Tiger Tooth (an_tiger_orange) is one of those knife finishes you spot instantly: saturated orange-gold bands over dark metal, built from multicolor electroplating plus hand etching rather than a lore-heavy skin line. On a butterfly or any large-bladed knife, the flat faces and curved edges turn the pattern into something that shifts with every inspect angle—more light show than sticker stack.

Release snapshot

The finish landed on 2017-03-15 with the “Take a trip to the Canals” update; community records tie it to the same era as Spectrum Case content. The promo art uses Butterfly Knife | Tiger Tooth. Valve owns the design—this isn’t a named workshop author skin.

Specs that matter for shopping

| Field | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Category | Knife |
| Finish | Tiger Tooth |
| Rarity | Legendary |
| Technique | Multicolor electroplating |
| Float | 0.00 – 0.08 |

That narrow float window is the whole game. You’re not hunting “battle-scarred character”; you’re choosing how long the stripes stay crisp before edges grey out and the plating looks tired.

Inspect checklist (C5GAME / Steam)

1. Stripe continuity — tiger bands should read clean across the blade, not broken or muddy.
2. Plating cleanliness — orange layers should feel bright, not smeared or dirty under neutral lighting.
3. High-wear contact points — tip, spine, and guard often show metal first; on Tiger Tooth that dulls the “sharp stripe” look fast.
4. Animation tax — on butterfly knives, the flip inspect exaggerates the flow; Factory New and low Minimal Wear usually keep the full effect.

Legendary tier means it can carry a primary knife slot without decals—the pattern is the flex.

Shop verdict

Worth it if you want a short, aggressive visual identity and you’re willing to pay for low float. Skip or downgrade float if you care about edge sharpness in the pattern—above ~0.04–0.05, grey creep and darkened borders show up quicker than on skins with wider wear ranges.

Compare the same knife model side by side on C5GAME and Steam Community Market; in-game inspect still beats screenshots for stripe honesty.

Expert muttering

I treat Tiger Tooth like buying a striped sports car paint job: you’re paying for contrast, not story. Because the band stops at 0.08, sellers love to list “MW” that’s already eating the tip—open inspect, pause on the blade flat, then check the flip. If the stripes still “run” when you move the camera, you’re in the good bucket. If the orange turns chalky at the corners, walk away unless the discount reflects a display knife, not a flex knife.

Rare as a tiger… lethal as one…