What Makes a Good Karambit Blue Steel?
Unlike Case Hardened patterns where blue coverage dictates value, Blue Steel is judged on float and corner condition. Lower float values produce a cleaner, more uniform metallic finish with less of the dark 'smudge' that appears on high-float copies. The playside corner near the blade tip is the first to show wear — a clean corner on a Minimal Wear or Field-Tested knife can command a premium over a beat-up Factory New.
Collectors also hunt for the 'green thumb' variant — an unintended patina anomaly where the thumb-side of the blade shows a faint emerald tint. These carry a 10–15% premium in private trades. On CSBoard, you can inspect every listed knife via Steam's inspect link before committing to a P2P trade.