The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

Mrgauth said:
Awesome. Sounds I need to try one then. That is right up my alley

Thx
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While the NL is an "entry level" Shiro, I find it not lacking in any way and it seems a great value, even at full retail US. If I were starting over with Shiros, but knowing what I do now, I would not hesitate grabbing one for my first Bear. I'm a big fan of their serial production knives, all mine are of that ilk, and the NL would fit right in with my 111, F3, Hati, F95's, NeOn UL, and Tabargan.

Edit: Flipping test #3--holding the knife blade spine up, pinched between thumb and forefinger, pivot outward, and flipping with middle finger. All pass. :D
 
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I have two 111s. One flips like a dream. It's an awesome knife.

The other is a bear to flip because the detent is too strong. In fact, if you don't place your finger just right, it won't flip at all, and you'll tear up your finger pad.

I was going to sell it, but Shiros don't seem to hold their prices well, and after disclosing this flaw, the value would be too low. I don't want to send it to Russia for repair. Has anyone successfully fixed an issue like this?
 
Reading through this thread it seems I got lucky. Twice. First, I bought my One Bear F3 off an eBay seller. Second, its fit, finish and function is as designed. Perfectly centered, flips open like a rocket and drops shut.

With the Shiro F3, a couple Laconico Keens (one for my wife) and an MBK EZC, I'm done buying flippers.
 
Twindog said:
I have two 111s. One flips like a dream. It's an awesome knife.

The other is a bear to flip because the detent is too strong. In fact, if you don't place your finger just right, it won't flip at all, and you'll tear up your finger pad.

I was going to sell it, but Shiros don't seem to hold their prices well, and after disclosing this flaw, the value would be too low. I don't want to send it to Russia for repair. Has anyone successfully fixed an issue like this?
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I have successfully tweaked the detent on a knife, though I can't recall which it was at the moment. I've read others' accounts of doing so as well and the process is simply a matter of carefully and conservatively bending the lockbar a little at a time, dis- and re-assembling the knife each time to check. That, of course, takes considerable patience when dealing with an MRBS knife with loose BBs.

@JustinFournier has considerable experience tuning Shiros and might have some suggestions. You might also get in touch with Josh, @razor-edge-knives , to see if yours is a project he might take on or had some tips to offer.

As far as Shiro prices go, with the introduction of so many new models, prices on some of the older versions do seem to have dropped--good news for buyers :), not so much for sellers :(. Prices for LNIB current models seem to hold well. Higher end, limited release models like collabs spike upon release, then mostly settle back towards their initial pricing over time
 
DRLyman said:
I wish I would have bought it much sooner than I did. It would have saved me a lot of money spent on other knives. It is now doing that, so I’m not complaining.
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Nice knife, and I remember that feeling, too. After I’d finally sprung for an M390 Turtle, I had that “Phew----I’ve finally arrived at this level, so now I can slack off buying better and better knives" feeling. The feeling lasted for a while, but it wasn’t permanent. I haven’t bought any other >$1K knives since, but I’ve bought others that cost most of that much.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Nice knife, and I remember that feeling, too. After I’d finally sprung for an M390 Turtle, I had that “Phew----I’ve finally arrived at this level, so now I can slack off buying better and better knives" feeling. The feeling lasted for a while, but it wasn’t permanent. I haven’t bought any other >$1K knives since, but I’ve bought others that cost most of that much.
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I'll second that sentiment, Stumpy, though I've not yet gotten to 4 figures as even my two brand-new Bears--111 and Turtle--came in at around $850. But, yeah, I've found a certain level of quality and design that I find satisfying and have no great desire to go beyond, so there's a feeling of relief there. On the other hand, as you observed, my Shiros (and CRKS, RHKs, Cheburkovs, and some singles) have raised the bar sufficiently that any purchases in the lower hundreds are extremely unlikely going forward. I now find myself slowly moving out less expensive knives in my collection that will still fetch more than a trifling gain and building up the PP acct to purchase something like my new Raven--doing that, instead of just trying out the latest new Benchmade or Spydie (not to knock them) looking for something to satisfy an itch, akin to what @DRLyman has expressed.
 
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Stumpy72 said:
Nice knife, and I remember that feeling, too. After I’d finally sprung for an M390 Turtle, I had that “Phew----I’ve finally arrived at this level, so now I can slack off buying better and better knives" feeling. The feeling lasted for a while, but it wasn’t permanent. I haven’t bought any other >$1K knives since, but I’ve bought others that cost most of that much.
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Well, I will never spend $1k so no 95T in my future because if I did I might as well sell my bed. No point in owning one if i knew I could not sleep at night after buying that knife. I have considered an entry $695 inlay SRB model but that almost feels like 'settling' for anything with a bear on it. So, probably won't get any.
 
Mrgauth said:
Well, I will never spend $1k so no 95T in my future because if I did I might as well sell my bed. No point in owning one if i knew I could not sleep at night after buying that knife. I have considered an entry $695 inlay SRB model but that almost feels like 'settling' for anything with a bear on it. So, probably won't get any.
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You know that BF members are all enablers and take great joy leading their fellows toward bankruptcy and marital discord, so let me reassure you that picking up an NL would not constitute "settling". As I described in our earlier exchange, I find it in no real way the lesser of my pre-R Turtle, despite its lack of jimping and Elmax instead of M390.

Officer's Match Officer's Match has been around these forums for a long time, came to Shiros only recently through the NL, seems more than pleased with his knife, and has not expressed any real interest in "moving up". As with anything YMMV.
 
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ChazzyP said:
I'll second that sentiment, Stumpy, though I've not yet gotten to 4 figures as even my two brand-new Bears--111 and Turtle--came in at around $850. But, yeah, I've found a certain level of quality and design that I find satisfying and have no great desire to go beyond, so there's a feeling of relief there. On the other hand, as you observed, my Shiros (and CRKS, RHKs, Cheburkovs, and some singles) have raised the bar sufficiently that any purchases in the lower hundreds are extremely unlikely going forward. I now find myself slowly moving out less expensive knives in my collection that will still fetch more than a trifling gain and building up the PP acct to purchase something like my new Raven--doing that, instead of just trying out the latest new Benchmade or Spydie (not to knock them) looking for something to satisfy an itch, akin to what @DRLyman has expressed.
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Pretty much the same here. My former interests in ZTs, Spydercos and BMs have ceased to exist. I have a few of them that I like and will probably keep, but I won’t be buying any more of any of them. My main focus is now Shiros and CRKs, with a secondary interest in the Cheburkovs. My new knife average price is now considerably more, but I’m buying a lot less frequently so it probably averages out about the same. I’ll probably end up with another Shiro before this year is over (which is different than ending up with the 5 or 7 ZT/Spy/BM’s that I previously would’ve bought in the same time period).
 
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All that I have left over. Still toying with the idea of getting a LNIB F95R off the secondary market and if not that one, perhaps something else but all the other safe-queens are now in the collection of another esteemed papa-bear on here ;) Who knows, I may even step up and just buy another CD Shiro but only in S90V.

I've actually gone back in the other direction as opposed to Stumpy by picking up a couple more Spydies. They (Spyderco) sure as heck make a lot of knives, some goofy as heck, but there are some no-so-hidden gems in their line up, both past and present.

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I bought this previously owned TNK CanniBus from a well-known online reseller for a very good price and it was listed as having lock rock. This was easily fixed by tightening the pivot. However, taking it apart for a cleaning I realized it was missing several bearings as seen in the third picture. Shirogorov sent replacement bearings plus a few extra. Even without all of those bearings the action was still superb.
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Casinostocks said:
All that I have left over. Still toying with the idea of getting a LNIB F95R off the secondary market and if not that one, perhaps something else but all the other safe-queens are now in the collection of another esteemed papa-bear on here ;) Who knows, I may even step up and just buy another CD Shiro but only in S90V.

I've actually gone back in the other direction as opposed to Stumpy by picking up a couple more Spydies. They (Spyderco) sure as heck make a lot of knives, some goofy as heck, but there are some no-so-hidden gems in their line up, both past and present.

armSge0.jpg
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I am supposed to be selling my knife collection... but accidentally I seem to be acquiring more knives at the same time... and I partially blame The Bears' Den in general and Casinostocks in particular (I have to blame someone... my wife is getting suspicious)
 
Pharmagator said:
I am supposed to be selling my knife collection... but accidentally I seem to be acquiring more knives at the same time... and I partially blame The Bears' Den in general and Casinostocks in particular (I have to blame someone... my wife is getting suspicious)
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It's alright Mike, blame me if it helps you out. I've always been a pretty good and trustworthy wing-man ;)

P.S. the invitation only applies to Shiros. If and when you do other dumb stuff, you'll be totally on your own as I will go in full-force denial mode :D
 
Casinostocks said:
All that I have left over. Still toying with the idea of getting a LNIB F95R off the secondary market and if not that one, perhaps something else but all the other safe-queens are now in the collection of another esteemed papa-bear on here ;) Who knows, I may even step up and just buy another CD Shiro but only in S90V.

I've actually gone back in the other direction as opposed to Stumpy by picking up a couple more Spydies. They (Spyderco) sure as heck make a lot of knives, some goofy as heck, but there are some no-so-hidden gems in their line up, both past and present.

armSge0.jpg
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You owe it to yourself to try something in Vanax 37 if you haven't yet.
 
ChazzyP said:
You know that BF members are all enablers and take great joy leading their fellows toward bankruptcy and marital discord, so let me reassure you that picking up an NL would not constitute "settling". As I described in our earlier exchange, I find it in no real way the lesser of my pre-R Turtle, despite its lack of jimping and Elmax instead of M390.

Officer's Match Officer's Match has been around these forums for a long time, came to Shiros only recently through the NL, seems more than pleased with his knife, and has not expressed any real interest in "moving up". As with anything YMMV.
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Indeed, I prefer the spec's of the NL to more elaborate models. LOVE the micarta inlays, and actually prefer the single row setup.
 
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