How Knife/Glove Trade Ups Work in CS2: The Complete Guide

How Knife/Glove Trade Ups Work in CS2: The Complete Guide

Ganesh Jadhav

23 Oct, 2025, 18:35

|

Last updated: 23 Oct, 2025, 18:42

The October 22nd update has sent shockwaves across the Counter-Strike 2 community. The update introduces a new trade-up feature that allows players to exchange 5 Covert (Red) skins for a Knife or Melee (Gold).

But how do the new trade ups work? Let’s find out!

How to Trade Up for a Knife/Glove in CS2

To trade up your Coverts to a Knife or Glove:

  1. Under the Inventory tab, navigate to Trade Up.
  2. For a knife/glove trade-up, select the 5 Reds you want to use.
  3. Confirm the exchange by checking “Ready for Trade Up” and click Proceed.
  4. Once the exchange is complete, you will receive a Gold item.

 

The usual trade-up rules apply to this new functionality as well. Keep the following in mind before trading up:

  • The traded-up item will belong to the same collection as the Coverts.
  • If you use Coverts from five different collections, the probability of hitting one collection is 20%.
  • In cases where a collection features multiple knives/gloves and finishes, each knife/glove-finish combination is considered unique and has an equal chance. For example, if a collection has 30 knife/glove+finish combinations, each has a 1/30 (3.33%) chance.
  • For special finishes like Gamma Dopplers or Dopplers, additional probabilities apply for variants such as Black Pearl, etc.
  • Patterns for finishes like Case Hardened or Fade are randomized.
  • The exterior and wear rating (float) depend on the average wear rating of the five items unless the traded-up item is float-capped.
  • You can only use Coverts from collections that feature a Gold item — meaning collections like Genesis or Overpass cannot be used.

Given that each collection features multiple Knives or Gloves, the chances of hitting an extremely rare Knife or Glove with a low float remain very slim. This becomes even less likely if you use Coverts from multiple collections—meaning getting your desired Karambit is still a distant dream.


Follow Strafe Esports for the latest Counter Strike 2 news and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe's channel on YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Featured Image Credit: Anomaly // Valve

Read More:

CS2 Skin Market Drops $2 Billion After Latest Update

Counter-Strike 2 Update Brings Back Retakes and Introduces Knife-Glove Trade Ups

The MongolZ Bench Star Rifler Senzu in an Unexpected Roster Move

Latest news

100 Thieves Eliminate Team Falcons in Their First Match of BLAST Bounty Summer

100 Thieves Eliminate Team Falcons in Their First Match of BLAST Bounty Summer

100 Thieves pulled off one hell of an upset, knocking the reigning Major champions Falcons out of the BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 qualifier on Wednesday, closing out the round with a 2-1 series win nobody saw coming.
22 Jul
Thales Costa

Team Liquid Announces JT to Replace siuhy

Team Liquid has acquired South African talent Johnny "JT" Theodosiou to replace siuhy as their new in‑game leader. Here's more on the signing.
22 Jul
Adarsh J. Kumar

Esports World Cup 2026 Unveils Saudia Partnership and Custom-Branded Aircraft

The Esports Federation has named Saudia, the national air carrier of Saudi Arabia, as the official airline of the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC). Here's more.
21 Jul
Adarsh J. Kumar

Prophecy Fulfilled: CS2 Major Sticker Profits Just Fell x10

HLTV’s report on Cologne 2026 confirms what earlier Strafe analyses of CS2’s new sticker shop and revenue ladder suggested: Major sticker profits for some teams have dropped from around $600,000 to about $60,000, turning a former safety net into a fragile income line and pushing more clubs to question their place in Counter-Strike.
20 Jul
André Guaraldo

Tier 1 CS2 Returns: BLAST Bounty Closed Qualifier Match-Ups Revealed

Counter-Strike's summer break is officially over, as BLAST has revealed the opening bracket for the BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 Closed Qualifier, and the pairings are stacked with big names right out of the gate.
18 Jul
Thales Costa

Team Vitality CEO Neo: "For Us to be a Global Leader Means Being a Contender at EWC"

Team Vitality remains one of the most influential and well-known esports organizations to date. The Paris-based org fields over 20 esports teams in various esports, though their immensely impressive results in Counter-Strike take center stage.  Being one of the organizations present at Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, we managed to speak with Fabien "Neo" Devide, Co-Founder and CEO of the Hive, just after an interview with Mike McCabe, COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, at the opening press conference at EWC. Neo provided a ton of insight into the organization's participation at this year's edition of EWC in Paris. He expressed his desire for the org to perform to the highest standards, but also highlighted that rivalry is key to grow the ecosystem. Additionally, Neo gave strong opinions on the growth of mobile esports following last year's Vitality's takeover and merger with Indonesian side Bigetron, stressing the need for innovation and following ideas in the east, as much as the west.
15 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

Mike McCabe COO of EWC Foundation: "The Home Is Always Going to Be Riyadh"

The Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC) had its grand launch on July 8, commemorating the official start of the event with an opening press conference at the Hotel de Ville in the heart of Paris. With many speakers kicking off the event, like the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris, and others, taking center stage.  Following an opening ceremony with multiple speakers, media were given the opportunity to chat with representatives of the Esports World Cup Foundation, game publishers, or even reps of prolific esports organizations such as Team Vitality. We managed to speak with Mike McCabe, the COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
14 Jul
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski

Comments (0)

Log in to comment on this match