The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

I just received a blue quantum to go with my existing gray one! Also, I immediately flipped it open into a hard surface and broke the very, very fine end of the tip. It was so fine I feel like it would have broken at some point soon anyways (finer than my gray one even), and can be easily fixed. Also, the action on the blue one felt pretty gritty during closing initially, but after flipping it for a night, it smoothed out really well.

Anyways, it turns out to be a very interesting color in reality - In some light (sunlight) it is a very bright, rich blue, but in lower light, and at certain angles, it almost matches my gray one, just a little darker. The colors also shift based on the oil from your hand - where you touch it, you can almost see through the blue to the gray. I wonder if this means the anodization will wear off easy?

It is a little hard to capture in photos, but here are a few comparisons to the gray one. I'll post a sunlight photo when we have another sunny day for comparison.

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I have a blue quantum on the way! I put a deposit on a bronze one last week but saw they had a blue one available, R1 said I had to pay in full to exchange so I did.
 
Edgeoflife said:
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Hey all! looking for recommendations for aftermarket or custom scales for my F3 in carbon fiber or maybe some canvas micarta to jazz it up a little. Contacted Dept 13 which comes highly recommended and does nice work however I would prefer somewhere state side if possible. Haven't had much luck finding readily available Shiro scales and curious where to look or do I need to find a custom maker here on the forums? Love the F3 just feel like it deserves something a little nicer looking!
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I just bought an F3 exactly like this. Beautiful, but not sure I want to keep it... The handle is so fat in my hand. Wonder if the F95 would feel a lot slimmer and more like the Neon?

Hard to say anything bad about the F3 though. Just personal preference stuff!
 
bort2.0 said:
I just bought an F3 exactly like this. Beautiful, but not sure I want to keep it... The handle is so fat in my hand. Wonder if the F95 would feel a lot slimmer and more like the Neon?

Hard to say anything bad about the F3 though. Just personal preference stuff!
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The F95 is considerably slimmer feeling than the F3.
 
Thanks!

Only problem is ... Well, I already have the F3. Willing to deal with the sell/buy hassle, but I am lazy. :)

Question -- how easy/hard is it to find an F95 with maroon micarta scales, Elmax? I'd love it to match my Neon, but just be larger. (Sorry, new here... May be an obvious question to answer!)
 
You need to keep an eye on the classified section here and on the internet. There are a few sites devoted to selling Shiro's. Don't think we can mention them here.
 
Sure, I figured it would be like that. I think I know the places to look, but why can't they be mentioned here?
 
One more question...

Is the Shiro S30V a good blade option? I have Elmax on the two Shiros that I have now, which honestly, are the only two knives I own, haha.

Not trying to argue which steel is **best**, more like, is s30v okay or should I hold out for something better?

Thanks!
 
bort2.0 said:
I just bought an F3 exactly like this. Beautiful, but not sure I want to keep it... The handle is so fat in my hand. Wonder if the F95 would feel a lot slimmer and more like the Neon?
Hard to say anything bad about the F3 though. Just personal preference stuff!
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I have a Hati in s30v which is basically an F95 with a CF show scale. Definitely slimmer and lighter than the F3 and is another option although i see now you are looking for a match to your neon. i have no problems with s30v.
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edited to add some pics and since I hastily posted earlier without reading first lol.
 
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bort2.0 said:
Sure, I figured it would be like that. I think I know the places to look, but why can't they be mentioned here?
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Site rules are if their not a paying member they can't be mentioned in order to not step on members willing to spend the money. Shiro knows how to do heat treat so I wouldn't be worried with S30V. I've never had issues with any of their blades.
 
DireWoof said:
Anyways, it turns out to be a very interesting color in reality - In some light (sunlight) it is a very bright, rich blue, but in lower light, and at certain angles, it almost matches my gray one, just a little darker. The colors also shift based on the oil from your hand - where you touch it, you can almost see through the blue to the gray. I wonder if this means the anodization will wear off easy?

It is a little hard to capture in photos, but here are a few comparisons to the gray one. I'll post a sunlight photo when we have another sunny day for comparison.
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I have a blue ano'd F95R thats color exhibits the same varying appearance as your blue Quantum--nice pair of knives, BTW. :) I've never really pinned down the exact lighting circumstances that cause it to look more blue or gray, whether it's in light or shadow, sunlight or artificial, and sometimes I snap a pic that I expect the knife to look one way and it comes out looking another. I don't have much blue ano'd stuff and I'm unclear about what makes for the perceived variation--if it's Shiro's anodizing process, the specific Ti alloy, the material's underlying finish, or the angle of reflection.

These pics were shot outside last December within minutes of each other. The lack of shadow in the first--shot a few feet away from the second, but in the open--suggests it was likely an overcast day. The other, bluer-appearing pic, was definitely in the shade, taken on the bottom branches of somewhat full white pine.

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OK, not an edit here, as I'm still writing, but I just got out my F95R and NeOn UL, the latter unanodized but with the same sort of smooth, stonewashed finish as the blue 95. Holding them side-by-side here in my chair, if I turn them to directly reflect the adjacent lamplight, they appear almost identical in coloration, but turning them away the anodized knife appears much darker and bluer. Unlike a ZT Blackwash or Olamic Stealth finish--stonewashed after coating--I suspect that my F95R had a finish similar to my NeOn UL's to start and was subsequently anodized, so maybe it's all of the above. Still, as you say, a very interesting color in reality.
 
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Double post--BF seems to be messed again up this morning. Search functions aren't working either. :confused:
 
ChazzyP said:
I have a blue ano'd F95R thats color exhibits the same varying appearance as your blue Quantum--nice pair of knives, BTW. :) I've never really pinned down the exact lighting circumstances that cause it to look more blue or gray, whether it's in light or shadow, sunlight or artificial, and sometimes I snap a pic that I expect the knife to look one way and it comes out looking another. I don't have much blue ano'd stuff and I'm unclear about what makes for the perceived variation--if it's Shiro's anodizing process, the specific Ti alloy, the material's underlying finish, or the angle of reflection.

These pics were shot outside last December within minutes of each other. The lack of shadow in the first--shot a few feet away from the second, but in the open--suggests it was likely an overcast day. The other, bluer-appearing pic, was definitely in the shade, taken on the bottom branches of somewhat full white pine.

OK, not an edit here, as I'm still writing, but I just got out my F95R and NeOn UL, the latter unanodized but with the same sort of smooth, stonewashed finish as the blue 95. Holding them side-by-side here in my chair, if I turn them to directly reflect the adjacent lamplight, they appear almost identical in coloration, but turning them away the anodized knife appears much darker and bluer. Unlike a ZT Blackwash or Olamic Stealth finish--stonewashed after coating--I suspect that my F95R had a finish similar to my NeOn UL's to start and was subsequently anodized, so maybe it's all of the above. Still, as you say, a very interesting color in reality.
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Yeah, your photos do a much better job of demonstrating it than mine - and it is absolutely dependent on the angle that you are viewing the knife. A pretty cool effect, really.

On another note, I just got my 'bronze' F3 NS (and a small Strizh too!) in the mail today.. There is apparently a lot of variation on the CF colorations as well because my bronze barely has any in the scales - you can see in the photo as the Strizh has some bronze components to compare against. I'm actually OK with that as I was on the fence between bronze and plain CF anyways.

I do really love the F3 NS so far. The grip feels like a big camping fixed blade. It seems like a good compliment to the quantum as it is basically the same size, but just way thicker with a much less delicate blade. The quantum seems like a good EDC and the F3 NS more of hard(er) use knife. Everyone should have both!

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Well you certainly had a good day, D DireWoof . Nice pair of knives. I've got my older SRBS F3 in Python Micarta--my first Shiro and a keeper for sure--but am also very tempted by the NS. I love how the F3 feels so robust and hand-filling.

I'm a big fan of my small Strizh as well and love how it packs plenty of knife in such a compact and super light package. The Cheburkov Channel is a great place to show off your Strizh, and to check out or share pics and thoughts on Alex's work.
 
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