I am new to the Bears Den, a friend of mine recommended this as the best place to find out about Shiro's. I have been bitten by the Shiro bug and would appreciate some guidance in where to find info, a reputable place to buy them and telling me which configuration to get one in. I like the F95 Hati and the Icebreaker but I think the Icebreaker is out of my budget. I know that if I get one on the secondary I will have a problem if something goes wrong. Thats basically what I know. I have held them and carried them and really like them. I acquired a partial list of what the letters and numbers mean but I need more info than that. this will be my most expensive knife that I will be spending and I want to make sure I don't make a purchasing error and end up with a clone.
your help will be much appreciated.
Mike J.
Hi Mike,
Welcome to the Bears' Den! The only factory authorized Shirogorov dealer for North America is Recon 1 in California. They are not a registered BF dealer, so just Google them and they'll pop right up. Their prices and selection are good and they will take care of sending your knife back to the Mother Country should it require service.
I've bought all my Shiros, both new and used here on the Exchange and would not hesitate to do so again. The two new ones were shipped from Russia by private resellers there and came at excellent prices. One of those two came from Vladimir_K who is a registered dealer here at BF. Just search him here and you can find his contact info to PM or email him if you wish. Vlad is very reliable and can help you find a knife you may be seeking at a good price. Lots of guys here have bought from him.
I've made out fine buying second (or more) hand here. None of my knives have required any work that I couldn't handle myself. I know a couple guys that have sent their knives back to Russia on their own for service, and while it's a little nerve-wracking, both came back fine. You may prefer to buy new from the authorized dealer if you're more comfortable with that security.
As to the knives, Shiros come in Serial Production, Custom Division, and Full Custom lines. The Hati you mentioned, the F3, the F95, NeOns and HatiOns, and the 111 are serial production knives. The Custom Division knives (and the collaborative knives) are limited production and much more expensive. Sergey's Full Customs are wicked expensive and quite rare. The Icebreaker is a somewhat older full custom, recognizable as such by its signature duck foot screws.
The Hatis, F3s, and F95s in current production have all been "renewed" (read, upgraded) and bear the "R" designation. They all feature Multi-Row bearings (MRBS) with steel washers inlaid into the scales plus internal milling to reduce weight. The new Hatis are available with Alutex scales--like Silver Twill but in a multitude of yummy colors.
All the older serial production knives are still excellent, many featuring Single-Row bearings (SRBS), jimping, and some with internal milling. The older Hatis run on PB washers and are more CRK-like in their action, albeit with flippers, and feature internal milling.
Hope that helps a bit. Remember to post some pics when you get your new Bear. Happy hunting!
Casinostocks
, as I mentioned a couple pages back in conversation with @TRfromMT , my Vanax37 blade came up to a Sharpmaker 10 very easily on that device. It was kind of an 8.5 when I got it, having been sharpened on a WE by the previous owner but having seen some use after by him as well. I used only the fines and ultra-fines and it came to a very keen edge quite easily. I don't recall stropping.
