Bloodhound Gloves landed on November 28, 2016, with the Brothers In Arms update—the same drop that introduced CS:GO’s glove system alongside a full set of new hand wraps. Charcoal sits on the cooler, quieter end of the Bloodhound line: the name evokes burnt coke from a furnace, but the finish is classic black soft leather without loud graphics. Valve’s own blurb is straightforward—these gloves are hand-crafted from classic black soft leather, and the look leans on the Bloodhound silhouette and light–shadow on the hide rather than pattern noise.

Release date

November 28, 2016. Valve shipped gloves in Brothers In Arms, and Charcoal entered the pool with the Glove Case. Dates line up across the official blog and community skin databases. This is first-party Valve content, not a Workshop submission; public records credit Valve only, with no named individual designer on file.

Source case

Charcoal drops from the Glove Case, same generation as the other Bloodhound finishes. Rarity is Covert (Ancient)—top tier among gloves—so most people get it through unboxing or the secondary market, where price and RNG both bite.

Skin profile

• Item: Bloodhound Gloves
• Finish: Charcoal
• Category: Gloves
• Rarity: Covert (Ancient)
• Float: 0.06 – 0.80

The read is full-hand black leather: handmade texture, simple color blocks, no gimmicks. The flavor line fits the kit: “Challenge coins are great, but they won't make the other guy bleed when you hit him with your knuckles.” — Rescue Expert Carmen Cocinero. Tongue-in-cheek, but it matches Bloodhound as close-quarters gear.

What to look for

Float runs 0.06 to 0.80, so decide the vibe first—low wear for a crisp black, high wear if you want beat-up leather. Minimal and Field-Tested often show layering in the hide; well-worn pushes gray and shine on knuckles, knuckle ridges, and the wrist join, so the pair reads older overall. Always inspect in-game: rotate palm, back of hand, and cuff. On Charcoal, “pattern” is mostly base color plus leather shadow—your eyes beat a screenshot of the float number.

If you entry-frag and swap knife or rifle constantly, Charcoal’s black leather pops on stream without neon, and it plays nice with dark rifles and plain knives. It wins on all-black flexibility, not on being a flat default skin. Before you buy on a marketplace like C5GAME, match the wear tier to what you actually see in the inspect view—not just the listing label.