The Cheburkov Channel--Picture & Discussion Thread

[ChazzyP]

Damn, that Volk makes your Scout look like a NeOn Zero, JAB . I've eyed that one a few times, but the saber grind has held me back a bit. That, and buying too many other knives, of course. Nice looking knife for sure and I bet it feels really solid in hand.

 

[JAB]

Thanks! Yeah, it definitely has a “folding fixed blade” vibe to it. My only quibble is the same that I have with many other really large folders - closing can be a bit fiddly as the flipper tab hits my thumb when using the usual method of unlocking and partially pushing the blade closed with my forefinger. No big deal - it just requires a little extra attention and manipulation (which is probably a good thing when dealing with folding blades this size or larger anyway...) Even though we do things bigger here in TX I really don’t plan on ever carrying it to be honest - it definitely is a case of too much of a good thing.

 

[TALON52]

My "Dragon" was delivered today after a long three month wait to get here from Russia. The knife is amazing, drop shut action, super sharp blade, exquisite milling detail. Definitely worth the wait. #85/100

 

[ChazzyP]

It's been a bit quiet on these pages lately, so I figured I'd drop a post to maybe spark a little life here at The Channel. Nothing much new to share, though I'm still contemplating pulling the trigger on a Hudson/Gudzon. I'm carrying my Scout today and enjoying how well it's broken in over the years with no tinkering other than adding a couple drops of light NanoOil. It flips excellently and is no-shake, hydraulically drop shot.

I did get a new bead for my Voron off the Artsy-Craftsy site a little while back and tied up a new lanyard, replacing the placeholder grey/black cord and black thermo-plastic bead I had on there for too long. I wanted something that would complement the knife yet not bang it up. I like this one with the polished red G10 and dyed wood with copper rings and ferrule. The back post is wicked close to the blade when closed so I partially gutted the black 550 and tied a single snake knot there to keep the card as much out of harm's way as possible.

 

[JAB]

It's been a bit quiet on these pages lately, so I figured I'd drop a post to maybe spark a little life here at The Channel. Nothing much new to share, though I'm still contemplating pulling the trigger on a Hudson/Gudzon. I'm carrying my Scout today and enjoying how well it's broken in over the years with no tinkering other than adding a couple drops of light NanoOil. It flips excellently and is no-shake, hydraulically drop shot.

I did get a new bead for my Voron off the Artsy-Craftsy site a little while back and tied up a new lanyard, replacing the placeholder grey/black cord and black thermo-plastic bead I had on there for too long. I wanted something that would complement the knife yet not bang it up. I like this one with the polished red G10 and dyed wood with copper rings and ferrule. The back post is wicked close to the blade when closed so I partially gutted the black 550 and tied a single snake knot there to keep the card as much out of harm's way as possible.

I’ve come sooo close to putting in an order for a Russkiy but for some reason I just haven’t been quite able to pull the trigger.

I really like the looks of the Gudzon (especially with the laminated blade). Based on the specs I’m guessing it would feel something roughly along the lines of an Olamic Rainmaker framelock?

Something that might be affecting participation in this thread: It seems that supplies of readily available models have all but dried up at the usual sources. Hopefully this will start to change sooner rather than later.

 

[ChazzyP]

I’ve come sooo close to putting in an order for a Russkiy but for some reason I just haven’t been quite able to pull the trigger.

I really like the looks of the Gudzon (especially with the laminated blade). Based on the specs I’m guessing it would feel something roughly along the lines of an Olamic Rainmaker framelock?

Something that might be affecting participation in this thread: It seems that supplies of readily available models have all but dried up at the usual sources. Hopefully this will start to change sooner rather than later.

Shipping out of Russia is very slow now. I asked Andrey Biryukov to build me an out-of-stock knife, his workshop had it made and away inside of three days, it took about a week to get to Moscow and through customs (not awful really), but then it sat in a blackhole at the airport for a little over three weeks before it got in the air. That was by usually quick from Russia EMS courier which is 35 bucks for a single package. Makers may be still be in production but reluctant to spend a premium to get their wares to their dealers, or not worth the price if shipping is so slow anyway. Regular Russian post is barely moving internationally if at all, with members here reporting months delays in receiving orders.

There are many things more important in the face of this pandemic than the desires of knife knuts, but it's still a PIA.

 

[ChazzyP]

I just checked the Finnish dealer and not surprisingly there's almost nothing there for Cheburkov's. At this point I was figuring that if I wanted something I'd just order straight from Alex and wait like I did for my Voron. I'm thinking of a custom build anyway.

 

[mb>]

It's sounds are subtle, almost muted. It has this "safety" step in it's closing routine: unlock and move blade, encounter the soft resistance (of the detent bearing - I have no idea how he made it feel so subtle) give blade spine a gently nudge with the thumb that now is safely out of the free swinging path, enjoy the visual and auditory show.

Wish I would’ve read this tip before it bit me! Thanks for sharing. Didn’t think I could push thru that soft resistance so easily for some reason, and it’s a bit sketchy to release it further at that point.

 

[Freedom Pullo]

The Finnish dealer is restocked and is offering 10% off for their 11th anniversary sale. I have a Damascus Scout heading my way.

 

[somebizarredude]

due to me lurking in this thread for a while I just ordered my first two Cheburkov blades today.
I got a full titanium M390 Raven and a Dama and bronze large CF Strizh lightweight. Snagged both directly from Cheburkov for $681 total shipped. They now do 20% off In stock blades on the 20th of each month, basically makes it free shipping.

Hopefully they don't take months to get here though.

 

[ChazzyP]

due to me lurking in this thread for a while I just ordered my first two Cheburkov blades today.
I got a full titanium M390 Raven and a Dama and bronze large CF Strizh lightweight. Snagged both directly from Cheburkov for $681 total shipped. They now do 20% off In stock blades on the 20th of each month, basically makes it free shipping.

Hopefully they don't take months to get here though.

Congrats on the new blades. I had a knife shipped from Andrey Biryukov, also from Pavlovo, by EMS and it took about a month back in June/July. Tracking had it clearing customs in Moscow in about a week after it was dispatched then it sat in a black hole at the airport in Khimki for three weeks.

I don't know what Alex is charging for shipping lately as EMS is usually under 40 bucks from Russia for knives, but 20% off 2 Cheburkovs (which is a great deal) should way exceed that cost.

 

[somebizarredude]

Congrats on the new blades. I had a knife shipped from Andrey Biryukov, also from Pavlovo, by EMS and it took about a month back in June/July. Tracking had it clearing customs in Moscow in about a week after it was dispatched then it sat in a black hole at the airport in Khimki for three weeks.

I don't know what Alex is charging for shipping lately as EMS is usually under 40 bucks from Russia for knives, but 20% off 2 Cheburkovs (which is a great deal) should way exceed that cost.

Thanks for the info.
And it was about 9000rub for shipping, about $120. I thought that was fairly excessive and asked about it. As i understand their explanation, apparently the Russian bureaucrats and financial institutions take a Good cut of the Exports. They (Cheburkov) aren't too thrilled about it either from what I gather. I didn't ask specifics on percentages and fees but the largest upfront cost is apparently the paperwork and processing for each individual export. Because for one knife it was roughly $100 shipping charge and adding the second knife only brought it up about $20, so I'm thinking actual shipping is about $40 to $20 And the rest goes to other institutions to get it out of the country. That and PayPal tacked on about 5% for currency exchange, would have been about $645 direct conversion. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Razor]

Wonder if anyone has the Scouts in stock? That is the Cheburko I want. I had one but it had a detent that was so strong I could hardly open it. I hope that not all of the scouts have that strong a detent?

 

[Freedom Pullo]

Wonder if anyone has the Scouts in stock? That is the Cheburko I want. I had one but it had a detent that was so strong I could hardly open it. I hope that not all of the scouts have that strong a detent?

I picked a scout last week from the Finnish website but haven’t posted pictures here yet. The flipper is chamfered and polished and the detent is very strong. I plan on cleaning it and maybe adding some extra jimping to the flipper with a diamond file.

 

[ChazzyP]

Razor , did we go around about Scout detent before by PM? I seem to recall messaging with someone about that.

I have but the one Scout and haven't handled any others, so I can only speak to mine. My usual test to judge detent stiffness is to grab the blade in a two finger pinch grip near the lockbar cutout and see how hard it is pull open. One can't do that on a knife with a particularly strong detent, but one can't fairly judge the Scout that way either as there isn't enough blade exposed with the knife closed to effect such a grip. I can grab the blade between two fingernails (not a secure grip) less than halfway back to open it and think this would tend to indicate that the detent is not exceptionally stiff.

My Scout can seem to be resistant to flipping if I've not handled it for a while, but I think this is due to the smallish flipper tab rather than an overly stiff detent. Different knives often require different flipping techniques and I find the Scout opens easily and reliably by loading pressure towards the pivot just a little forward of the tab's peak before either push-buttoning or light-switching to open. Once a little practiced, this is a quick and natural process.

Cheburkov has the Scout in a few steels available at their website. They also list a few Russian shops with websites that sell their knives. The German and Finnish dealers do indeed seem to be currently out of stock.

 

[Freedom Pullo]

There is seller that I found that insists that the newer Strizh are coming with bearings instead of PB washers. Can anyone confirm that there are Strizh with bearings?
I did some searching and Small Strizh made after May 2020 are being made with Bearings

 

[somebizarredude]

There is seller that I found that insists that the newer Strizh are coming with bearings instead of PB washers. Can anyone confirm that there are Strizh with bearings?
I did some searching and Small Strizh made after May 2020 are being made with Bearings

Looking at the product pages on the cheburkov site the titanium and carbon fiber small Strizh list as having bearing but the Micarta models list as having washers. I've also seen a couple new models for sale second hand and one seller said "pre bearing Strizh" and one said "new model with bearing pivot". So I say it's safe to assume that the more premium Strizh models indeed have bearings now. They probably keep the washers on the micart models due to keep cost down.

 

[ChazzyP]

So I say it's safe to assume that the more premium Strizh models indeed have bearings now. They probably keep the washers on the micart models due to keep cost down.

Could be that they're just selling off old stock too, though casting through their product pages just now I can't recall having seen those all-Micarta handles on Strizh's before. Kinda cool, actually.

And...speaking of that model, I carried my PB-washered small to a medical appointment yesterday.

I love how light, sharp and smooth the knife is, although when first received from the German dealer it was terribly stiff, as I suspect it was lubed with grease at the workshop which had dried out from sitting in stock for too long. I couldn't crack the thread-locker, but a dose of light NanoLube got the blade moving nicely. Still, whatever's in there aside from the NO makes for a slightly gunky feel to the action when it's sat unused for some time. I tried yesterday, without luck again, to break the thread-locker with the hair dryer, getting it so hot that it seemed to melt the grease instead which ran out of the pivot mixed with oil over the course numerous opening/closing cycles. After the knife had cooled enough to handle and function it was incredibly free and smooth and remains so today.

 

[Lance Leon]

Could be that they're just selling off old stock too, though casting through their product pages just now I can't recall having seen those all-Micarta handles on Strizh's before. Kinda cool, actually.

And...speaking of that model, I carried my PB-washered small to a medical appointment yesterday.

I love how light, sharp and smooth the knife is, although when first received from the German dealer it was terribly stiff, as I suspect it was lubed with grease at the workshop which had dried out from sitting in stock for too long. I couldn't crack the thread-locker, but a dose of light NanoLube got the blade moving nicely. Still, whatever's in there aside from the NO makes for a slightly gunky feel to the action when it's sat unused for some time. I tried yesterday, without luck again, to break the thread-locker with the hair dryer, getting it so hot that it seemed to melt the grease instead which ran out of the pivot mixed with oil over the course numerous opening/closing cycles. After the knife had cooled enough to handle and function it was incredibly free and smooth and remains so today.

Something worth trying to address the thread locker is a soldering iron - just touch the heated up soldering iron to the pivot screw for 10-20 seconds, and usually that does the trick. Then again, if it doesn't bother you and the knife is functioning fine, you could just leave it alone.

 

[ChazzyP]

Something worth trying to address the thread locker is a soldering iron - just touch the heated up soldering iron to the pivot screw for 10-20 seconds, and usually that does the trick. Then again, if it doesn't bother you and the knife is functioning fine, you could just leave it alone.

Thanks for the tip. I had thought of that, but was concerned that it might discolor the anodized pivot. Have you used a soldering iron on such a finish?