The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

Thin-Slice said:
View attachment 708250 Has anyone seen this?
Click to expand...


I got an email notification from them when they came in, I think early last week,but didn't check their web page for 1hr,20min after notification, and you guessed it, sold out. Now I'm not bummed, because for what ever reason, I just do not like the "frag" pattern. Now when I got the notification on the new turtle 95's, and checked the web site 8mins after receiving it, and they were gone, I was a little bummed. Being a huge Shirogorov fan is a tough business, plus, it's ruined my desire for other knives basically, except for a Richard Rogers Reflex I received this past week,Sa Weeeet. Never Cary it though, just for fondling.
 
I like the frag pattern on some things and others not so much. The MEFP Les George Talos looks good to me and there's a Nottingham Tactical on their site that's interesting, but a lot of the other fragged knives don't float my boat. I don't care for their scales on Hinderers and changed my XM24 back to the accompanying stock scale when it came to me with a fragged one installed. Overall, I much prefer the Wilson Combat starburst pattern to MEFP and have three of the former. The MEFP Shiro is kinda cool but I sure wouldn't trade my Turtle for it.

Now, a WC Hati would be very interesting with the scales cut starburst similar to the way the Club knives are done.
 
ChazzyP said:
I like the frag pattern on some things and others not so much. The MEFP Les George Talos looks good to me and there's a Nottingham Tactical on their site that's interesting, but a lot of the other fragged knives don't float my boat. I don't care for their scales on Hinderers and changed my XM24 back to the accompanying stock scale when it came to me with a fragged one installed. Overall, I much prefer the Wilson Combat starburst pattern to MEFP and have three of the former. The MEFP Shiro is kinda cool but I sure wouldn't trade my Turtle for it.

Now, a WC Hati would be very interesting with the scales cut starburst similar to the way the Club knives are done.
Click to expand...
Wilson Combat pattern allllll the way. I just wish the tight pattern on 25/Zaan was same on the 21. The 21's pattern while OK it is not as good
 
So I wrote to Monkey Edge inquiring about the number of Monkey Bears in a run, when they might release another batch, etc. They sent back the following boiler plate wall of text, the short answer being (my paraphrase), "We don't know and if we did we wouldn't tell you". I'll wait for the Wilson Combat Hati. :rolleyes:

"Hello,

Thanks for the email, and sorry for the canned response! We are always working with our vendor partners to come up with new and cool projects, and always on the lookout for new gear. We are just as eager as everyone else to get in these projects, and love to tell everyone about them. We have developed a system over the years to try to be as fair as possible when it comes to new releases, highly anticipated projects, or restocks on super in-demand gear. In a nutshell:

-We keep projects to ourselves until they are ready to be announced publicly. We do not give out private information on upcoming projects or restocks until it has been announced to everyone.

-Many hot knives and gear will sell out in minutes, the demand FAR outstripping the supply. Because of this, there are no wait lists or holds. Everything on the site is offered “first come (and checked out), first served”.

-We will not give insider info, hints to when something will be in etc, before that info is announced publicly by us. A lot of the times a knife maker will announce they are sending something to us on social media. While this is great to get people aware and excited, most of the times something will get shipped to us without us even knowing. It literally will just show up at the shop one day. We really don’t know when we’ll be getting gear in.

-Though it does happen on some occasions, many exclusive projects will not be made again. We love some of the projects that we have brought over the years, but we are always looking to make new gear, and out maker partners are always looking to create new pieces. Never say never, but we often don't get any more of a limited run project in again (hence the limited).

-Not to sound like a broken record...again...but we don’t know when we’re getting stuff. And even if we did, even if you ask us and we are holding the knife you're looking for in our hands, we will not let you know we have it until they are publically available on the site.

Hopefully this all makes sense. Most of the time when someone asks when we’re getting more of something, or if any more will ever be made, we honestly don’t know. We have open purchase orders with our vendor partners, and take anything from them we can get our hands on. We never really know what we will be getting next from them. In the rare occasions that we DO know if we will get something, or have soemthing they want but it’s not on the site, we usually keep that to ourselves to be as fair as possible to the other folks out there. Some people think this isn’t fair, but chances are they aren't the first to ask about it either. For folks looking to see if we’ll do another run of a special project, unless we’ve announced it on the site or social media, we won’t have any information to give (not a “yes” or a “no”). You can read more on our policies on our blog.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for taking a look at the site!
--
Monkey Edge Crew"
 
Who do you contact to order a custom from and how long is the current Shiro backlog? 2017 F95T 4mm S90V with swedge and ceramic MRBS.
 
I'm pretty sure Sergy's books are closed, and as popular as his knives are, probably be closed for a
Very long time. If your heart (and wallet) is set on a custom, go to the main shows where he will be displaying, I'm sure there is usually some there that go thru a lottery system for a chance to purchase. Other than that, peruse the various high end knife purveyors web sites.
 
adamlau said:
Who do you contact to order a custom from and how long is the current Shiro backlog? 2017 F95T 4mm S90V with swedge and ceramic MRBS.
Click to expand...

No custom orders anymore as far as I can tell. If there are still custom orders before the books were closed awhile back -- those remaining are probably like a 8-10 yr wait list.
 
Looks like the previous bronze ME 95T is all gone and now the have the plain Ti version which I prefer anyways and cheaper as well. Make sure you get put on email list if u r interested.

Shiro-95T MEFP.jpg
 
Thin-Slice said:
Looks like the previous bronze ME 95T is all gone and now the have the plain Ti version which I prefer anyways and cheaper as well. Make sure you get put on email list if u r interested.

View attachment 712636
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the heads up, Slice. The plain Ti is definitely nicer than the bronze and the frag pattern is kinda cool, but like I wrote earlier, I definitely prefer my Turtle. Judging by the blade grind and the MRBS, my guess is that this one may be 3 Bears quality. It's definitely spendy and a lot more than I paid for my Turtle for brandy new. Mine is "just" SRBS, but it's hard to imagine a smoother action than a blade that closes under its own weight.

I'm still gonna hold out for the Wilson Combat Club StarHati! :cool:
 
ROFLLLLLLLLLLLL

3Bears all I see is the MRBS, Monkey Edge pattern and the Flats on the blade. Honestly imo that's not worth an extra $200-300 for just that alone.

I would have to agree my current 95T with the upgraded ceramic bearings is so fast and strong that I'm afraid the blade will fly out when it hits the stop pin. I highly doubt I can even tell or anyone really the difference between my ceramic SRBS vs the stock steel bearings MRBS.

As far as Hati in Wilson Combat I would prefer the 95StarFish instead. I much prefer the all Ti handle folders. However, when going out (not work) I usually carry my Lg 21 CF Insingo as the weight is just perfect.


EDIT: off-topic but great job on the Benchmade centering thread.
 
Thin-Slice said:
ROFLLLLLLLLLLLL

3Bears all I see is the MRBS, Monkey Edge pattern and the Flats on the blade. Honestly imo that's not worth an extra $200-300 for just that alone.

I would have to agree my current 95T with the upgraded ceramic bearings is so fast and strong that I'm afraid the blade will fly out when it hits the stop pin. I highly doubt I can even tell or anyone really the difference between my ceramic SRBS vs the stock steel bearings MRBS.

As far as Hati in Wilson Combat I would prefer the 95StarFish instead. I much prefer the all Ti handle folders. However, when going out (not work) I usually carry my Lg 21 CF Insingo as the weight is just perfect.


EDIT: off-topic but great job on the Benchmade centering thread.
Click to expand...

I'd take the StarFish too--might as well have both! :p I like all Ti and Ti one side with CF, G10, Micarta, whatever. Liner locks too. I just like knives, brother, as long as they're made as well as the Shiros, CRKs, and the others I know we're both into.

Thanks for the kind words on the Benchmade centering thread (shameless link ;))
 
Thin-Slice Thin-Slice
I've had my eye out for a Regular too, but gotta slow down for a bit as I've spent more than a bit too much lately and am about to send my XM24 out for an REK re-grind.
We gotta get back on topic, though, man, or I'll have to double-OP-infract us for littering in the Bears' Den.
 
ChazzyP ChazzyP
Back to topic been meaning to say this for the longest time but always keep forgetting. On any of the production 95's i have a slight dislike on the blades. The fact that it not a straight edge but rather continuously upwarding (word?) towards the tip is not my cup of tea. Now if i had to pick a perfect 95 model obviously it would with some exotic handle materials but moreover it would be the blade shape of the 3D first 30 run Neon. Now thats a perfect blade shape imo.

Would love me a something like neon blade shape with size of the 95 and something like a seashell type or the wilson combat pattern and of course a little bit of a flat at top (on blade) to make it easier to sharpen. Not fond of the lanyard hole on 95T prefer it centered with ones that have a back spacer. The 95 clip while being a superb juicy eye candy its a bit strong and the fact that the clip is hollow (tip core) at the tip it sorta makes it sharp. If it was solid and satin it wouldnt rub on seams of my pants and ruin them over time. Also it would be nice if i was able to disassemble the pivot screw easier the fact that its free spinning drives me crazy when i had to unscrew it. Im hotblooded so i perspire easily and my 95T gets a bit slippery but if it had the CRK sandblast feel it would be awesome.

As a knife nut u know how nitpicky we can get. All in all superb folder non-the-less. Just nitpicking and dreaming.
 
There was another drop today on Recon1, actually a complete drop with neonlite, ultra lite, 95t and 95r. Luckily got one 95t. Its price is really high even at the retailer price now due to the new upgrades in design, hope its worth the price tag.
 
xq28 said:
There was another drop today on Recon1, actually a complete drop with neonlite, ultra lite, 95t and 95r. Luckily got one 95t. Its price is really high even at the retailer price now due to the new upgrades in design, hope its worth the price tag.
Click to expand...

I went over there and had a look at your Sold Out knife. It is pretty spendy--about $250 more than my Turtle was new--but has a lot of upgrades. MRBS, special blade grind, milled out liners, and steel washer underlays--the last of which I particularly like--all add to the cost and make that one a 3 Bears model I assume. I'm pretty happy with mine as is, but yours has a lot going for it.

Hope you love it and don't forget to share some pics with us here when it arrives!
 
ChazzyP said:
I went over there and had a look at your Sold Out knife. It is pretty spendy--about $250 more than my Turtle was new--but has a lot of upgrades. MRBS, special blade grind, milled out liners, and steel washer underlays--the last of which I particularly like--all add to the cost and make that one a 3 Bears model I assume. I'm pretty happy with mine as is, but yours has a lot going for it.

Hope you love it and don't forget to share some pics with us here when it arrives!
Click to expand...

Thanks I will definitely bring some pictures. Actually got my neon lite from them and very impressed. The only issue I had is there is lock stick. Very weird because there is a lockbar insert, put some pencil graphite on it and got better but still remains(and comes back after the graphite are used up). Got it only for a few days I am sure it will get better. But I do not remember there should be a "break in" period for lockbar insert.
 
Thin-Slice Thin-Slice --I was re-reading your post at #615 and thinking about some of your "nit-picks" re the 95T. I get that you're just day-dreaming about little tweaks you'd like in an otherwise great knife. It's funny, 'cause we're into a lot of the same things, but you know how they say "one man's meat is another man's poison", and those little things you picked out on the Turtle mostly don't bother me or hadn't been noticed.

I generally do like a blade with a straight run and more belly, but the 95 blade shape is signature Shiro. I put a straight-edge on mine and it's completely straight for 1 3/4- 1 7/8" and the next half-inch or so is very gradual.

It did take me a while to warm to the Turtle pattern before I pulled the trigger and you know how much I'm into WC starburst too, but I do like the milling on my 95's handle as well and it affords enough grip for me. I'm into CRKs like you, but my one nitpick with them is the sandblasted finish. It does afford a bit more grip--especially when new--but I've had to learn to live with the inevitable snail-trails. I'm really more a tumbled or coarse-stonewash finish kinda guy. My Turtle is a user and the handle scratches don't jump out at me like they do on my CRK users. My snail trails have become like badges of honor on those knives, but that finish makes me wary of using a beauty like my large Insingo natural Micarta very hard.

As to sharpening, for my methods a small amount of flat is more of an annoyance than a help. On the SharpMaker it makes no difference and all my Shiros except for my 111 came dead-on or slightly under 20 deg ps--the 111 got re-profiled to 15 ps secondary on the EdgePro with a 20 ps micro on the SM. When working on the EdgePro with a small flat at the spine or FFG, I just lay the primary grind on the EP's table and adjust the cutting angle by half the primary's inclusive. I do my CRKs that way too on the EP, though I mostly stick with the SM with them.

Lastly, I'd never noticed the hollow under the Turtle's clip until you mentioned it. I agree it's more than a bit sharp for sure and I could live without that. It's not the easiest clip either, but nowhere as bad as my 111 which is hard to hook and get all the way down. Of course that knife is so damn big that it's probably just bottoming out in my pocket. :p

TTYL,
S
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top