What CS2 Cases Have Karambits?
Every case that can drop one, and the odds that actually apply
16 of the 42 cases in our database can drop a Karambit, all released between 2013 and 2016. They share one Rare Special Item pool — Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet — and the whole knife tier hits at 0.26% per opening.
The Karambit has never been spread across the catalogue the way people assume. It belongs to one specific knife pool, and Valve stopped using that pool after 2016, so every case that can drop one comes from a narrow window early in the game's history.
The list below is generated from our case database rather than typed out, so it reflects the current contents of every case we track.
All 16 cases with Karambits
| Case | Year | Knife pool |
|---|---|---|
| CS:GO Weapon Case | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| CS:GO Weapon Case 2 | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| eSports 2013 Case | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| eSports 2013 Winter Case | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Operation Bravo Case | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Winter Offensive Weapon Case | 2013 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| CS:GO Weapon Case 3 | 2014 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| eSports 2014 Summer Case | 2014 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Operation Phoenix Weapon Case | 2014 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Operation Vanguard Weapon Case | 2014 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Chroma 2 Case | 2015 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Chroma Case | 2015 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Revolver Case | 2015 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Chroma 3 Case | 2016 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Gamma 2 Case | 2016 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
| Gamma Case | 2016 | Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit, M9 Bayonet |
Every one of them carries the identical five-knife pool. That matters when you are choosing what to open: no case in this list gives you a better Karambit chance than any other, because the Rare Special Item odds and the pool composition are the same across all 16. The only variables are the case price and the weapon skins you get on the way.
The odds, stated honestly
The Rare Special Item tier — the gold, covering all knives in the case — is 0.26% per opening. That is the number Valve discloses, and it is the only one worth quoting.
What it is not:
- It is not the Karambit chance. The Karambit is one of five knives in the pool, and each knife exists in multiple finishes at different wear values. The odds of a specific Karambit finish are a small fraction of 0.26%.
- It does not improve as you open more. Each container is independent. Two hundred cases with nothing does not make the next one likelier.
- It is not affected by which of these cases you pick. The tier odds are standard across every standard weapon case.
Our case odds calculator will do the compounding for a given number of openings, and CS2 case odds: the real math walks through why expected value on case opening is negative in the long run.
Why newer cases don't have them
Valve rotates the knife pool with each generation of cases. After the 2016 run ended, later cases moved to other groups entirely — the Bowie/Butterfly/Falchion/Huntsman/Shadow Daggers set, the Nomad/Paracord/Skeleton/Survival set, the Navaja/Stiletto/Talon/Ursus set, and more recently the Kukri.
The practical consequence: Karambit cases are all discontinued, so their supply only shrinks. That is a pricing dynamic rather than an odds one — it makes the cases behave differently from active-drop cases, not the knives inside them.
If you actually want a Karambit
Opening cases for one is the most expensive route in expectation. The alternatives:
- Buy it directly. Compare listings across markets on our Karambit skins pages — you pay a known price instead of an unbounded one.
- Trade up. The October 2025 update changed what five Coverts can produce; see CS2 knife trade-ups.
- Check the pattern first. If you are after a Case Hardened Karambit specifically, the pattern index decides most of the value — our Karambit blue gem pages list the seeds.
And if you just want to see what opening them feels like without the cost, the case simulator runs on the same published odds.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many CS2 cases have Karambits?
- 16 of the 42 cases in our database can drop a Karambit. They all share the same Rare Special Item pool — Bayonet, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Karambit and M9 Bayonet — which is why they cluster in the 2013–2016 era.
- What are the odds of getting a Karambit?
- The Rare Special Item tier — every knife in the case, not just the Karambit — is 0.26% per opening. The Karambit is one of five knives in that pool, and each knife has multiple finishes, so the chance of a specific Karambit finish is far lower still.
- Which is the cheapest case with a Karambit?
- Case prices move constantly, so the answer changes week to week. Check the live prices on our cases database rather than trusting a static list — an old "cheapest case" ranking is one of the most reliably wrong things on the internet.
- Do any new CS2 cases drop Karambits?
- No. Every Karambit case dates from 2013–2016. Newer cases use different knife pools — the Shadow/Bowie/Butterfly/Falchion/Huntsman group, the Nomad/Paracord/Skeleton/Survival group, the Navaja/Stiletto/Talon/Ursus group, or the Kukri.
- Can you get a Karambit from a trade-up?
- Knife trade-ups exist in CS2 following the October 2025 update, which changed what five Covert skins can produce. See our CS2 knife trade-ups guide for how the contract actually resolves.