Opinion of Shiro Hation?

J

JBoone

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Never held a Shiro but I am thinking about the red carbon fiber hation in 390. Any current or former owners willing to chime in?

Also need to edit title to say opinions not options (forgot how to edit this!)

thanks
 
I don't have a Hation, but I do have one in about every other version they make. I will be getting two more when time and money allows.
I think you will love the smooth action and fit and finish of any one you pick up.
 
JBoone said:
Never held a Shiro but I am thinking about the red carbon fiber hation in 390. Any current or former owners willing to chime in?

Also need to edit title to say opinions not options (forgot how to edit this!)

thanks
Click to expand...
It's an excellent knife but I have reservations about it when compared to the larger offerings by Shiro. I had a Red Hation Zero that I sold.

Regarding the lockup, the one I've had and all the ones I've seen online have a later lockup when compared to larger shiros. This is compounded by the fact that the lockbar has an external "lip" outside of the steel insert, so if the lockbar engages past a certain point, the lip will contact the blade and lock-rock would result. That hasn't happened to mine and I haven't heard of it happening but it could happen and there's no reason to have that "lip".

The stainless steel lockbar insert is pressed-in rather than screwed-in like the larger shiros and custom division small shiros. A pressed lockbar insert means that if it needs to be changed you'd have to send it back to Russia through Recon1. At least with the screwed-in inserts, they may be able to send you a replacement. This is if you can get in contact with them and they agree to sending it without you having to ship them the knife. So far, my experience with shiro customer service in Russia is not favorable. I don't know how important CS is in Russia but their response times are not good. Sako at Recon1, their primary US dealer, has been great to deal with however Recon1 doesn't have any spare parts or do any work on the knives, they just facilitate sending the knives back to Russia.

Another lockup issue is engagement. When I grip the knife firmly or when I push on the lockbar with my larger shiros, the lockbar doesn't move inwards and is rock solid at 10-20%. With my Hation Zero, the lockup is at ~30% and if I apply pressure the lockbar scoots inwards and engages further up to 80%. That weirded me out.

The centering and lateral blade play can be iffy. This was on mine, others may be perfect. If I wanted the blade to be dead center there would be lateral blade play while the blade is closed. If I tighten the screws the blade favors the lock-side. Now, I've played with the screws and tried adjusting the scales and screws with different pressures on the blade following centering guides I've found online and nothing helped. I don't have that issue with larger shiros.

All of that may not matter to you. If you're nitpicky, as I am, and I would think that the majority of people looking for knives in the shiro price bracket are nitpicky, then I would recommend a larger shiro. Having said all that I love their knives so don't take this as me just "bash"ing the brand, I'm just trying to be objective as I'd love to see them continue to improve.
 
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