Glock-18 | Fade is one of the oldest skins in the game. It comes from the Assault Collection, it has no case, and the slide carries the same yellow to pink to purple gradient that Fade knives use. Nearly every copy is Factory New. So when two listings sit next to each other with the same name and the same wear and one costs a lot more, the reason is almost always the fade percentage.
What the percentage measures
Fade is a gradient. On the Glock the gradient runs along the slide: purple at one end, pink through the middle, yellow at the other end. The frame is plain black and takes no paint. Which part of the gradient lands on the slide, and how much of each color you get, depends on the pattern index, the number from 0 to 999 rolled when the item is created.
The fade percentage is a community measure of how much of the slide is covered by the purple and pink end of the gradient, as opposed to the yellow. It is not a Valve number. It is calculated from the seed by the same float checker sites that read floats, and it is printed next to the seed as a percentage.
A high percentage means more purple and pink, less yellow. A low percentage means the yellow pushes a long way up the slide. The number is a ranking within the possible seeds for this weapon, not a literal share of the surface.
Why it only compares copies of the same weapon
The Fade texture wraps onto every model differently. A Glock slide, a Karambit blade and an M9 Bayonet blade all sit on the gradient in their own way, so the same seed produces a different amount of purple on each one. The percentage scale is built per weapon, from the seed that shows the most yellow on that model to the seed that shows the least.
That means a high-percentage Glock and a high-percentage Karambit are both near the top of their own scales, but they are not the same amount of purple and they have nothing to do with each other in price. Never compare percentages across models. And never take a knife seed list and apply it to the pistol.
The float cap
Glock-18 | Fade has a maximum float of 0.08. Only two exteriors exist: Factory New from 0.00 to 0.07 and Minimal Wear in the sliver from 0.07 to 0.08.
In practice wear is not what separates two Glock Fades. Almost every copy is Factory New, and a 0.02 and a 0.06 look the same in a match. Very low floats, under 0.01, get a small premium for the number itself, and a Minimal Wear copy sells at a discount because it sits at the border with light scratches on the slide. Beyond that, the float is background. The percentage is the foreground.
Because it comes from a collection and not a case, there is no StatTrak version. Every copy is the plain one.
What a full fade means
Full fade is the top of the percentage scale. The purple and pink cover as much of the slide as the seeds allow, and the yellow is pushed back to a sliver at the far end. Only a small number of seeds get there, so full fade copies carry a clear premium over everything below them, and the gap grows fast in the last few percent.
Below full fade the market is a slope, not a cliff. A copy in the high range is a good Glock Fade at a moderate premium. A copy in the middle is a normal one at the base price. A copy at the low end shows a lot of yellow and sells under the base price, because most buyers want the purple.
| Range | What you see on the slide | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Full fade | Purple and pink almost to the end, a sliver of yellow | Clear premium, steep at the very top |
| High | Mostly purple and pink, a short yellow section | Moderate premium |
| Middle | An even split | Base price |
| Low | Yellow over much of the slide | Below base |
The word full is used loosely in listings. Some sellers call anything in the high range a full fade. Check the number.
What to check on a listing
- Get the inspect link and paste it into a float checker. You want the seed, the float and the fade percentage from the checker, not from the title.
- Open the render and look at the slide from the first person side. Confirm the purple reaches as far as the percentage suggests.
- Compare the price with other Glock Fades at a similar percentage. That is the only fair comparison.
- Read the float. Under 0.07 is Factory New. Under 0.01 is a small bonus.
- Ignore any sticker talk unless you want the stickers. On a Fade the slide is the point, and stickers cover it.
On a Glock Fade the wear is nearly always the same, so the seed is the whole price. Read the percentage before you read anything else.
On PrefireSkins every lot shows its exterior and, where known, its float from inspect data, and prices are in EUR. The percentage takes one paste into a checker. Do that and a listing that looked expensive or cheap will usually make sense.
