So you just picked up a sick knife skin and want to actually look at it properly? Here's everything you need to know.

The Basic Inspect Keybind

By default, you inspect any weapon — including knives — by pressing Z while holding it. This plays the skin's inspect animation, which is basically the "flex" built into the skin itself.

To inspect your knife specifically:

  1. Press 3 (or whichever key your knife is bound to) to equip it
  2. Press Z to trigger the inspect animation

That's genuinely it. Some knives have really short animations, others go all out — it depends on the skin.

Inspect in the Collection

You don't have to be in a match to check out your knife. You can preview it anytime from the main menu:

  1. Click Collection at the top of the home screen
  2. Go to Melee under the weapon categories
  3. Select your knife skin
  4. Hit the Inspect button on the right side

This lets you rotate it, zoom in, and see the full detail without being in a game. Way better than trying to check it mid-match.

Knife Variants and Levels

A lot of knife skins have multiple variants (different colors or finishes) and upgrade levels that unlock new VFX or animations. To switch between them: