Why does everyone like the knife? It seems awful

["Hard Tack" Tom]

Every match for the past few days, ill spectate the lobby after i die and i notice that around 70-80% of players always take the knife as thier melee weapon and the other 20% take the knuckle knife. i have never seen a single duster or a heavy knife. im usually 4 or 5 star so im not in the trenches either.

But what gets me is WHY take the knife? Ive looked at the stats and the regular knife is just a worse heavy knife if every way no?

The heavy knife is
1. cheaper
2. has the same stamina costs for both heavy and light even though both attacks do more damage
3. you can light attack grunts, saving 10 stamina per grunt
4. you can heavy, heavy, light armoreds, also saving 10 stamina

And knuckle knife is also just better! (its what i use)
It's heavy attack does less damage on paper but it still 1 shots hunters and it costs 7 less stamina, It kills armoreds in 50 stamina (opposed to 65 stam for heavy knife and 75 for knife) and it has added utility against immolators.

Overall knife just seems worse and more expensive to me. why does the vast majority of the player base take it? The only thing i can think of is i noticed everyone has the same "risen relic" skin, is the reason the knife so popular really because a free knife skin handed out awhile back?

[ice]

hk has a weird arc and a longer wind up and recovery, while its active attack frames have a weird window

["Hard Tack" Tom]

Hmm didnt think about that, it definitely does have more of a learning curve required

During a knife charge you usually have plenty of time to wind up so that seems moot, but i could definitely see the weird arc attack window makes people not like it too

[Mr. Figgles]

Used to only bring a knuckle knife, but started bringing a normal knife instead.

Knuckle knife is great until you need it for an enemy hunter. Too many times i'd go in for a last ditch stab, land it, and have it tanked despite hitting the torso. This just straight up doesn't happen with the normal knife.

But it also depends on the loadout.
Bayonet? Knuckles.
Centennial Trauma or other weapon with a blunt attachment? Normal knife.
Double 2 slots? Knuckle knife.

As for the hk, the upsides just simply don't warrant taking it over the normal knife imo, even if it is 10 dollars cheaper. Also, it may just be me not being used to the arc of the hk heavy attack, but I feel like the reach on the normal knifes stab is a bit farther than the hk swing. Might just be me being more used to the normal knife though.

[Darthjawa]

i gave up on other melee and just bring the throwing axe now

[The 3 Whites]

i think the normal knive has more reach. for grunts the heavy knive is better since a light attack is enough to kill. But for enemy players the normal knive is better.

the price really dosnt matter nobody is saying its 10 hunt dollars cheaper i take it.

[BlackWolf9988]

Knuckle knife is the best, there is a reason most high elo/streamers use it.

[Poor Devil]

Knuckle Knife only. Best Melee weapon for me. Only short hits on grunts. Not much noise. 4 short hits for Immolator. 5 for armoured. Heavy hits only for the poison thing (i forgot the name) and enemy hunters.
I don´t understand why hunters use heavy hits. To much noise and stamina.

[Der Guteste TTV]

High elo favors knuckle knife by a huge margin for a reason. Doing pve is horribly slow with normal knife due to high stamina cost. knuckle knife dispatches every AI quite comfortably (except dogs) and fast. hitbox is the same as normal knife so headstabs for pvp work the same. again, it is favored by high elo cuz it's great.

[Poor Devil]

Dogs are down with 2 short hits.With Knuckle knife of course.

[Kangaroo Salesman]

I've used the heavy knife exclusively for year i fine it's the best melee tool.