Learn how to craft and use the Bone Knife
Every survivor knows that when you need a blade, you find something to sharpen. The Bone Knife in 7 Days to Die is a primitive weapon made from a single bone (likely a Femur) sharpened to a crude point. Though this fragile shiv may not be as deadly as other weapon types, it makes up for its lack of power with stealth, speed, and the ability to leave bleeding wounds on opponents. It’s also useful for carving up animals for resources.
This guide will walk you through crafting a Bone Knife in 7 Days to Die and offer advice on utilizing it best.
How to craft a Bone Knife in 7 Days to Die
As expected, you’ll only need a moment of your time and a single resource to craft this simple weapon:
| Material | Quality 1 | Quality 2 | Quality 3 | Quality 4 | Quality 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Blades Crafting Skill | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
- Bones can be looted from trash piles and food containers or harvested from animal carcasses, zombified animals, and rotting remains.
- The Blades crafting skill can only be improved by finding and reading issues of the Knife Guy skill magazine.
Bone Knife Overview
Base Stats
| Property | Quality 1 | Quality 2 | Quality 3 | Quality 4 | Quality 5 | Quality 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee Damage | 5 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 7 | 7.5 |
| Power Attack Damage | 20.2 | 21.2 | 22.2 | 23.2 | 24.2 | 25.2 |
| Sneak Damage | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% | +400% |
| Block Damage | 4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 6 |
| Stamina Cost | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.3 |
| Attacks / Minute | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Max Durability | 250 | 300 | 350 | 400 | 450 | 500 |
| Mod Slots | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Mods
The Bone Knife accepts the following mods. Note that only one mod of any category may be attached at a time except accessory mods.
- Blade: Serrated Blade, Tempered Blade
- Accessory: Structural Brace, Wood Splitter, Bunker Buster, Grave Digger, Iron Breaker, Diamond Blade Tip
- Tech: The Hunter, Rad Remover
- Grip: Fortifying Grip, Ergonomic Grip
Tips and tricks for using the Bone Knife
As a member of the Blades weapon class, the Bone Knife scales in power with the player’s Agility attribute and the Deep Cuts perk. The attack speed of this weapon can also be increased by investing in the Whirlwind perk.
Bone Knives leave behind a bleeding wound from each hit that penetrates armor. Power attacks leave behind additional wounds dependent on what level of Deep Cuts you have reached. Bleeding wounds deal damage over time that ignores armor and can apply additional debuffs depending on your perks.
Additional levels of Deep Cuts allow more bleeding wounds to be stacked, increasing damage and further debilitating enemies.
Though capable of being used in open combat, the Bone Knife is better suited to hit-and-run tactics. Inflicting bleeding wounds and then retreating can weaken or kill enemies while you avoid taking hits. This is especially useful for ranged-focused characters or more vulnerable melee fighters.
The Bone Knife and Hunting Knife both utilize a precise stab for standard and power attacks. Standard attacks have a very short range and deal little damage but can be performed rapidly and cost minimal stamina. This can be used to quickly stack up bleed on a target. Power attacks deal much more damage and have a longer range. In fact, players will be able to see the blade of their weapon visibly extend toward their target when performing a power attack.
The Bone Knife excels at rapid and accurate strikes as a blade weapon. These attacks are only useful for striking one enemy at a time but are precise enough to make aiming for headshots and exploiting gaps in armor much easier. Knives are also useful for harvesting resources from rotting remains and animal carcasses.
Bone knives deal incredible amounts of damage to unaware enemies and can sometimes even kill enemies that haven’t spotted the player in a single hit. This damage can be further increased by investing in the Hidden Strikes perk.
The challenge is getting close enough to use the Bone Knife this way. Because of this, the Bone Knife is best used by players specializing in stealth. We recommend using a power attack for stealth kills, as it is a far more effective method of multiplying damage for a single strike.
Final thoughts on the Bone Knife
Though not the most overtly powerful weapon, The Fun Pimps designed this weapon to complement the agile, stealthy methods employed by agility-based characters. It might look like this knife will splinter at the first blow, but it can dish out a surprising amount of punishment before needing reinforcement. Besides, keeping a knife handy for survival is always smart.
Looking for some more pointers to help you survive 7D2D? Check out our 10 Tips for Getting Started or our in-depth Beginner’s Guide.
