The Cheburkov Channel--Picture & Discussion Thread

[MRI]

That's a nice pickup. MRI. Congrats! I've been intrigued with the Hudson (Gudzon) since it first showed up a year or so ago, but it doesn't seem to have gone into full production. The Cheburkov website lists it as new, but it seems to be a special order when you click on it. Did you get yours from the Finnish dealer? I see those listed there are now "Check availability", meaning they're not in stock.

There's a sweet one with Zladinox Damascus and a CF slab presentation side on a Russian dealer site that shall remain nameless at a rather high price, but all their stuff always is. I've been tempted to write to Alex and see if he'll make me one, though getting anything out of Russia at this point is not easy, given the pandemic. Only EMS courier service can be counted on presently to not take forever, if ever at all.

I'd be interested your further impressions of the knife and more pics when you get a chance.

Chazzy - Here are a few pics of my Gudzon.. After flipping it several times this morning I slipped it into my pocket with ease. My other Cheburkov, which is the Scout model takes quite a bit of force to slip onto the pocket of my jeans and have to slide my forefinger under the clip to get it over some other pockets. It has a good detent similar to my scout but ergos of the flipper ramp are by far better with no misfires. I prefer a stronger detent like Shirogorov's, but at less than 1/2 the price its a great value. Its smooth and closes effortlssly on its own without having made any pivot adjustments. Speaking of, would you know if Cheburkov uses red lock tight? I believe i read that …? I tend to favor light knives with a big blades. My 111 is a favorite, however this is a bit lighter and thinner and disappears in the pocket and the blade geometry makes for a nice slicer ! Lock up is early and the titanium slabs have been completely milled and contoured. Overall this knife great value. The fit and finish and attention to detail on this knife is an A+. I paid 484.00 on Wednesday and it arrived Friday nite (2 days ) from Finland to Cape Cod, that’s fast, and shipping is free to boot!

 

[ChazzyP]

Thanks for those pics, MRI . That's a sweet knife and you're increasing my hunger for one.

I've heard a few guys complain about the clips on some Cheburkovs and I can't disagree, though I consider their stiffness to be a nitpick as I just remember what knife is in my hand, change my grip a little when pocketing, and slip my thumbnail under the clip to help it along. I wear Carharts mostly and they tend to have pretty thick pocket seams so a little extra effort putting a knife away isn't restricted to my Chebs. Part of the issue with these sorts of clips is that the sculpted variety tends to be low-profile and the reduced clearance makes them tougher inserts from the git-go. The clip on my new Rainmaker that I've been plastering all over BF is quite similar, though its bridge is wicked slim and takes less encouragement to skirt over the pocket seam.

I hadn't noted any discussion of Alex using red LocTite, though it wouldn't surprise me as the screws on my Scout didn't want to come loose at all. I was at our place in Vermont when I decided to take it apart just to have a look inside. We have a cheap, weak-ass hairdryer up there and I couldn't break the bond, but with no real reason to do so I just let it go. The action on the Scout is perfect in both directions and I'll just wait til I need to open it to find out. Same for the Voron and Strizh.

I've heard great things about the Finnish retailer and their super-quick shipping. Their prices are really quite good and they have the best selection of Cheburkovs I've seen. I expect I'll buy my next Cheburkov from them unless I have Alex make me another to order as I did with the Voron.

 

[TALON52]

With the delay in shipping out of Russia due to COVID, the "Dragon" knife that I ordered back on May 8th won't be here for a while. So to hold me over for a while I ordered another "Russkiy". This time sporting a ZDI 1016 Damascus blade, and red-black carbon fiber scales. I have many knives with black CF scales, this is my first knife with red-black CF scales, and I really like the look of it.

I ordered the knife out of Finland Sunday night, and with their super fast shipping, here she is.

 

[ChazzyP]

Nice Ruskiy, TALON52 . Is that Zladinox Damascus? Like you, all my CF had always been just black or black intermingled with gray, but I picked up one around Christmas that was red/black without even realizing that's what it was. I bought it from a Spanish dealer that didn't feature a lot of pics, the red just didn't show up on their website, and they only advertised it as carbon fiber. I fell in love with the look and shape of the knife and ordered it. It's not a Cheburkov, it's an Andrey Biryukov and made in Pavlovo, the same city as Alex's workshop. I'll take OP's license and post a pic of it here, just to show off the CF.

As with the dealer pics, you really don't notice the red from some angles.

 

[TALON52]

Nice Ruskiy, TALON52 . Is that Zladinox Damascus? Like you, all my CF had always been just black or black intermingled with gray, but I picked up one around Christmas that was red/black without even realizing that's what it was. I bought it from a Spanish dealer that didn't feature a lot of pics, the red just didn't show up on their website, and they only advertised it as carbon fiber. I fell in love with the look and shape of the knife and ordered it. It's not a Cheburkov, it's an Andrey Biryukov and made in Pavlovo, the same city as Alex's workshop. I'll take OP's license and post a pic of it here, just to show off the CF.

Thanks! Yes, it's ZDI-1016 Damascus.

As with the dealer pics, you really don't notice the red from some angles.

 

[Jacobkg]

After reading this thread I’m definitely interested in picking one up. Where is the official place to order them in the US? If you aren’t allowed to post it publicly maybe someone can DM me the website or Facebook group or whatever. Thanks!

 

[Jacobkg]

A lot of the Cheburkovs seems quite large. On the smaller end, the mini russkiy looks nice. Does anyone own one or has seen one in person that can give an opinion on it?

 

[sechip]

A lot of the Cheburkovs seems quite large. On the smaller end, the mini russkiy looks nice. Does anyone own one or has seen one in person that can give an opinion on it?

I have one on order but it’s being held up in Russia currently

 

[Jacobkg]

I just ordered a mini Russian m390 blade, bronze finish direct from Cheburkov! Your news about packages being held up in Russia is somewhat concerning. Hopefully it works out well for both of us.

One word of warning: The prices on their website are a lot lower than the resellers but they added a delivery charge that covers almost the entire gap.

Regardless I’m excited to get it. This will be my first Cheburkov and it was nice to find one so reasonably sized. I also like (from pictures) how the flipper tab is shaped to disappear into the case design when opened.

 

[TALON52]

I just ordered a mini Russian m390 blade, bronze finish direct from Cheburkov! Your news about packages being held up in Russia is somewhat concerning. Hopefully it works out well for both of us.

One word of warning: The prices on their website are a lot lower than the resellers but they added a delivery charge that covers almost the entire gap.

Regardless I’m excited to get it. This will be my first Cheburkov and it was nice to find one so reasonably sized. I also like (from pictures) how the flipper tab is shaped to disappear into the case design when opened.

Congrats! Looking forward to some pix.

 

[Razor]

I know where their is a new scout for sale if anyone is interested.

 

[Jacobkg]

My Mini Russian arrived today direct from Russia. Here it is next to a Shirogorov Neon Zero

 

[TALON52]

^^^^ Looks great! How does it feel in the hand compared to the Shiro?

I ordered a "Dragon" from Russia on May 5th, and still waiting.

 

[Jacobkg]

So I’m enjoying the Mini Russian except that the action falls quite a bit short when compared to the Shiro. It’s much stickier. Anyone have advice on how I might be able to get it closer to the wonderful drop shutty closing action that the Neon Zero has?

 

[TALON52]

So I’m enjoying the Mini Russian except that the action falls quite a bit short when compared to the Shiro. It’s much stickier. Anyone have advice on how I might be able to get it closer to the wonderful drop shutty closing action that the Neon Zero has?

I'd take the knife apart then clean, and oil it.

I have a Shirogorov Hation Zero that was downright painful to flip right out of the box.

 

[JAB]

Finally pulled the trigger on a Scout. Fresh off the big brown truck via Finland...



Just a quick and dirty pic. Gotta run - I’ll post some thoughts later when I have more time.

ETA: Okay, got to spend a little more time with it and overall am very pleased. It’s only my second* Cheb (the first being a Bulldog) and fit, finish, blade centering are all spot-on. The action/detent feels very similar to that of the bulldog which is pretty cool considering the large difference in size and weight. Speaking of which, the only real surprise was the weight - I don’t really know why I was expecting it to be lighter (there’s no internal milling) but it’s definitely got some heft to it which contributes to a really solid feel. Back to the action - very satisfying opening (of course it’s not quite as smooth as my Shiros but, then again, I wasn’t expecting it to be) and relatively smooth closing accompanied by an almost Sebenza-like tink. It doesn’t drop shut but I’ve only been playing with it for a few minutes and expect it to smooth out somewhat over time.

When I first saw and fell in love with the Scout it was the milled version and even though I still really, really like that one there was just something about the utter simplicity of the plain Ti slabs on this one that called out to me + I really think it matches nicely with my Bulldog.

*#3 should hopefully be here Mon (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc.) so stay tuned to this channel...

 

[ChazzyP]

Nice Scout, JAB . There are a considerable number of variations available for the Scout as well as other Cheburkov knives, but I don't recall seeing one like yours--totally nude with hardware to match Alex's trademark bronze ano. I have and enjoy the more usual Pyramid milling on mine, but like the stark look of yours too.

As to weight, Scouts are available both with and without interior milling, the former weighing around 4.5 oz and the latter coming in around 5.4. What you get when ordering from a dealer seems to be a bit of a crapshoot as at least some seem to use boilerplate specs for their offerings and guys have gotten knives other than they've expected. I got mine from a German dealer, anticipated the lighter version and got the heavier, though I'm in no way displeased with the heftier knife which feels fine in both hand and pocket.

@DCFree asked after "the Cheburkov" in another thread, so I'm carrying and snapped some fresh pics of my Voron today which I'll post here for good measure.

 

[ChazzyP]

One more thing, looking at your new Scout, JAB , is how much I love the blade on those knives. The subtly-rounded transition from the flat primary grind into the narrow flat at the spine is just a thing of beauty that never fails to draw my admiration. My Chebs all came with wicked sharp, refined edges too.

 

[JAB]

Thanks! When shopping around I kept looking at one like mine but in bronze w/Damascus. The deciding factor was that I would have had to order it from Russia with all the uncertainty that currently entails (not to mention the price difference...) I keep looking at pics of yours and know I’m still going to end up with one of those versions - in fact your thread in KR&T was in no small part responsible for making me want a Scout in the first place.

 

[JAB]

Annnnd speaking of bronze...there was just a knock at the door - looks like I don’t have to wait ‘til Monday after all...

Based on the specs and in hand vids/pics I was expecting a biggun but, man, this thing is an absolute BEAST! It makes the Scout seem almost dainty by comparison and that massive clip point feels kind of like it’s opening in slow motion - I love it!