Knife

The Knife is a melee weapon featured in every Resident Evil games except Survivor and Dead Aim. It is a weapon players want to resort to using when they have no ammunition left. However, skilled players can find this weapon as an effective tool for conserving ammo.

From the early releases of Resident Evil, the Knife is a standalone item and takes a space of the inventory slot and can be discarded in an Item Box. As Resident Evil 4 is released, the Knife instead becomes a part of the character's permanent equipment rather than being a standalone item and player only needs to hold down a button to draw the knife. Resident Evil 5 and Operation Raccoon City follows this mechanic but in Operation Raccoon City, it is part of the melee attacks instead of having the character draw the knife. In Resident Evil 6, the feature of holding down a button to draw the knife was discarded, however the Knife is still a permanent equipment. Most characters starts off with a Knife in their inventory.

Although the knife is weak against most enemies, some enemies receive a great deal of more damage from it.

Resident Evil 0
"A knife designed for self-defense."

The Knife that is used resembles a KA-BAR. While Billy starts off with a Knife, Rebecca needs to find it in cabin 102. The knife here is very weak and should only be used when zombies are down to conserve ammo.

The knife attacking animations for Rebecca and Billy are the same ones used by Jill and Chris from the Gamecube release of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil (1996)
"This doesn't seem to be enough for this mission."

Both Jill and Chris starts off with the COMBAT KNIFE in their inventory. Chris uses his knife with a normal stance while Jill carries hers upside down and swipes when she uses it.

The knife is the weakest weapon in the game and shouldn't be used to take on enemies directly. It best for the very beginning of the game when player start with nearly no ammunition. A little ways into the game the knife should be stored away in the item box.

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
The knife has been updated to work as it does in Resident Evil 4 (see below). It no longer takes up inventory space and but can be used at any time. The player can also stab the knife into a zombie's head by touching the screen when he/she is being grabbed, dealing damage instead of just pushing it away.

The game also features its own minigame where players use the knife in first-person perspective while in Rebirth Mode.

Rebecca in her alternate costume's knife will be reskinned into a pom-pom.

Resident Evil (2002)
Similar to the Original, both characters starts off with a knife in their inventory. Jill and Chris use different knives however they are both displayed as "Survival knife".

Jill uses smaller knife than Chris. When Jill uses her knife, she swing vertically when aiming leveled, a horizontal swing when aiming up, and a leaning in stab when aiming downward.

"A mid-size lightweight survival knife. Jill's personal protection knife used for close encounters."

Chris uses his own knife from his days in the Air-Force. It is noticeably bigger than Jill's and does more damage. When Chris uses his knife, he swing outward when aimed leveled, swing inward when aimed up, and uses the same step in and stab when aimed down.

"Carbon-reinforced alloy blade with serrated edges. Chris has been using it since his days in the Air Force."

While not used like the Survival knife, both characters have access to Daggers which are defense items.

Resident Evil 2
"A combat knife. It could come in handy..."

Called just Knife. Leon and Claire both start with one in their inventories. It retains its properties from the original Resident Evil but is now even weaker. Leon and Claire only use stabs when he fights with the knife.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
"Dagger knife for self-defense."

Unlike most of the games, the player doesn't start with it, and can be found in any Item box, as the first one is located in the first floor of the Warehouse. This weapon will be the weakest of all, but it's good to deal with knocked down enemies, such as zombies or zombie dogs. Carlos can also find this weapon in an item box. Nicholai will sport this weapon, along a Handgun in the Operation: Mad Jackal minigame. However, this weapon will be rather more useful than in the main game as it will give the player more TIME and POINTS for a foe's death. Killing every enemy, Nicholai will gain x8 of original time that can be gained by the using guns. Also, to gain this extra bonus time, player can just stab the last hit.

Resident Evil CODE: Veronica
"This weapon is a veteran survivor's first choice."

In Resident Evil Code: Veronica, the Combat Knife would see a boost to its efficiency. Properly timed swipes at enemy zombie's legs could result in causing the zombie to collapse to the ground, buying either Chris or Claire Redfield time to either use their firearm on a less mobile enemy, or continue to stab at them. Additionally, properly placed swipes of the knife could result in multiple strikes on an enemy in a single attack, allowing for the possibility of killing zombies before they can get back to their feet. It is interesting to note that the knife in this game is a S.T.A.R.S. knife (Probably Chris'). When you examine it closely (its easier in the HD version) you can see that STARS is written on the blade. Another Knife can be found when playing as Chris in the mansion where Claire is being held.

All characters use horizontal swings with the knife.

The knife is Wesker's only weapon (unless the player finds the magnum) in the Battle Game

Rodrigo Raval will only be equipped with this weapon in Survivor 2.

Outbreak series
A knife used in Resident Evil Outbreak and File #2 It can be used in close range battle. The weapon is used by uppercutting, stabbing, or slashing across but most of the enemies don't react well to the attack, and thus it is a very ineffective weapon that should only be used as a last resort against zombies. In Outbreak and its expansion, there are several types of Knives: Butcher's Knife, Pocket Folding Knife and a Combat Knife. The butcher's knife is a strong, dangerous knife used by Butchers. It can be found in several scenarios such Outbreak and Wild things..Although everyone can use it the only one who can make it effective is David,as an experienced player can use David's knife combo which will make it much more effective against monsters,especially the Zombies and also it is harder to do so but hitting birds and other flying enemies will be made easier with David, It is a weak weapon (unless in the hands of David). The butcher knife can be combined with the Long Pole with some tape provided by David King to create a Spear. The Folding knife can be also found in several scenarios and it's the weakest of all by only doing a damage of 40HP to foes. David always carries one on his Toolbox and if he (or other David character types) don't have a weapon, they'll use as a main weapon. This weapon is only useful against the Thanatos Enemy (any of its mutations) by dealing 5 times more damage to it. And as last, the Combat Knife found only in the Bellow Freezing Point and Desperate Times scenarios, It is the most powerful knife available to the player as it does 90HP of damage to any foe, and since it doesn't break (like a melee weapon) it is recommended to be used once it is found.

Resident Evil 4
In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy uses his knife quite frequently throughout the entire game. The knife is always present, does not take up any space in his inventory, and is mapped to a different button than Leon's currently equipped firearm. Through normal gameplay it is used against Los Ganados, as well as to break open boxes that may contain useful items (or snakes). The player can automatically use the knife by swinging the Wii remote, prepping it by holding the L button or holding down the L1 button. The knife is also used in major battles such as the El Gigante fights, the cutscene fight with Jack Krauser, and the final encounter with Osmund Saddler. After Ada Wong saves Leon from Krauser by shooting his (Krauser's) knife from his hand, Leon keeps it, and Krauser replaces it with an identical one. After finding Ada captured by Saddler, Leon uses Krauser's knife to cut Ada down.

Both Leon and Krauser use knives based on actual knives, albeit with slight modifications. Leon's knife is a Mercworx sniper, while Krauser's knife is based on a CQD Mark V Advanced Tactical Fighter (Also the knives have drawings near the grip on the blade. Leon's drawing resembles a Chinese dragon and Krauser's drawing resembles a snake). But whilst wearing his Mobster Costume, Leon uses a silver switchblade with some jewels set in it. This knife is a double edge stiletto. Leon, Krauser and Ada are the only characters to use a knife in The Main Game, and The Mercenaries. In the Mercenaries, Krauser wields his knife differently, he holds the grip with the blade facing the opposite direction. His knife attack also has wide range, giving him advantage of hitting enemies around him.

A player could hit projectiles away that were thrown at them with just a knife swing (arrows and scythes). This has to be done in a perfect timing. When fighting Krauser in his mutated form in both the main game and Separate Ways, the knife does a very large amount of damage to him. It only takes a handful of hits to defeat him.



Resident Evil 5
In Resident Evil 5, the knife retains most of its usefulness from the previous game. Several of the context sensitive "Help" animations depict the characters using their knives to rescue their partners from bad situations, such as being absorbed into Uroboros, impaled by a Licker β's tongue, or latched on to by Bui Kichwa. Sheva Alomar uses a small khukri, while her partner Chris Redfield wields a much larger MercWorx Goliath. Albert Wesker carries a TOPS Steel Eagle 107c (with a serrated edge) while Jill has a smaller knife greatly resembling the SOG Bowie which jabs quickly instead of slicing. Oddly, all the knives do the same amount of damage to enemies. Unlike Chris, Wesker, Jill, Excella, Barry, Rebecca and Josh, Sheva uses the knife in some of her various assassination techniques, Impale, Throat Slit, and Double Fang.

Compared to its RE4 counterpart, the knife does very little damage - it only deals 50 damage per strike, similar to an un-upgraded VZ61. The Majini's are also heavily armed with large kukri knives, and axes.

The award "Be The Knife," (Achievement for Xbox 360 and Trophy for PS3) can be earned by hitting away a Bowgun arrow with your knife.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
There is a basic Knife that is part of Jill's default load out that has to be equiped. It is otherwise used the same way as it was in RE5. Krauser's Knife has also become its own equipable item and is part of his default load out. Using either knife counts as a melee kill and will give players the +5 seconds bonus.

Krauser will swing his knife in the same manor as he did in RE4 and regardless of what load out equipped, he will still use his knife for certain melee attacks and during his taunt.

Also, while not an item, HUNK uses retractable blades as part of his melee attacks in this game.

Resident Evil Revelations
The knife is still always available to the player. The knife is a sub-weapon along with grenades. They are used by pressing the X button. Because the knife is not held out, it now auto aims up or down to hit enemies. However, the player can still use the knife in a desired direction by aiming the main weapon pressing X.

There a few different "knife" type sub-weapons used depending on which character and costume you play as.

Large Knife


In Campaign Mode, Jill uses this knife in Chapter 1 in the beach while Chris uses the knife in Chapter 2 during the search for Il Veltro's hideout. Parker also uses this knife during the Terragrigia incident. All characters except Jill uses the swinging motion while Jill stabs quickly at the enemy. In Raid Mode, Jill is equipped with this knife in her Costume 2 while Chris is equipped with this in his Costume 1. Parker uses this knife in both of his Costume 2 and 3. Jessica is equipped with this knife in her Costume 1 and 3. Morgan and Raymond also uses this type of knife.

Small Knife


A small knife is used by Jill that she stabs quickly with. The same small knife is used by Chris in his diving outfit but still performs the regular swing. In Raid Mode, Jill is equipped with this knife in her Costume 1 while Chris uses this knife in his Costume 2. Jessica is also equipped with this knife in her Costume 2 but unlike Jill, she uses the swing motion instead of JIll's stabbing motion. Both knives do the same amount of damage.

Parker's Axe


Parker in his Diving outfit uses an axe. It is stronger than the knives and is swung with force diagonally. In Raid Mode, he is equipped with his axe in his Costume 1.

Keith's Kukri


Keith uses a pair of kukris that can hit enemies twice with one button press. He swings them downward. He also uses them during his melee attack which is a knife combo. Keith also has the added benefit of doing 100% more knife damage in Raid Mode due to his "CC Mastery" skill.

Note: Evident from the damage displayed in Raid Mode, each hit of does the same amount of damage as the other knives. Because Keith is described to do "100% more" while in Raid mode, this could mean while in Campaign mode each kurki hit actually does half as much damage as the knives. (Making them total to the same amount of damage if both hits land.)

Resident Evil 6
The knife returns in Resident Evil 6 as Leon and Chris' default load-out in both of their campaign. Unlike Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, the player needs to equip the knife as opposed to holding a button to draw the knife. The knife however, will always stun enemies when aiming it on the enemy's head. The knife comes in two different variations, the Survival Knife and the Combat Knife.



The Survival Knife is exclusive to Leon in his campaign and inflicts less damage. It is only useful as a last resort when the player has ran out of ammo and should not be used when there are still bullets left unless the player is skilled. When using the Quick Shot with this weapon, Leon will lunge towards an enemy while swinging it, stunning an enemy and also taking away a bar of stamina. His evasive movement will also change when this weapon is equipped. He will still be able to fall and lie on his back and also perform a forward dive, but he will sidestep to either sides instead of diving.

The Combat Knife, exclusive to Chris is noticeably larger in comparison with the Survival Knife but still deals minimal damage. However, what sets them apart is the ability of the Quick Shot. While Leon swings the knife once, Chris' ability with this knife is that he is able to swing the knife twice in succession when using the Quick Shot, stunning an enemy who is hit. While he has similar evasive movement to Leon's, he does not fall and lie on his back but instead steps back and swings the knife twice in succession in an attempt to hit an enemy.

In the Mercenaries, Jake Muller is equipped with the Survival Knife in his alternate costume while Chris is equipped with the Combat Knife in his default costume as their default load-out.

Chronicles series
In Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, all playable character can use a knife. The knife only hits enemies up close.

The knife is usable in the same was in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Both Claire and Krauser's melee attack involves the knife. In Memories of a Lost City, Claire uses Chris' old custom made S.T.A.R.S. combat knife as seen in the first cutscene, her melee is a slash to the throat followed by a snap kick, and Krauser still using his signature knife, CQD Mark V Advanced Tactical Fighter,(seen in Resident Evil 4) his melee involves a spinning backhand fist, followed by a slash to the throat from the behind. Wesker also left his custom S.T.A.R.S. knife behind so that Chris would see it and be aware of Wesker's presence at the end of the Code Veronica scenario. He used it to engrave I won this game on a pillar.

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City
The knife has become a very powerful melee attack in Operation Raccoon City against zombies and Government Spec Ops troops. Claire seems to be using the same STARS knife in Operation Raccoon City that she was using in the Darkside Chronicles as the handle is exactly the same.

Resident Evil (film)
In the first Resident Evil movie, knives make a few appearances. During the event in the Laser Corridor, the laser proved its potency by swiftly passing through James Shade's Ka-Bar Extreme Fighting Knife, cutting it in half. In the DVD commentary Michelle Rodriguez, who portrayed Rain Ocampo, states that she had wanted to use her knife during filming but unfortunately, wasn't able to, though they did allow her to keep it.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse
In Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Alice fights an Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service member who's armed with a Lightning Bolt throwing knife. Alice kicks it out of his hand, spins in the air, Alice then catches it and uses it to stab the soldier in the face. After finishing off all the UBCF troops, one member got up to finish Alice off, but Carlos throws his knife at the member and saves Alice.

Resident Evil: Extinction
In Resident Evil: Extinction, Alice manages to get her hands on 2 Khukri knives after taking the weapons off her would-be killers. She then uses them to fight numerous Enhanced Zombies.

Resident Evil: Afterlife
In Resident Evil: Afterlife, Chris Redfield has a Cold Steel Latin Machete, which can be seen attached to the back of his jumpsuit. Alice's Kukri from the third movie is also seen along with bunch of other blades, and Axe that were manufactured by United Cutlery ( Undercover Karambit, Gil Hibben Generation 2 Pro Throwing Axe). Alice also manage to stab a Majini zombie in the mouth with a small sword.
 * For the specific knife for Chris, see Cold Steel Latin Machete.

Resident Evil: Degeneration
In Degeneration, only one scene has Leon using a knife, it's when a mutated Curtis Miller recognizes Angela Miller as a breeding tool to implant a G-embryo. Leon quickly run towards Angela as he throws his knife at Curtis' mutated eye.

Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game
The Combat Knife is one of the most basic weapons in the Resident Evil DBG. The knife is part of what the game refers to as "Basic Resources" and is present in all in-game scenarios. The knife does the weakest amount of damage in the base set unless it is in the hands of Jack Krauser, who's abilities allow him to not only gain knives at the beginning of the player's turn but also increase the damage of each knife he wields. The knife pile of the Resource Area has a special weapon at the bottom; the Survival Knife. This knife adds +5 damage to itself for every Knife type weapon the player uses.

These weapons, combined with Krauser's effects and the effect of the Action card "Deadly Aim" make for effective combinations.

Further notes

 * In the Resident Evil 5 prequel comics BSAA agents Mina Gere, and Holiday Sugarman are very skilled in knife combat.
 * In Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, on Hard mode, takes 14 hits to defeat zombies, 8 hits for the Cerberuses, 1 hit to defeat crows, 19 hits to defeat the Drain Deimos/Brain Sucker, 14 Hits to defeat Hunters (beta and gamma), 12 hits to defeat web spinners, The Graver Digger takes more than 80 hits to be defeated, Nemesis(first/second mutation except in the dead factory that he can be defeated with just around 40 hits, which might take about 4 minutes to do this with out taking any damage) around 90 hits but it takes up to 150 knife hits to defeat him in his final mutation.
 * In all of the series, the best character to equip with a knife is Cindy Lennox, due to her moderate hits rate, and her ability to avoid any attack making her a good choice for players who like to defeat games with blades.
 * Several enemies are weak against a blade, these are: Lickers (Outbreak onwards), Thanatos, Osmund Saddler (Separate ways/boss fight), Suspended, Giant Leech, Dorothy, Nyx, "G" (Outbreak#2), Giga Bite
 * The Combat knife found in the outbreak series (Below the Freezing Point and Desperate Times Scenarios), will take 90HP (considered good as it is a weapon with infinite uses) to foes. It seems to be a fair weapon if used with David and Cindy due their special abilities (David can do a 4 combo attack with the knife and Cindy can dodge any attack).
 * Any kind of knife (Foldable, Butcher and Combat) will cause 150% more damage to the Nyx and the Dorothy bosses.

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