)
• Survival Knife Fade (Survival knife)
• Falchion Knife Fade (Falchion knife)
• Shadow Daggers Fade (Shadow Daggers)
• Navaja Knife Fade (Navaja knife)
• Gut Knife Fade (break open knife)

In addition to the general properties, some knives also have special properties that only apply to the specific type of knife. We will discuss these in more detail below.

Karambit Fade and Talon Fade special features

For the Karambit fade and Talon fade, an alternative font is sometimes used to indicate the percentage.

There are then three percentages or three numbers separated by slashes. These numbers indicate the percentage of a fade color on the given skin. The first number stands for pink, the second for purple and the third for gold.

An example to explain:

A Karambit Fade has the specification 70/29/1 or 70% 29% 1%. This means that this skin has 70% Pink, 29% Purple and 1% Gold. At the same time, this skin could also simply be described as Karambit 90% Fade using the "normal" spelling.

Sometimes there is no gold on Karambit Fades or Talon Fades, only two numbers are given, for example 30/70 (30% Pink, 70% Purple).

Both spellings are commonly used and it is important to understand both if you want to trade Karambit or Talon Fades.

Falchion Knife Fade Special features

We have already briefly touched on the special feature of the Falchion Knife Fade at the beginning of this article.

The Falchion Knife Fade can have a percentage of up to 110%. There is even more purple at the tip of the knife and you can even start to see the gold of the color gradient on the handle of the knife.

For which other weapons is there a fade skin?

Fade skins are not only available for knives, but also for a few other weapons in Counter Strike. Recently, the fade skin has even become available for gloves.

These skins work in exactly the same way as the knives and require no special explanation.

So here is a list of all Counter Strike weapons and gloves for which a fade skin is available:

• Glock-18 Fade
• AWP Fade
• Specialist Gloves Fade (specialist gloves)
• UMP-45 Fade
• MAC-10 Fade
• MP7 Fade
• R8 Revolver Fade

What should I pay particular attention to with fade skins?

Before buying or selling fade skins, it is important to pay attention to a few things.

Firstly, you should look at the fade percentage.

Secondly, you should look at the float of the skin, but also examine it yourself to determine the position of the scratches.

In contrast to many other skins, trading in fade skins requires expertise and experience in order to realistically assess the price.

If you're not sure about the rating, find out more or ask for help in forums such as Reddit, the Counter Strike community is large and there is always someone who can help you. 

But also remember that not everyone who wants to help you is always necessarily right and, of course, make sure that you don't get scammed.