The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

ChazzyP said:
Steve W Steve W and Mr.sig239 Mr.sig239 , I'm up here in our VT woods with terrible signal and only 4 of my Shiro's with me, so it's a bit of a stretch for me to be of much help without access to all my knives, any boxes or paperwork, and little ability to research. None of my knives--all older models save for my F95R--have any serial numbers marked on them. Most of my knives pre-dated COAs, though the F95R has a White Russian 3 Bears cert, my NeOn has the black card from R1, and my RDD has the Black Russian card that comes with collaboration knives. The two cards with serial numbers match their knives' box ends and my RDD's 45 of 200 designation is on both the card and engraved inside the knife--not sure about the box as it's home.

Anyway, if Steve's card is all in English, then it came through R1--the North American dealer--and my assumption has been that those cards are filled out on this side of the pond as they only accompany knives sourced through that dealer (or through Knifecenter that gets their Shiros fromR1). If the F95NL in question has a serial number inscribed inside from the Workshop, then that's something that's begun recently. It would make sense for the numbers on the knife, box, and card to match, so I wonder if perhaps a number of cards were filled out here at the dealership and knives and cards got into the wrong boxes. Or...perhaps your seller had more than one NL and got them mixed up.

I'll be back home early next week with real internet and will make some inquiries on your behalf and follow up when I can.
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Thanks ChazzyP ChazzyP and Mr.sig239 Mr.sig239 . I appreciate the assistance. The card is all in English. I picked up the Neon NL used. It is quite impressive and has a very nice fit and finish. I found the numbers engraved on the area under the rear standoff (on each side) while cleaning and lubing the knife.
 
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Ajack60 said:
Where is this number on the knife you’re referring to ? I just got a F95 and don’t see any markings on the frame except for MRBS. I’ve yet to take one apart, so I don’t know if it’s in a place that is hidden
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I have the Neon NL and found the numbers engraved under the rear standoff on each handle slab. I happened to notice them when I had the knife apart and was cleaning it.
 
Steve W said:
I have the Neon NL and found the numbers engraved under the rear standoff on each handle slab. I happened to notice them when I had the knife apart and was cleaning it.
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So, they were hidden kind of.
Now I’m curious to see them. The next time you have it apart, take a pic. Not really understanding the need for a serial number on a slab. About the closest thing I’ve seen is on a CRK, the slabs are time stamped.
 
Ajack60 said:
So, they were hidden kind of.
Now I’m curious to see them. The next time you have it apart, take a pic. Not really understanding the need for a serial number on a slab. About the closest thing I’ve seen is on a CRK, the slabs are time stamped.
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I will snap a pic the next time I have it apart. I wondered the same in relation to the CRK time reference.
 
Steve W Steve W

Beauty of a Neon NL...Shiros are even more wonderful after a good cleaning.

I’m on the hunt for a black micarta for a while now...will my hunt be worth it? I’m gonna get a mate for my Zero. ;)
 
gpo1956 said:
Steve W. I’m the original owner of your Shiro. It was bought new from Recon 1.
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Thank you for letting me know that information. Please do not take my query negatively. I am just trying to find out what the numbers on the internals represent. It is a really nice knife.

Sharp & Fiery Sharp & Fiery I think it will be worth it. This is my first Shirogorov and I am already considering another as well to keep it company.
 
Ajack60 said:
So, they were hidden kind of.
Now I’m curious to see them. The next time you have it apart, take a pic. Not really understanding the need for a serial number on a slab. About the closest thing I’ve seen is on a CRK, the slabs are time stamped.
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Steve W said:
I will snap a pic the next time I have it apart. I wondered the same in relation to the CRK time reference.
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My circa 2016 Turtle (SRBS, no internal milling) has L13 stamped on the inside of each slab in plain sight near the pivot. I seem to recall Tom, the Shiro rep, writing that these were CNC batch numbers so that slabs could be paired for proper alignment before moving on to opposite side milling.
 
No worries at all. Just wanted to let you know and set your mind at ease. It really is an excellent knife, isn’t it? I just wish they made a Neon size version of the F3. It’s just small enough that it was hard for me to keep all pressure off the lock bar.
 
gpo1956 said:
No worries at all. Just wanted to let you know and set your mind at ease. It really is an excellent knife, isn’t it? I just wish they made a Neon size version of the F3. It’s just small enough that it was hard for me to keep all pressure off the lock bar.
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Yes, it is an excellent knife. I have been carrying it daily since it arrived.
 
The Meat man said:
Does anyone know what kind of steel they use for the bearings? Or bearing races/washers?
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Last month I quoted Tom, the Shiro rep, in these pages, regarding the Sergey and the Workshop's opinion on using ceramic bearing balls in their folders. I did a search to find the rest of Tom's response and found this opening line in his post,

"While I cannot go into exact details on the materials, our ball bearings are stainless, and are made from the steel that budget (but not budget-budget) knives have their blades currently made of."

I think that's about as forthcoming as Shirogorov is willing to be about the specific steel used, as they tend to keep specific details rather close to the vest.
Chuck_Nunface said:
I just know it's stainless. are you looking for replacements? If so, I wouldn't get bogged down in that. I ordered some 1.5mm from amazon.
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Chuck is absolutely correct about the bearing size. The only caveat in ordering bearings might be their consistency of sizing as Tom's quote in my earlier post infers that Shiro's tolerances for bearing size fall within a few microns.
 
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