The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

It’s nothing special but it’s my first Shiro (Neon Ultra Lite in Elmax.)
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The Turtle was feeling a little chippy, and I did not want to drag out the W.E. to clean up the edge. I have to say, since getting the W.E. I feel much more confident at sharpening, and I think I understand the importance of getting a burr. I also know I can feel the burr as I go.

So I got out the Sharpmaker and just the Fine and Ultra Fine rods. I got a burr going with the Fine rods at 20DPS which I took off with a flexx strop, then the UF rods. This thing is back to laser beam sharp in nothing more than 10 minutes. What a joy is a (screaming) sharp knife.

Knife and coffee shot for you this AM.


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TRfromMT said:
The Turtle was feeling a little chippy, and I did not want to drag out the W.E. to clean up the edge. I have to say, since getting the W.E. I feel much more confident at sharpening, and I think I understand the importance of getting a burr. I also know I can feel the burr as I go.

So I got out the Sharpmaker and just the Fine and Ultra Fine rods. I got a burr going with the Fine rods at 20DPS which I took off with a flexx strop, then the UF rods. This thing is back to laser beam sharp in nothing more than 10 minutes. What a joy is a (screaming) sharp knife.

Knife and coffee shot for you this AM.


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I've never experienced Vanax 37, but hear it is very nice to sharpen.
 
Hey my fellow Den-izens,

Can someone please direct me to the Shiro video where they test the breaking point of the various pivot systems?

It may be a sticky at USN where I'm not a member of :(
 
Casinostocks said:
Hey my fellow Den-izens,

Can someone please direct me to the Shiro video where they test the breaking point of the various pivot systems?

It may be a sticky at USN where I'm not a member of :(
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I don't know if this link to the USN post will work for you as you're not a member, and the embedded vid there is unavailable. I copied the post and PM'd it to you.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Does anybody know if the Python-scaled F3 was a temporary thing that’s now over with and gone or an ongoing offering that’ll be coming back into availability?
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I asked about this and yes, they are not really a production item and are done at very low volume. It's not impossible that they won't make another run but its not likely. If you find one your best bet is to grab it. However don't settle for the older SRBS one get the newer MRBS one with skeletonized liners and the new clip with much better retention and ease of use.

Also, new knife! F7 Titanium in S125V.

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mikomonday said:
I asked about this and yes, they are not really a production item and are done at very low volume. It's not impossible that they won't make another run but its not likely.....
Also, new knife! F7 Titanium in S125V.
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Thanks for the answer! Before I posed my question here, I asked the Recon One people that question on the phone and all they had for me was “we don’t know, so get on the brand notifications email list and keep your eyes on our website.” Based on your info, I won’t be holding my breath and the Python is off my grail list.

On a happier note..... That F7 is a beauty! I haven’t seen that one before (which doesn’t mean much) and it’s not on the Recon One website. Is that a new regular production model that just hasn’t gotten to RO yet or is it some kind of custom, semi-custom, a “not available in the US” model or another of those RO lottery pieces we’ll see getting lotteried in the future?
 
Recon1 indeed really doesnt know what will come. The workshop literally sends stuff and they will just list it. Sometimes it can be 50 knives, sometimes just 1-2 NeOns. They themselves don't put in orders to Shirogorov.

The F7 is a full custom model. Each custom is a often a one-off piece in that exact configuration and they are completed only by Sergey Shirogorov from start to finish. Contrast that with Custom Division pieces where a select number of highly trained members in the workshop work on Custom Division pieces and normal production knives made by the normal employees.

F3: Production knife
F5: Custom Division knife
F7: Custom knife

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mikomonday said:
Recon1 indeed really doesnt know what will come....
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Too bad the availability is so erratic and the offerings so limited. More extensive offerings and more regular availability would be nice. As things are, I guess buying a Shiro from RO is a matter of grabbing what you want fast when you see it show up on the website because it may be gone in a week or a day.

Thanks also for the description of the differences between production, CD and custom. Being new to Shiros, I’d seen the terms before but I hadn’t known what were the differences between CD and custom. They’re both beyond my financial comfort zone, but at least now I know what defines the levels that are beyond my reach. Looks like I’ll probably top out at the production Turtle level--if and when I can manage to get there and RO happens to have some available...
 
Stumpy72 said:
Looks like I’ll probably top out at the production Turtle level--if and when I can manage to get there and RO happens to have some available...
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Fortunately for you, at the moment there is a wide number of F95 sized knives (the liner lock F3R, composite materials show side HatiR, and the all titanium F95s). Really the only knife that has very little availability at the moment are the smaller NeOn sized knives (NeOn Lite, NeOn Ultra Lite, and HatiOn)
 
Stumpy72 said:
Does anybody know if the Python-scaled F3 was a temporary thing that’s now over with and gone or an ongoing offering that’ll be coming back into availability?
Click to expand...
mikomonday said:
I asked about this and yes, they are not really a production item and are done at very low volume. It's not impossible that they won't make another run but its not likely. If you find one your best bet is to grab it. However don't settle for the older SRBS one get the newer MRBS one with skeletonized liners and the new clip with much better retention and ease of use.
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Miko is very knowledgeable regarding Shiros and it's good of him to share that here as well as his familiarity with the authorized US dealer. Though I've not handled one, the newer F3Rs he mentions are certainly more feature-packed and improve upon the design of the original model. I have both an F95T and the newer F95R and the latter is a great knife, but I don't like the former any less for the improvements in the newer knife--in fact the Turtle is my most oft-used and carried Shiro.

The point here--from my perspective--is if you really like the F3 Python and an older model shows up that strikes your fancy, I would certainly recommend pulling the trigger on it. There's no lack of quality in the older knives, it's just that the newer models have more features. My Python is older--SRBS in S30V without skeletonized liners or improved clip. I'm quite content (read, in love) with my knife and don't regret not having all the improvements of the newer models.

There are many more variations available in serial production series now than ever from Shirogorov with the advent of the R series knives as well as with the introduction of the One, Two, and Three Bears designations--the Bears categories only being indicated on knives sourced directly from Russia and not on those coming through the North American authorized dealer. I've posted some about those topics both here and, earlier, here.

What I'm getting at is that with One Bear F3's on the new knife market now as an alternative to the newer, more expensive R series, Three Bears models, there are older F3's on the secondary market at attractive prices. If you are still taken with having an F3 in Python Micarta you could consider buying an older F3 with any sort of scales and finding someone to make you a set. That material is available from knife-making suppliers, though my preference would be to have the "eyes" pattern running parallel to the spine (as below) rather than perpendicularly, which I've seen and do not much care for.

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Having to sell my Neon to fund my folder run! Detailed cleaning, working finish stonewash to the scales, and re-tumbled! But the best part is the choil extension!! I HATE how shiro does the plunge/choil area. No more bumping it now =)

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