The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

My F95R had been sharpened by the previous owner on his WE. Like yours, TRfromMT TRfromMT , it was about an 8.5 when I got it, as the edge had had some use. I took mine rather quickly through both the fines and ultra-fines on the SharpMaker, edges and flats, and it very easily came up to an SM 10. I've since cut a little Ipe, trimming tenons on a bench I built, and broken down a bit of cardboard without the edge showing any diminishment. My M390 Shiros have previously come up very well with similar treatment, but I think the Vanax37 did come come up a little easier and keener.

From the little I've read, the primary advantage of Vanax37 over other supersteels is improved corrosion resistance. I haven't looked at anything available in great detail, so have no comparative knowledge regarding edge retention. For my own uses and preferences, though, I'll gladly trade some edge retention for improved keenness and ease of sharpening. While I like M390 and its equivalents, I'll not turn my nose up at earlier generation steels like 154CM or S35VN for those qualities.

BTW, the SharpMaker is my favorite sharpener as well. I like my EdgePro and it's great for reprofiling, difficult steels, and getting a highly refined edge, but the SM is so quick and easy with no water mess and elaboarate set- and clean-up. Knives of mine that come at 20 DPS never see the EP. After a couple sharpenings on the SM, the resultant edge is pretty damn refined and polished. Those that require reprofiling get set up on the EP at 20 DPS or 15 DPS with a 20 micro and get touched up on the SM with the fines and ultras.
 
I don't own any other sharpening system. I've used my Sharpmaker on every steel I have with great results, including some larger blades in 3V, m4, and even Maxamet. If you put the time in, you can even get a polished edge with it.

And now a photo to get back on topic...
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I'm sure the Grimsmo is a fine knife in its own right. I just can't get past the blade shape. It is certainly distinctive, but how useful can it possibly be? I'm really sure I would never get the knack of sharpening it. Shiro for the win!
 
Craftsmanship on the Grimsmo is top notch and I waited almost 8 months to get one. Maybe my hopes were to high. Both are staying in my collection!

Now, I am expecting Hati Alutex orange in a few days!!!
 
Speaking of Hatis, finally got this one back after a spa. Someone on the CD team messed up the blade finishing so Sergey offered to personally grind me a new blade in the exact configuration I wanted. Only thing different than a full custom now is pretty much just the duckfoot screws and the signature on the backspacer!

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Nice 95, jbustillo jbustillo . My Turtle's an older SRBS which flips super quickly and drops shut. My F95R was sourced from Mother Russia, so it comes with the 3 Bears COA. I love its 3.5 mm blade.

I trust you’ll share some pics when you get your new Alutex Hati. I think that’ll be my next Shiro, but I’ll have to sell my user Hati and a couple others first.

Here’s a little splendor in the grass from Vermont a couple days ago.

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A little muscle memory is a bad thing....

With the exception of my F95T, all of my flippers I have set so the action is just a little less than drop shut. They all take a little nudge with my index finger, or a tiny wrist-flick to swing them shut. It's how I like them so that there is also zero blade play (I hate that). My F95T on the other hand easily shuts with nothing but gravity.

This evening I forgot which knife I was using and after clearing the lock bar I gave the blade a little nudge with my index finger without clearing my thumb.... Now I'm sporting a little reminder that this blade is really sharp and swings quite freely without any need for assistance on my part. My muscle memory got me.

One remedy would be more shiro's, I suppose, and jettison all my other knives, so my muscle memory would bed in on this platform alone :D
 
I am pleasantly surprised at how the finish on this F95T is holding up. After a number of weeks of daily pocket carry, including one short day hike clipped to my pocket, this only has one minor shiner on the clip. My Inkosi, with an equal amount of carry time for comparison.

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Any others out there with some wear?
 
TRfromMT said:
A little muscle memory is a bad thing....

With the exception of my F95T, all of my flippers I have set so the action is just a little less than drop shut. They all take a little nudge with my index finger, or a tiny wrist-flick to swing them shut. It's how I like them so that there is also zero blade play (I hate that). My F95T on the other hand easily shuts with nothing but gravity.

This evening I forgot which knife I was using and after clearing the lock bar I gave the blade a little nudge with my index finger without clearing my thumb.... Now I'm sporting a little reminder that this blade is really sharp and swings quite freely without any need for assistance on my part. My muscle memory got me.

One remedy would be more shiro's, I suppose, and jettison all my other knives, so my muscle memory would bed in on this platform alone :D
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A free-falling Shiro blade can sure do some damage to a digit that doesn't know enough to stay out of the way, TR, especially one that's kept with a fresh edge. "Drop shuttiness", to use Nick Shabazz's term, is very cool, though essentially not that useful and potentially dangerous. My F95T came brand new drop-shutty, which pleased me greatly, but that quality is more something to be played with than a practical closing option as it's slower and more distracting than a finger flick.

Both my F95R and NeOn UltraLite, both purchased within the last year, came with just a taste of hesitancy in their closures and I'm ultimately glad they did. The 95 is smooth all the way and the NeOn has just a little hitch at the end, but both work perfectly with a slight index finger flick after clearing the lock bar--like yours, my preferred closing method and muscle memory for frame and liner locks. Both do close with just a slight shake and I'm sure I could take them both apart and polish their pivots to have them free-fall all the way, but have little desire to do so.

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I'll have to get some fresh picks to show the wear on my Turtle and Hati--both work users--and will post those later.

[Edited to move a mis-placed sentence.]
 
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jwh720 said:
My first shiro, a f95nl. Wow I love this thing.
I think a hati r is next
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brandoak said:
Been following this thread for awhile and finally bought a Monkey Edge Frag F95! :D:thumbsup: cant wait to get it!
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Congrats on your new Shiros, guys! I'm waiting to handle an F95NL probably this fall when my turn comes up in Shiro World Tour pass-around. I've heard the Micarta inlays are great, jwh. :)

I just checked out the ME Frag knives on their website, brandoak. Their 95s are clearly R series with the internal milling, MRBS, and steel washers between the bearings and slabs, putting them in the 3 Bears category. You know, of course, that without pics it didn't happen. ;)
 
Pics coming soon:thumbsup: Forgive my stupidity in the subject but what is an "R series"? Still trying to figure all this Shiro lingo out:oops:
 
Someone here or somewhere said what the 'R' stands for. But I don't remember. So, R=refined? Renewed?
 
My best guess would be reduced weight because of the internal milling of the handle...but thats just a guess
 
Well it actually came in the mail today and was sitting on my desk when I got home. Its everything I thought it would be except for the color. It looked so much more "blue" on the Monkey Edge website.
Its more of a light bluejean color instead of the deeper blue color I was expecting. The CRK Insingo just mysteriously hovered out of my pocket and the Shiro slid right in its place:D
Maybe the color will grow on me or maybe its destine for a custom ano job sometime in the future who knows. But besides being mixed on the color, all I have to say is "This is the way I thought Id feel after receiving my first Sebenza" Its magnificent.


 
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brandoak said:
Pics coming soon:thumbsup: Forgive my stupidity in the subject but what is an "R series"? Still trying to figure all this Shiro lingo out:oops:
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There has been some confusion on this side of the pond about the both the "R" and "3 Bears" designations. This is compounded a bit by the fact that the knives sold officially in the US do not indicate any 3 Bears designation (even if they are) and some don't even indicate the R designation (even if they are). I've had some back and forth with the Shiro Rep and he's given me a very clear picture of what's what.

R means renewed. Currently, R series knives include the F95R, the HatiR, and the F3R. These are all 95 mm bladed knives. They are serial run (as opposed to Custom Division or Full Custom) knives that have had their features improved (renewed) for their current iterations. These improvements include internal milling to reduce weight, MRBS (Multi-row bearing systems), and the addition of steel washers between the bearings and handle slabs to reduce wear. The F95s and F3s both formerly were SRBS (Single-row bearings) and had no internal milling (like my Turtle) while the Hati's (Half Titanium) did have internal milling but ran on PB washers with bushing pivots.

As far as the # of Bears thing goes, serial production Shirogorovs are now considered to belong to 1, 2, or 3 Bears categories depending on features. I'll paste in below, what the Shiro Rep wrote me,

"To keep it simple, let's use the pivot system as our way to class the knives into different categories (though it is not the only exception, it's an easy rule of thumb to follow).

3 bears - MRBS (multi-row bearing system) with a steel underlay. For example, all of our R models
2 bears - MRBS without the steel underlay. For example, NeOn Lite and HatiOn Lite OR SRBS (single-row bearing system) with CF handles/scales.
1 bear - SRBS (single row bearing system) or washers with G10 scales.

If you look at our current/recent output, we have been channeling our efforts towards folders in three- and one-bears categories. The only notable exception is NeOn/HatiOn Lite, which is a 2-bears model."

So, if your knife has the features listed, it is a 3 Bears, whether indicated or not, and your F95T ME Frag Edition, brandoak brandoak , is actually an R series, whether that's indicated or not. I'd be curious to see pics of your COA card and box end, if you're so inclined.

Knives sold in North America all come officially through Recon1 (or the ME exclusive). All other knives internationally are only sold officially directly from Shirogorov. The NA knives come with the Black, vertically oriented COA cards, while the knives directly by Shiro come with horizontally-oriented white COA cards. Looking at the official NA dealer site, some knives with R features (F95R, F95R18, F3R) indicate R on their cards while others (an F95T which is clearly an R) do not. They also have have both F3Rs and F3s for sale with their cards appropriately marked.

Any R series knife may be considered a 3 Bears, though this designation is not indicated with NA-sold knives. The knives themselves bear no such designation, no matter where sold, but knives sourced directly from Shirogorov in Russia show their Bears designation on their cards. You can just see the 3 Bear Logos through the open back of my F95R on the card.

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Hope that wall of text above makes things a little clearer, and not the opposite.

BTW, jwh720 jwh720 , your F95NL would be a 1 Bear, though there's certainly nothing wrong with that. My older SRBS F95T has the same pivot as yours and I almost prefer its action to my MRBS F95R. That NL is a great deal and it's nice to have brand new serial production Shiros available in that price range.
 
As a serial Shirogorov that I had not handled I was curious to do so in spite of the fact that the 111's size as a folder made it a knife I would not ordinarily be interested in. The free Shiro bead that Recon 1 offered for Father's Day may have spurred from my indecision as my kids neglected to get me anything. The model 111 I bought has contoured carbon-fiber scales, a Vanax 37 blade complete with a fuller that also serves as an alternative opening method.
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As you can see in the photo above, the 111 is clearly the largest of the three sizes currently offered in the Shiro serial lineup. The 111 more than comfortably allows a full four-finger grip no matter the size of those fingers–with my medium sized hands it would allow for a six-finger grip were there any practical advantage to doing so.

Previously, my Bark River Bravo 1 was my largest knife in both length and girth and was my go to knife for splitting fire wood once it was halved or quartered by ax or for storm cleanup around my yard. The 111 is longer than the Bravo 1 and yet is lightweight and a nimble flipper. An impressive feat. Of course, I would never be inclined to use the 111 for the Bravo's assigned duties.
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While longer, the 111 is slimmer allowing it to fit comfortably in one's pocket without being unwieldy. The indentation in the scale underneath the pocket clip is a nice touch making the clip almost unnoticeable in hand.
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According to Cedric and Ada's Youtube blade steel testing, Vanax 37 is just below M390 in edge retention while outperforming it in stain resistance. I wish I could describe the 111 in action but I have to yet to put it to use as I am unsure whehter I'll be keeping it.
 
Nice 111, CPP CPP ! For such a big knife, the 111 carries really well. I find it a lot bigger looking in hand, but not so much in pocket, the contoured CF helping it slide in and out easily. The 111 gives you more blade, but about the same handle as the various incarnations of the Millie, as well as the Police...

[Damn! Timeout--just opened up the back of two knuckles juggling multiple knives. :mad: My wife is so good and so used to this hobby that she expertly bandaid-ed my fingers and was even sympathetic. :D]

..., the 710 (which just got me) being somewhat comparable, but lesser in both blade and handle. All those knives are, to use Nick Shabazz's term, somewhat "murdery". The 111 is the heaviest at about 5.5 oz, compared to around 4.5-4.75 for the others, but a big knife is a big knife, so that's really not all that much different.

The action on my 111 is good--it flies out, free drops when releasing the lockbar, but takes a little shake to close. It index-finger closes great, though. I know that guys have opened up their knives and polished stuff up a bit to get them to drop shut, but I don't really care enough about that to bother. I was a bit surprised at the whooshing noise the blade makes when opening and closing, but have gotten to actually like it and think it's an effect of the linerless construction and the resonance of the CF.

Anyway, I've spent time, like you, deciding whether to keep the 111 or move on, but have been EDCing it more along the way. It's been 2 years, now, so it's pretty clear which way that's going. :rolleyes:
 
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