The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

Hi CPP - you are astute! Curiosity got the best of me last night and I had to disassemble the quantum. You are correct there are no dust protectors, what I was seeing as shown in your second pic was simply the bearing races that are exposed. As you pointed out the blade has material removed in this area creating a flush condition. I thought those silver races were an additional washer for dust protection but was incorrect. I do believe Shiro's theory that this design will aid in cleaning / keep gunk out of there. This only adds to my belief that this is an extremely well thought out and detailed knife design.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Got my Covid mask and am ready for work.

 

New Shirogorov owner here and the Quantum is my first one. It just arrived today. I need some help from the Shiro veterans. Well, with all new knives and especially with new knife brands, I go through some learning pains. And I do mean literally "pains", lol. The Quantum and me just got to know each other and it told me in no uncertain terms how it did NOT want to be flipped open. Several band-aids later but thankfully no ER visits I think I have a better feel. Seems like a quick, forceful and committed flipping motion is the most effective method as the detent is fairly stiff. I couldn't get cute with it like I do with my ZTs and gradually increase the pressure on the flipper tab to see where it breaks. Well, I could but there are consequences. Has anyone perfected their flipping motion to where you can consistently break the detent without having your finger slip off the flipper tab?

 

This is really crucial and why I think that Shirogorov bearings are much better at handling "dirt and grime" compared to other caged bearing designs. Taking a quick micrometer check, the bearings are 1.5mm diameter and the race on 2 of my knives are approx 1.41mm. There just isnt a lot of stuff that's less than a tenth of a millimeter that can get in and stop your knife from working

I should receive my quantum today, it has had a LONG journey. My custom quantum flips quite easily, and the actual flipping motion isn't any different than any other Shirogorov. However I have heard and experienced later NeOn Zero models with horribly stiff detents, something the workshop is aware of and said they have addressed. I hope the quantum doesn't suffer similar issues...

 

Hopefully your wounds are healing up! I don't find the flipping motion of the quantum much different than say an F95 or F3 - the flipper tab on the Quantum is a little bit different shaped however. Personally I have always used more of a light switch opening method on flippers so my finger basically moves parallel to the knife (down the handle) to actuate the flipper. I never found the push button style very enjoyable but that's just me. I haven't had any failed flips so far on the quantum but I will report back if I learn any "what not to do's."

 

Thanks @ChazzyP and @dburpasaurus. I think you nailed it. The Quantum definitely is highly sensitive to even the slightest pressure on the lockbar, much more so than ZTs. After flipping it many times and making sure my fingers were not on the lockbar it's running better now. I almost have it to the point where it will drop shut smoothly, but not quite there yet. I think it needed some break-in time as well.

 

Here you go . . . . .

 

Very nice Artt1!

 

Howdy Bear's Den! I recently became a zookeeper and now have two bears! The first (F95NL) absolutely blew my socks off. Zero lock stick, true free fall close, solid and comfortable in the hand. I thought I had some nice knives but nothing I have is like this knife! One thing led to another......... and I needed a Shiro to fill that smaller knife slot ya know? You all know. The NeOn Lite joined my collection.


The Neon came to me used, but in great condition with CoA. Tiny bit of marking on the back screw but really not bad at all. My question to other Neon Lite owners out there is two parts: Do you have a small amount of lock stick? Does yours fall shut freely?

I disassembled mine and cleaned it thoroughly and that helped a bit. The action is awesome on open (double click-clack) and is oh so smooth and consistent on the close. It can be shaken shut easily, it just doesn't jump towards your fingers like the F95 (I am comparing mine to the action in the first Shabazz video). Anyone have any tips?

 

Nice pair of bears! My neon is old and well worn. No lock stick at all and falls shut on it's own weight or with a slight wiggle once past the detente ball.

 

@ChazzyP @Mr.sig239 Thanks for the welcome and advice!

I think despite it's age, the NeOn has not been broken in!! After a couple days of flipping, it is showing less and less resistance. It did have some grease/dried lube in the bearings when I disassembled it. I use Tuf-Glide on my bearing knives, I like that it "dries" and tends to accumulate dust and debris a little slower. At the cost of a little smoothness I'd guess.

The 111 has caught my eye in every picture I have seen of it. It's gotta be the one with the fuller though Now that I've gone to the deep end, might as well swim down and see where it goes