★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife | Blue Steel (Minimal Wear)

Skin overview

The skin is a blued steel patina on the Flip Knife, with no printed pattern, only tone and sheen. In Minimal Wear the blue-black colour stays dominant, with slight lightening that is hard to spot during play. It keeps the restrained, utilitarian character of the finish.

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.

Other qualities of this skin: Factory New, Field-Tested, Well-Worn and Battle-Scarred.

Appearance in Minimal Wear

The blade carries the cold-blued patina across its full length, from the acute curved point to the serrated section near the pivot. The colour is a dark blue-black with a faint metallic sheen, and the tone varies slightly over the surface instead of forming a printed pattern.

Slight lightening may appear near the edge and the tip. The flat of the blade still holds the full dark tone. At normal distance it is hard to tell from Factory New. The serrations and pivot area stay mostly clean.

Minimal Wear quality — float range 0.07–0.15

The whole float range of ★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife | Blue Steel is 0–1; Minimal Wear takes the 0.07–0.15 segment (8% of the scale). The lower the float within the range, the cleaner the surface looks and the higher a copy is usually priced.

Origin of the skin

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.

What it costs in each quality

Among 23 skins of the Flip Knife in the Covert grade and this quality, this skin ranks 12th by price, counting from the dearest.

StatTrak™ version

This is the StatTrak™ version: the counter on the weapon shows confirmed kills. There is also the regular version without the counter. Right now the StatTrak™ version is 25% dearer than the regular one.

What to check before buying

• Check where the float sits within the wear grade, since tone and mottling shift noticeably across the range.
• Look at the pattern placement, as some copies carry more even blue tone and others show more grey patches.
• Inspect the edge, tip and serrations, which lose their bluing first.
• Decide whether you want StatTrak™ and whether a name tag on a listed copy suits you.

Who the Minimal Wear quality suits

• Players who want a near-new look in game.
• Buyers seeking a balance between condition and cost.
• A sensible alternative to Factory New.