CS2 Fade Percentage and Marble Fade Patterns Explained

Fade percentage is a community rating, from 80% to 100%, of how much of a Fade skin’s color gradient is visible, and it is calculated from the skin’s pattern index. Marble Fade is a different finish in red, blue and yellow, and collectors give names such as Fire & Ice and Tricolor to its most sought-after layouts. Tiger Tooth is the odd one out: it looks practically the same whatever its pattern.

Fade, Marble Fade and Tiger Tooth at a glance

All three finishes appear on knives, and all three come only in Factory New and Minimal Wear on a knife. The item certificate in CS2 shows each one’s catalog number and finish style:

What Fade percentage means

Valve describes Fade as transparent paints airbrushed over a chrome base coat so that they blend into each other, and the item certificate lists its style as Anodized Airbrushed. The gradient runs from yellow through pink to purple and blue. Wherever it does not reach, gray chrome shows.

CS2 itself never displays a Fade percentage. The figure comes from the community, and the method most trading sites now share works like this: the pattern index (0 to 1000) sets the rotation of the gradient, the best possible rotation for a weapon counts as 100% and the worst as 80%. On most Fade skins the pattern index changes only this rotation, not the position of the texture, which is why one number can sum up the result. A higher percentage means less gray, and a 100% Fade shows color over the whole blade.

Not every site uses that method. Some estimate the percentage from screenshots, so the same knife can carry different percentages in different places. Compare Fades on one site rather than across several. Amber Fade and Acid Fade are separate finishes with their own names, even though percentages are sometimes quoted for them too.

How Fade looks on knives and guns

Fade is one of the original knife finishes, so every knife type has one, including the Karambit | Fade, Butterfly Knife | Fade and M9 Bayonet | Fade. On knives it only comes in Factory New and Minimal Wear, with a float range of 0.00 to 0.08.

The best pattern depends on the model, because the gradient sits on each weapon differently. Under the common calculation, pattern 763 is the only 100% Fade on most knives and guns, including the Butterfly Knife, M9 Bayonet and Glock-18, and pattern 412 is the 80% end. The Karambit, Talon Knife and AWP are reversed, with 412 at 100%, and the M4A1-S and MP7 have their own best patterns.

Seven guns have a Fade:

The Glock-18 and MAC-10 share the knives’ version of the finish, while the other five guns each have their own version with its own float range. Only the MP7 and R8 Revolver versions go beyond Minimal Wear: the MP7 reaches Field-Tested and the R8 Revolver Well-Worn. The Specialist Gloves | Fade, from the Clutch Case and Revolution Case, is the only glove with the finish. Fade calculators leave it out, because glove patterns do not follow the simple rotation those calculators rely on.

Marble Fade patterns

Marble Fade is a Chroma finish that arrived with the Chroma Case in January 2015. Valve describes it as black and silver metallic paint applied with a marbleizing medium and then candy coated in three colors, which on knives are red, blue and yellow. It exists on 18 knife types, from the Karambit | Marble Fade to the Shattered Web knives in the Fever Case, always in Factory New or Minimal Wear. There is also a glove version, the Specialist Gloves | Marble Fade from the Operation Broken Fang Case, Snakebite Case and Recoil Case.

The pattern index moves the three colors around the blade, and collectors name the results. These labels are the most widely used:

• Fire & Ice: red and blue only, with no yellow. It is the most sought-after Marble Fade pattern.
• Fake Fire & Ice (FFI): mostly red and blue, but with some yellow, usually near the tip.
• Tricolor: red, blue and yellow all clearly visible.
• Tip colors: other patterns are often described by the color at the tip, such as red tip, blue tip or yellow tip.

When a knife has no Fire & Ice label, a red tip usually counts for more than a blue one, and a yellow tip for the least. None of these names is official, and sites draw the lines between them differently, especially between Fire & Ice and FFI. Pattern databases list which numbers fall into each group for each knife, so check the number there rather than trusting a listing’s label.

Tiger Tooth: a finish without pattern variation

Tiger Tooth is another Chroma finish from the Chroma Case. Valve’s description calls it « anodized orange and hand-etched in a tiger stripe pattern ». It comes on the same 18 knife types as Marble Fade, for example the Bayonet | Tiger Tooth, with a float range of 0.00 to 0.08, and no gun or glove has it. The Specialist Gloves | Tiger Strike is a separate glove finish, not a Tiger Tooth.

The pattern index still shifts the stripe texture, but the stripes cover the blade evenly, so no pattern looks noticeably different from another. That makes Tiger Tooth the opposite of Fade and Marble Fade: two knives of the same type and exterior look alike, and buyers compare them on float rather than on pattern.

FAQ

What is a 100% Fade?

It is a Fade whose pattern index gives the best possible gradient position for that weapon, so the least gray chrome shows. Because sites calculate percentages differently, a knife sold as 100% on one site may be listed lower on another.

Does wear change the Fade percentage?

No. The percentage comes from the pattern index, which never changes. Wear only affects how scratched the finish looks.

Is Marble Fade the same as Fade?

No. Fade is an airbrushed gradient over chrome and one of the original knife finishes. Marble Fade is a Chroma finish with a marbled red, blue and yellow coat, and its patterns are named rather than given a percentage.

Does Tiger Tooth have rare patterns?

Not in any meaningful way. The stripes look the same on every pattern index, so buyers do not pay extra for particular numbers.