Shirogorov's Warranty is void without COA

OilMan

OilMan

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Maybe some of you already knew this but I found out the hard way recently that Shirogorov will not warranty any Shiro that does not still have the COA (Certificate of Authenticity) and also won't re issue one for an authentic Shiro knife, which also means you can never get it fixed under warranty again. I would understand if it was found to be a clone or something but not even looking at it if you don't have the card means that they won't confirm or deny if it's authentic either. So.. you're left wondering 1)is it really real, and 2) do I now have a $600+ paperweight?
I am partially responsible though too because I didn't know this before buying the one in question second hand but I thought this would be interesting to new and current owners too.

Greg
 
Wow Greg! That sucks and I'm almost positive no other company does that. Benchmade, for example, will fix any BM without any documentation at all. Doesn't matter if you're the 4th owner.
I thought most companies would do this.
What's wrong with the knife, that you were looking to send it in??
Maybe one of the service providers here can fix the problem for you??
Hope you get it tightened up.
Joe
 
Wow, that's awful if true. Who told you this? More details please?

Also, did you contact Recon1, their US distributor, to talk to them and see if they can help?
 
Recon1 is the one who told me about it. Wanted to send him a second hand Shiro I had picked up that has detent issues but he said unless I can send him a pic of the COA first it was a total no go.

ps. Just found this on a Shirogorov forum:
Q: What if I don't have such a certificate? You will never repair my knife?
A: Don't worry, we will still repair your knife. It's just that it will by default be maintenance and not warranty service. Read the text of the warranty. It covers faults on our part (be it craftsmanship or materials). Chances are, if you received a Shirogorov knife with a shortcoming, you would have contacted us on the matter already. And if something would happen to the knife (e.g. blade play after it has been used as a prybar), it would not be covered by the newly introduced warranty anyway, as blade play in this particular case would be the result of negligent action on behalf of the user.

Q: I bought a Shirogorov knife from a 3rd party, can I get a Certificate of Authenticity?
A: Sorry, no. Certificates are only provided for knives which history (up to the point of the knife reaching the user's hands) we can track. We cannot guarantee that a knife bought from a 3rd party has not been tampered with, or that it is authentic

I wasn't given the first option from Recon1 though as I might have payed for the fix initially. I do find it odd though that they can't confirm if a knife is authentic, are the clones really that good?
 
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Not to bash a company, but for the price you pay for a Shiro........this smells really bad to me.
What I get from the Q&A is if you don't send the knife in immediately after receiving it, they won't help without a COA??? Is it impossible for a problem to arise after a couple months?? Without abuse??
Seems like a pretty shitty way to handle warranty issues. Looks like they are looking for reasons not to perform warranty work.
Also, I find it almost impossible to believe they can't tell the clone from the original......looks like another excuse not to perform warranty work.
Not cool.
Joe
 
Shirogorov announced this a while back, it's basically a shady way to force you to only purchase the knives from Recon1, their exclusive US dealer. Shirogorov has a history of predatory tactics in the US market, so I'm not surprised.
 
OilMan said:
Maybe some of you already knew this but I found out the hard way recently that Shirogorov will not warranty any Shiro that does not still have the COA (Certificate of Authenticity) and also won't re issue one for an authentic Shiro knife, which also means you can never get it fixed under warranty again. I would understand if it was found to be a clone or something but not even looking at it if you don't have the card means that they won't confirm or deny if it's authentic either. So.. you're left wondering 1)is it really real, and 2) do I now have a $600+ paperweight?
I am partially responsible though too because I didn't know this before buying the one in question second hand but I thought this would be interesting to new and current owners too.

Greg
Click to expand...

^ Thanks- I appreciate the head's up, Greg! :thumbsup: I had no idea that this was the case. I now consider myself very fortunate, that a couple of the user Shirogorov's I purchased, came with their corresponding COA paper.

Could you imagine if Chris Reeve Knives, or Zero Tolerance (to name a couple), subscribed to this type of business model? Considering the cost of their very pricey knives; Recon1/Shirogorov, might want to re-think this.
 
Also saw where someone asked if there was an authorized dealer in Europe for them, here is Shiro's reply:
  • I'm afraid that we have none at the moment. Recon1 does ship international though (payment must be made via PP friends&family or bank wire transfer).

PP Friends and family only? (besides the wire transfer) No more Shiros for me..
 
Hm. Very frustrating, and a solid argument against buying a Shirogorov. They're stellar knives, but there are lots of stellar knives out there, particularly for the prices they command on the US market, and the other options, by-and-large, have makers who seem eager to stand behind the product. For a $600 production piece, they best not jerk the end user around on *anything*. These sorts of anti-secondary-market provisions are deeply ugly. Rockstead has a similar warranty problem, but even more brutal: The warranty is void for anybody but the first owner who purchased from an AD, unconditionally, with no amount of documentation allowed to redeem it. Considering that the gap between a $300 and $700-1000 production knife is shrinking every day, makers playing these games are really toying with fire.

I hope Shirogorov reconsiders this warranty policy, and while they're at it, maybe starts distributing through more channels, as these sorts of exclusive distributorships/servicers tend not be to the end user's benefit.
 
You gotta be kidding me!
Ok, so let's pay $900 for a $500 knife, pay FF and give up any recourse??
No, no and no.
First time I've seen a dealer demand FF.
Damn.


OilMan said:
Also saw where someone asked if there was an authorized dealer in Europe for them, here is Shiro's reply:
  • I'm afraid that we have none at the moment. Recon1 does ship international though (payment must be made via PP friends&family or bank wire transfer).

PP Friends and family only? (besides the wire transfer) No more Shiros for me..
Click to expand...
 
To be fair, when I bought a Shiro from R1 at Blade, I paid G&S and not a word was said otherwise. Perhaps they're just trying to limit their exposure during international sales? Still, PayPal probably doesn't love that.
 
NickShabazz said:
To be fair, when I bought a Shiro from R1 at Blade, I paid G&S and not a word was said otherwise. Perhaps they're just trying to limit their exposure during international sales? Still, PayPal probably doesn't love that.
Click to expand...

I did as well G&S but I'm in the US so the FF is likely for international as the postage is not guaranteed when going overseas.

First I am hearing of this policy though. I had contacted Shiro directly and they never mentioned this although I did not send them anything.
 
For what it’s worth, I knew that I would have to pay for my knife to be worked on since I wanted a spa treatment on a knife provided before the certificates were even issued.

I met Sergey himself today in person at a knife gathering and handed over my knife. The lockbar insert was worn to the point where there was some vertical blade play and he said that getting a new set of screws (which were getting mangled), fixing the lockbar insert, and re-finishing the stonewash blade would all be free. My blade did have custom mirror flats that are hand-done which he said would cost money to repair.

I recommend you contact their foreign rep Tom at tom@shirogorov.com. He will set you straight. The only issue is shipping your knife back yo russia which I’ve heard can be a real pain. It’s why I’ve decided to meet him personally to hand over my knives.
 
palonej said:
Not to bash a company, but for the price you pay for a Shiro........this smells really bad to me.
What I get from the Q&A is if you don't send the knife in immediately after receiving it, they won't help without a COA??? Is it impossible for a problem to arise after a couple months?? Without abuse??
Seems like a pretty shitty way to handle warranty issues. Looks like they are looking for reasons not to perform warranty work.
Also, I find it almost impossible to believe they can't tell the clone from the original......looks like another excuse not to perform warranty work.
Not cool.
Joe
Click to expand...
Ive been wanting a shiro.....now not so much. Its really easy to mis place a COA; eapecially if you plan on keeping it. I say that because if i fall in love with a knife i will get lax with the content that came with it because during the honey moon phase you swear that knife will be in your pocket forever:cool:
 
The F3 I bought recently from Recon 1 came with a little credit card thing.

My other ones bought from a Russian dealer have a little slip of paper with some Russian on it. Wonder if the slip of paper counts as a COA or if only the Recon 1 card.
 
I'm wondering if maybe there isn't a misunderstanding here. I just contacted Tom a couple weeks ago about a Custom Division knife that I was thinking about buying. The knife did not have the box or COA. There was absolutely no mention of the warranty being void, only that I would have to ship the knife to Russia on my own. I ended up not buying the knife because it was priced a little too high, but if it had not been for that I would have bought it.
I have a hard time believing that they wouldn't stand behind their knives, especially if someone shipped it to them. I've been wrong before though.
 
Thanks Greg >>>> thread like this make GB&U INVALUABLE!!!

So, I'm assuming Shiro sends your COA back with the knife if warranty service is performed as per their policy, right? That is assuming, the customer had the COA to begin with....
 
From the vendors perspective I'd imagine shirogorovs have got to be popular with scammers and modifications etc.

Tom is probably not associated with recon 1 so we have some mix up between the two.

I don't agree with the policies but it could be due to issues they have ran into.
 
Understood, and it makes sense, but there HAS to be a better way. You cannot punish the honest for the actions of the dishonest.
After reading something like this would stop many from purchasing one........I'll include myself.
Joe


Mo2 said:
From the vendors perspective I'd imagine shirogorovs have got to be popular with scammers and modifications etc.

Tom is probably not associated with recon 1 so we have some mix up between the two.

I don't agree with the policies but it could be due to issues they have ran into.
Click to expand...
 
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