Considering a Shirogorov

dilinger

dilinger

Gold Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
265
Hi there,
I'm a newb to upscale knives, and I'm considering a Shirogorov. What knife should I be looking at for hard use? I'm a cop, and I'll carry the knife daily. I like the look of the 95T, but you folks will know better what I should carry. Also, is 3 Bears worth the extra money? I appreciate any suggestions the hive has for me!
Thanks,
D
 
Wow, it’s rare to hear of a cop looking into high end knives. Really cool.

If you will be doing abusive tasks with the Shiro I think you will be disappointed as they are designed to be good cutters/slicers and a frame lock is probably not the best lock for abnormal knife tasks. Don’t get me wrong, they are excellent knives for normal knife tasks. I would get the Shiro for off duty carry, then get something like a Spyderco or Cold Steel for duty. This is only my opinion, others may differ.
 
Go for the 95T and don’t look back. It can handle hard use with ease. Unless you’re thinking of prying in which I would recommend the xm-24 Spanto.
 
Qbert_72 said:
Go for the 95T and don’t look back. It can handle hard use with ease. Unless you’re thinking of prying in which I would recommend the xm-24 Spanto.
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I have to agree with this. Any 95 series will work and do well, unless you are going to do some more abusive tasks, like prying. If that's the case, I'd sway towards a hinderer or a zt 0550 (discontinued).
 
Thanks for the reply, gents!! So, it looks like the 95 is my knife. What model, and who should I buy from?
 
recon1 used to be the only american distributor, but knifecenter also carries them, I would probably go to them

fwiw, if you want hard use EDC, have you considered a fixed blade? that would be your toughest option and with a horizontal belt sheath should be great to carry and the fastest most reliable option
 
Sounds like you want the knife, and that's usually a good enough reason for me.

But I doubt you'll get much value for your purposes, other than having a truly awesome knife. The blade is thin and pointy. My 111 has an edge thickness of 15 thousandths. That geometry makes for a great knife for ordinary tasks. I love a pointy point, but I'd be afraid to use it hard.

You'll be spending a ton of money for a knife that, at best, is only marginally more useful than a ZT, which will be far more rugged. If you break or damage the Shiro, you'll likely have to send it back to Russia; and that round trip will take months. If someone steals your knife or you lose it, the loss will hurt.

I'd recommend a ZT for practical reasons; but go ahead and get the Shiro if it speaks to you.

If you get the Shiro, I'd recommend the Vanax 37 (Vanax SuperClean), which is tougher (less likely to chip or break) than Elmax or M390.
 
Cop here. I prefer a Cold Steel or Emerson for work, Crk at home. I briefly owned a Shiro. It was nice, but I just wasn’t in love with it.

What exactly would you be using it for? Are you patrol or in another assignment?

Like others have said, for piercing or prying I’d be pretty sad if I broke a Shiro at work.

If you want the Shiro go for it!
 
Blues Bender said:
Get a Carothers. All performance, zero hype.
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As you know, Nathan has not made any folders yet but a CPK-Folder is on his "white board" (basically the upcoming concept and projects). FYI, Nathan had stated that his first foray into the folder world will be based on his FK2 pattern with the idea being a rugged and robust folding knife in his signature D3V HT. I know that Nathan really likes the simplicity of CRKs and is not a fan of gadgety front tab flippers. By the same token, he knows that he can really improve on the steel and the HT which CRK currently offer. However, he has said that he will probably think about an elegant and gentlemen type folder after his first folder which will be built like a tank.

For those who do not know:

CPK = Carothers Performance Knives not to be mistaken with CRK which stands for what you already know :)
 
Casinostocks said:
As you know, Nathan has not made any folders yet but a CPK-Folder is on his "white board" (basically the upcoming concept and projects). FYI, Nathan had stated that his first foray into the folder world will be based on his FK2 pattern with the idea being a rugged and robust folding knife in his signature D3V HT. I know that Nathan really likes the simplicity of CRKs and is not a fan of gadgety front tab flippers. By the same token, he knows that he can really improve on the steel and the HT which CRK currently offer. However, he has said that he will probably think about an elegant and gentlemen type folder after his first folder which will be built like a tank.

For those who do not know:

CPK = Carothers Performance Knives not to be mistaken with CRK which stands for what you already know :)
Click to expand...

I was referring to a fixed blade as the “hard use” knife the OP is looking for. He never said it had to be a folder.
 
Blues Bender said:
I was referring to a fixed blade as the “hard use” knife the OP is looking for. He never said it had to be a folder.
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True but since Shirogorov is synonymous with folders I took it as granted. Plus adding some info about upcoming Carothers is always a good thing ;)
 
dirc said:
recon1 used to be the only american distributor, but knifecenter also carries them, I would probably go to them

fwiw, if you want hard use EDC, have you considered a fixed blade? that would be your toughest option and with a horizontal belt sheath should be great to carry and the fastest most reliable option
Click to expand...
Horizontal belt sheath on a cop belt?

I'd recommend a small fixed blade like one of the many tdis from kbar.

Shiro wouldn't be my choice for a carry pocket knife, but to each their own.

Perhaps consider more inexpensive options.

Or buy what you want and use it! Report back with pictures.
 
Twindog said:
Sounds like you want the knife, and that's usually a good enough reason for me.

But I doubt you'll get much value for your purposes, other than having a truly awesome knife. The blade is thin and pointy. My 111 has an edge thickness of 15 thousandths. That geometry makes for a great knife for ordinary tasks. I love a pointy point, but I'd be afraid to use it hard.

You'll be spending a ton of money for a knife that, at best, is only marginally more useful than a ZT, which will be far more rugged. If you break or damage the Shiro, you'll likely have to send it back to Russia; and that round trip will take months. If someone steals your knife or you lose it, the loss will hurt.

I'd recommend a ZT for practical reasons; but go ahead and get the Shiro if it speaks to you.

If you get the Shiro, I'd recommend the Vanax 37 (Vanax SuperClean), which is tougher (less likely to chip or break) than Elmax or M390.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to wholeheartedly agree with all of this. I'd get a ZT for work and keep the Shiro for play.
 
My F95T in Vanax 37 is my daily carry. Took me a little while to get over the fear of putting the first scratch on an $800 knife. You'll have to come to terms with this if you carry it for any daily use.

But they are as good as it gets, for sure.
 
Addicted_to_Knives said:
... whoever is buying Shirogorov knife is contributing to Putin dictatorship, K....
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I honestly think this is a real stretch, he has multiple billion dollar oligarchs in his circle, and managed to get 50b+ from the olympics alone...
you might as well call shiros a tiny drop in an ocean, and a spurious link at best

it would be like boycotting babushka dolls to try to dry up his funds, cuz those are russian too

(please notice, no political mention here of bad/good/anything as is my intention)
 
Addicted_to_Knives said:
Not many Americans know this unfortunately and pay premium for this OK quality Russian crap with good M390 blades. All you do is indirectly contribute to Russia's politics and aggression...

Be a patriot buy American - ZT, Benchmade, Paragon, Microtech, Hogue, etc..
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I'm ignoring all the contributing to Putin stuff but "ok quality"? Man oh man there's nothing just okay about the quality of a Shiro. The quality is impeccable.

I was trying to figure out how they can machine G10 scales so precisely that there's a uniform lip between the G10 and Ti that measures in fractions of a mm all the way around the scales of my F3. Any semi-decent manufacturer can match the height of the G10 and Ti but to purposely machine the G10 a tiny bit smaller and have it that consistent? They may look simple but the attention to detail and levels of craftsmanship are ludicrous.

Getting back to the OP's question - I have a friend in New Zealand who uses his Shiros in a farming environment the same way I use a cheap beater or utility knife. Not abuse, just genuine hard work. He doesn't seem to have any issues at all.

Yeah it helps if you can maintain them yourself, and yeah, if you have a serious hassle, it'll need to go back to Russia, but these knives aren't weak wallflowers. They're as capable of hard work as any high quality knife plus there's a genuine sense of pride of ownership in them that I've never had from any other knife bar an heirloom Angus Arbuckle bowie.

I own five. I'm selling one because I have two in the same series but I'll use those funds to buy another Shiro. Hell I'm going to buy a sixth. I like them that much.
 
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