In this guide I'll grade a particular pattern and assign it to a tier based on how black the blade is.

Tier 1 will be 85% and higher

Tier 2 will be 80% - 84.99%

Tier 3 will be 75% - 79.99%

Tier 4 will be 74.99% and lower

This will be done by boosting the contrast, removing the wear then using a colour summarizer to divide the pattern to calculate the percentage of black.

The colour summarizer will divide by 3 values: Black, Yellow and Alpha. The Alpha channel won't be included in the calculation and since the blade is the most important part, this is the selection I'll be focusing on.

Black: 57.48% - Yellow: 5.87% - Alpha: 36.65%
(57.48 ÷ 63.35) x 100 = 90.73%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.12211650609970


Black: 57.02% - Yellow: 6.76% - Alpha: 36.22%
(57.02 ÷ 63.78) x 100 = 89.40%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.25610008835793


Black: 56.52% - Yellow: 6.93% - Alpha: 36.56%
(56.52 ÷ 63.45) x 100 = 89.07%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.11160323023796


Black: 55.50% - Yellow: 8.13% - Alpha: 36.37%
(55.50 ÷ 63.63) x 100 = 87.22%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.24606207013130


Black: 54.52% - Yellow: 8.70% - Alpha: 36.78%
(54.52 ÷ 63.22) x 100 = 86.23%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.13670854270458

Black: 53.20% - Yellow: 10.20% - Alpha: 36.59%
(53.20 ÷ 63.4) x 100 = 83.91%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.14123654365540


Black: 52.80% - Yellow: 10.80% - Alpha: 36.41%
(52.80 ÷ 63.4) x 100 = 83.01%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.16196702420712


Black: 52.65% - Yellow: 10.94% - Alpha: 36.41%
(52.65 ÷ 63.59) x 100 = 82.76%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.18113994598389


Black: 52.81% - Yellow: 10.98% - Alpha: 36.20%
(52.81 ÷ 63.79) x 100 = 82.78%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.11993043869734


Black: 51.57% - Yellow: 12.02% - Alpha: 36.41%
(51.57 ÷ 63.59) x 100 = 81.09%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.06667246669531

Black: 50.46% - Yellow: 13.37% - Alpha: 36.17%
(50.46 ÷ 63.83) x 100 = 79.05%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.12129845470190


Black: 49.50% - Yellow: 14.02% - Alpha: 36.48%
(49.50 ÷ 63.52) x 100 = 77.92%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.19464446604252


Black: 49.52% - Yellow: 14.13% - Alpha: 36.35%
(49.52 ÷ 63.65) x 100 = 77.80%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.28063219785690


Black: 49.19% - Yellow: 14.24% - Alpha: 36.57%
(49.19 ÷ 63.43) x 100 = 77.55%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.06864447146654


Black: 49.09% - Yellow: 14.30% - Alpha: 36.61%
(49.09 ÷ 63.39) x 100 = 77.44%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.09359207004309

Black: 46.54% - Yellow: 17.33% - Alpha: 36.13%
(46.54 ÷ 63.87) x 100 = 72.86%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.12270319461823


Black: 45.43% - Yellow: 17.72% - Alpha: 36.85%
(45.43 ÷ 63.15) x 100 = 71.93%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.12150958180428


Black: 44.89% - Yellow: 18.76% - Alpha: 36.35%
(44.89 ÷ 63.65) x 100 = 70.52%
Lowest float for this pattern: 0.20127175748348

After being in the market for a Stiletto Black Gem I noticed pattern 980 consistently placed in tier 1, however I considered it mid tier at best. To test this theory was one of the main motivations behind this guide.

Generating these patterns with zero float would've been ideal but generators don't produce the same amount of pattern detail as the images used in this guide. Because of this I've edited out the wear as it added to the amount of Yellow on the blade but the pattern remains intact.

With any purchase, it's always best to do your own research. If you're looking to get one of these for yourself, hopefully this gives you a good foundation to better navigate the market.

This guide took many hours of trial, error and edits to produce the most fair and accurate results. If it helped you out then please consider giving it a thumbs up and thanks for checking out my guide 👍

05 Sep 24 - Pattern 374 & 573 added.
12 Sep 24 - Used image colour summarizer instead for more accurate results.