Guide to Crafting Knives and Gloves from Covert (Red) Skins in CS2
The news about introducing revolutionary mechanics in CS2, allowing players to exchange five red skins for a knife or gloves, was heard literally everywhere. This change turned the skin market upside down, making it possible to obtain “gold” items without opening cases, but adding new risks and costs. The main question that interests many users is: which skins should you buy to get the desired knife or glove model? In this article, you’ll find all the answers, and we wish you good luck in advance with your crafts, because it’s always a risk of ending up with a big loss!
Impact on the Market and Craft Profitability
The update caused chaos: prices for Covert skins skyrocketed as they became “fuel” for crafting, while knives and gloves initially dropped significantly. However, after the initial market crash, things stabilized: red items, knives, and gloves increased in price, the total skin capitalization broke through $5 billion and approached August 2025 levels. Most importantly, investors didn’t leave and no “collapse” occurred, as we initially predicted.
To understand this, you only needed to find the answer to one question: “is crafting profitable?” As you’ve already figured out, in most cases it’s not, and it’s the same lottery with a far from highest ROI (return on investment). The cost of five Covert skins starts at $200 (for “glove collections”), while crafting a more or less popular knife model starts at $500. The percentage of the “trade-up contract” cost often exceeds the average price of the result ($300-800), due to the low chances of rare finishes like Fade or Sapphire. If you’re lucky and get, for example, a Doppler, the profit can be truly significant.
How the Crafting Process Works: Key Aspects and Tips
- Collecting Skins: You need five Covert skins from one collection (a set of skins from a specific case) to increase the chance of getting a specific gold item. Mixing collections will lead to a significant decrease in the percentage of getting the desired knife or gloves.
- Pool and Chances:One collection: For knives – 13-24 finishes (chance for a specific one ~4-8%). For gloves – ~24 options (6 types with 4 finishes each). Mixed pool: depends on the ratio of skins, for example 3 from knife collection and 2 from glove collection = 60% chance for knife and 40% for gloves. When mixing collections, the chance of getting the needed gold item in the desired finish (color scheme) is incredibly low.
- StatTrak: All five skins must either all have StatTrak or all be without it. StatTrak items can only be used for crafting knives (gloves don’t support it). Therefore, prices for red StatTrak skins from glove cases are currently the lowest.
- Float (wear): Calculated as the arithmetic mean of the input skins’ float values. However, you can get lucky and even from Battle-Scarred inputs, you might get a skin like “Tiger Tooth,” which doesn’t exist below “Minimal Wear” quality.
- Finish and Pattern: Random from the entire pool and don’t depend on the skins used.
- Restrictions: It’s better not to use items with stickers (especially expensive ones), as they will simply disappear. The obtained item cannot be traded/sold immediately – minimum 7 days from the moment of crafting.
Which Knives Come from Which Collections
- ★ Butterfly Knife
Covert Examples: M4A1-S Cyrex, P90 Asiimov, AK-47 Bloodsport, USP-S Neo-Noir, P250 See Ya Later, AK-47 The Empress, AK-47 Nightwish, MP9 Starlight Protector, Desert Eagle Ocean Drive, AK-47 Leet Museo.
- ★ Karambit
Covert Examples: AWP Lightning Strike, SSG 08 Blood in the Water, CZ75-Auto Victoria, P90 Death by Kitty, M4A4 X-Ray, M4A4 Bullet Rain, AK-47 Jaguar, AK-47 Fire Serpent, Desert Eagle Golden Koi, AUG Chameleon, AWP Asiimov, P2000 Fire Elemental, AK-47 Wasteland Rebel, M4A4 Royal Paladin, M4A4 Asiimov, M4A1-S Hyper Beast, M4A1-S Chantico’s Fire, PP-Bizon Judgement of Anubis, Galil AR Chatterbox, AWP Man-o’-war, AK-47 Neon Revolution, FAMAS Roll Cage, Glock-18 Wasteland Rebel, M4A1-S Mecha Industries.
- ★ Falchion Knife
Covert Examples: AK-47 Nightwish, MP9 Starlight Protector, Desert Eagle Ocean Drive, AK-47 Leet Museo, P250 See Ya Later, AK-47 The Empress, AK-47 Bloodsport, USP-S Neo-Noir, AWP Hyper Beast, AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge.
- ★ Kukri
Covert Examples: AWP Chrome Cannon, AK-47 Inheritance, Glock-18 Gold Toof, M4A1-S Vaporwave.
- ★ Classic Knife
Covert Examples: FAMAS Commemoration, AWP Wildfire.
- ★ Bowie Knife
Covert Examples: M4A4 The Battlestar, AK-47 Fuel Injector.
- ★ Push Dagger
Covert Examples: M4A1-S Golden Coil, USP-S Kill Confirmed.
- ★ Stiletto / Navaja / Talon / Ursus
Covert Examples: Glock-18 Bullet Queen, M4A1-S Player Two, Five-SeveN Angry Mob, M4A4 The Emperor, AWP Neo-Noir, AK-47 Asiimov, Desert Eagle Code Red, AK-47 Neon Rider.
- ★ Paracord / Survival / Nomad / Skeleton
Covert Examples: MAC-10 Stalker, AWP Containment Breach, AK-47 Legion of Anubis, Desert Eagle Printstream, FAMAS Bad Trip, AWP Printstream.
Which Gloves Come from Which Cases
- Series 1
Cases: Glove Case, Operation Hydra Case.
Covert skin examples: SSG 08 Dragonfire, M4A4 Buzz Kill, Five-SeveN Hyper Beast, AWP Oni Taiji.
- Series 2
Cases: Clutch Case, Revolution Case.
Covert skin examples: AK-47 Head Shot, M4A4 Temukau, MP7 Bloodsport, M4A4 Neo-Noir.
- Series 3
Cases: Operation Broken Fang, Recoil, Snakebite.
Covert skin examples: Glock-18 Neo-Noir, M4A1-S Printstream, AWP Chromatic Aberration, USP-S Printstream, USP-S The Traitor, M4A4 In Living Color.
Conclusion and Findings
Even now, crafting knives doesn’t look like the most profitable venture, and Covert skins that allow you to “hit the jackpot” are becoming fewer and fewer with each passing day. This means they will become more expensive, and along with them, the cost of crafts will increase. The biggest problem when crafting knives is the number of possible drop variants and essentially the complete absence of “filler” skins. It’s precisely the fillers that allow you to slightly reduce the chances of getting the desired items while significantly reducing the cost of the craft.
Right now, for $500 you can buy a decent knife and even put together an excellent combination of knives and gloves that will look cooler than a single, even fairly nice knife. Therefore, it’s better to spend that money on buying items rather than chasing the phantom “return on investment.” From a profitability standpoint – even opening cases for the same amount will potentially return more of the spent funds than crafting a gold item (especially considering the increased skin prices).
Author: Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
