★ Bayonet | Stained (Factory New)

Skin overview

★ Bayonet | Stained is a Covert knife with a forced patina finish: a cool grey-blue blade covered in darker blotches and paler cloudy patches, with an olive-yellow tinted grip. In Factory New the stains read crisp and deep, and the contrast between the dark marks and the lighter steel is at its strongest. This is the grade for a buyer who wants the patina exactly as designed, with no scuffs over it.

Item type: knife. Covert is the top weapon rarity: usually the most prominent items of a collection or case.

Patina: an aged metal surface; wear is part of the design, so the gap between qualities is less visible.

How the skin looks in Factory New

The blade is grey-blue steel covered in an irregular patina of darker blue-grey blotches and pale cloudy patches, running from the tip down to the crossguard. The fuller along the spine stays dark and polished, contrasting with the stained flat of the blade. The crossguard is plain grey metal, while the ridged grip and pommel take an olive to mustard-yellow tint with darker staining in the grooves. The stain layout differs from copy to copy, so the balance of dark and light areas on the blade varies. On worn copies the cutting edge, tip, spine and the raised ridges of the grip lose their finish first.

The patina is intact across the blade, crossguard and grip. Stains have sharp boundaries and full depth of colour, and the grip keeps its even olive-yellow tint. In game the contrast between dark blotches and light steel is clearly readable at normal distance. Nothing on the knife shows scratches.

Factory New quality — float range 0–0.07

The float of ★ Bayonet | Stained ranges from 0 to 1; the Factory New quality covers 0–0.07 — 7% of this skin’s scale. The lower the float within the range, the cleaner the surface looks and the higher a copy is usually priced.

Where the skin comes from: collection and case

It drops as a rare special item from:

• CS:GO Weapon Case (on sale since Sep 20, 2013)
• CS:GO Weapon Case 2 (on sale since Sep 20, 2013)
• CS:GO Weapon Case 3 (on sale since Sep 20, 2013)
• Operation Bravo Case (on sale since Sep 20, 2013)
• Winter Offensive Weapon Case (on sale since Dec 18, 2013)
• eSports 2013 Case (on sale since Jul 9, 2014)

And 5 more — souvenir packages and other sources.

Price by quality

Compared with the Factory New quality, the others go like this:

• Minimal Wear — 2.1× cheaper
• Field-Tested — 2.2× cheaper
• Well-Worn — 2.4× cheaper
• Battle-Scarred — 2.4× cheaper

Based on the cheapest SkinOut.gg listing of each quality, otherwise on the market reference.

By price this skin is 16th of 23 skins Covert Bayonet in this quality (the first being the dearest).

StatTrak™ version

There is also a the StatTrak™ version: the counter on the weapon tracks kills. Right now it is 2.7× dearer than the regular one.

What to check before buying

• Check where the float sits within its wear grade, since a low float in the grade keeps the edge and tip noticeably cleaner.
• Look at the stain layout on both sides of the blade, as the placement of dark and light patches differs between copies.
• Inspect the cutting edge, tip and grip ridges, because these are the first places where the patina wears through.
• Note whether the knife is StatTrak™ and whether it carries a name tag, as both affect its appeal to different buyers.

Who should buy Factory New

• Collectors who want the patina with full contrast and no scratches.
• Players who inspect their knife often and notice small details.
• Conclusion: the choice for a flawless example of the finish.