Knife
| Knife | |
|---|---|
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| Kill Icons | |
| Basic Information | |
| Used by: | Spy |
| Slot: | Melee |
| Availability: | Stock |
| Nameable: | Yes |
| Medieval: | Yes |
| Available Qualities | |
| Loadout Stats | |
 Knife |
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| “ | Let's settle this like gentlemen!
Click to listen
— The Spy
|
” |
The Knife, also known as a Butterfly Knife or balisong, is the default melee weapon for the Spy. It is a foldable butterfly knife with a handle clip and drop point blade.
Arguably the most recognisable and important weapon of the class, the Knife is responsible for the majority of kills made by efficient Spies. Should the player equip the weapon while within a 180° radius behind an enemy, an animation will play wherein the Spy holds the Knife aloft in a striking position. Attacking at that point will cause the player to backstab the enemy, killing them in one hit. Uniquely, critical hits do not occur randomly with the Knife, but they do during humiliation and when the player is boosted by the Kritzkrieg.
In any other instance, such as when used from the side or front, the Knife is the fifth weakest melee weapon in the game, behind the Axtinguisher, Gloves of Running Urgently, the Equalizer at 200 Health or more, and the Fan O'War. From this angle, each hit is roughly as weak as the Scout's Bat, but attacks at a slower rate. Players would therefore be well-advised to use the Knife primarily for its backstabbing feature.
Taunting with the Knife equipped makes the Spy perform a deadly Fencing maneuver.
Contents
Damage and function times
| Damage and function times | ||
|---|---|---|
| Damage | ||
| Base damage | 100% | 40 |
| Point blank | 28-54 | |
| Backstab | 600% | |
| Critical | 120 | |
| Mini-crit | 54 | |
| Function times | ||
| Attack interval | 0.8 | |
| Values are approximate and determined by community testing. | ||
Demonstration
Related Achievements
Soldier
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Sniper
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Spy
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Update history
- Fixed a case where a Spy stabbing from the front of a player would score a backstab.
- Fixed a couple of issues with the way critboosts affected this weapon.
- Fixed melee attacks not destroying remote detonation pipes (Stickybombs).
April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)
- Spies now speak their Domination or Revenge lines correctly when using the Knife or Conniver's Kunai.
- [Undocumented] Added new animation for all Spy melee weapons when moving away from a backstab position.
Bugs
- If a player raises the knife to stab and then switches their view to any world geometry, the knife will remain raised.
Trivia
- The original drawing animation for this weapon featured a much more elaborate spin with the knife. It was cut however, for being too long and complicated. Valve feared that this would draw the player's eye away from his target in a fight. This animation can, however, still be seen in the teaser trailer of Team Fortress 2 (from 1:33 to 1:35).
Gallery
RED first-person view.
RED first-person view, ready to Backstab.
BLU first-person view.
BLU first-person view, ready to Backstab.
See also
