ChazzyP
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2014
- Messages
- 8,129
@CPP hit the nail on the head describing Shirogorov Knives as both overpriced and totally worth it. @Stumpy72 , @Sharp & Fiery , and @Officer's Match 's commentaries also go to the heart of why Bear Denizens so appreciate their Shiros. I'll just speak to the pricing.
If Shiros have been "hyped", the source of that does not seem to emanate from the Shirogorov Brothers Workshop as their forte is building excellent knives--marketing, not so much. Until more recent years, the only retail source for these knives was directly from SBW so the market here was largely set by Russian resellers paying retail and marking up for sale overseas. This includes both individuals selling small numbers of knives as well as unauthorized online dealers (mostly Russian). Since then there has been, until this year, only one other authorized dealer worldwide--located in California. Looking at the prices of knives available directly from SBW and from the CA dealer, one can see that Shiro's direct prices are anywhere from $175-300 less than the CA dealer's, making it reasonable to assume that Shiro has little or no wholesale reduction in their pricing.
If you compare the prices of the F95NL or 111 (in G10 & Elmax) directly from SBW to those of CRK or RHK, they're pretty much in line for knives of comparable materials. Of course, those of us in North America must use one of now-two authorized dealers for new purchases, Knife Center recently becoming sort of a subsidiary-dealer of the CA firm for Shiros, and must pay their inflated prices. On the other hand, Shiro has introduced models and variants, such as the two mentioned above, which use more modest materials and features but still maintain their high quality of design and F&F. There are also means to obtain knives priced between NA dealer and SBW pricing, such as through Vladimir_K--a registered seller here at BF. Shirogorov has recently authorized a Moscow dealer--both brick-and-mortar and online--for their knives, but I've yet to examine their pricing or whether one might be able to use them from this side of the pond.
While production does seem to be up somewhat, SBW seems more intent on maintaining the high quality of their releases than in producing ever-larger numbers of knives. While the Workshop uses many modern manufacturing techniques to produce their parts there's also a substantial amount of handwork that goes into each knife. One may prefer comparably priced knives such as Rockstead over Shirogorov, but for either of those or other makers' offerings, Stumpy's "Ford/BMW" analogy seems perfectly apt to me. I own two Fords but can't come close to buying a B'mer. A few Shiros I can afford (all off the secondary market BTW) and am really pleased to have them.
If Shiros have been "hyped", the source of that does not seem to emanate from the Shirogorov Brothers Workshop as their forte is building excellent knives--marketing, not so much. Until more recent years, the only retail source for these knives was directly from SBW so the market here was largely set by Russian resellers paying retail and marking up for sale overseas. This includes both individuals selling small numbers of knives as well as unauthorized online dealers (mostly Russian). Since then there has been, until this year, only one other authorized dealer worldwide--located in California. Looking at the prices of knives available directly from SBW and from the CA dealer, one can see that Shiro's direct prices are anywhere from $175-300 less than the CA dealer's, making it reasonable to assume that Shiro has little or no wholesale reduction in their pricing.
If you compare the prices of the F95NL or 111 (in G10 & Elmax) directly from SBW to those of CRK or RHK, they're pretty much in line for knives of comparable materials. Of course, those of us in North America must use one of now-two authorized dealers for new purchases, Knife Center recently becoming sort of a subsidiary-dealer of the CA firm for Shiros, and must pay their inflated prices. On the other hand, Shiro has introduced models and variants, such as the two mentioned above, which use more modest materials and features but still maintain their high quality of design and F&F. There are also means to obtain knives priced between NA dealer and SBW pricing, such as through Vladimir_K--a registered seller here at BF. Shirogorov has recently authorized a Moscow dealer--both brick-and-mortar and online--for their knives, but I've yet to examine their pricing or whether one might be able to use them from this side of the pond.
While production does seem to be up somewhat, SBW seems more intent on maintaining the high quality of their releases than in producing ever-larger numbers of knives. While the Workshop uses many modern manufacturing techniques to produce their parts there's also a substantial amount of handwork that goes into each knife. One may prefer comparably priced knives such as Rockstead over Shirogorov, but for either of those or other makers' offerings, Stumpy's "Ford/BMW" analogy seems perfectly apt to me. I own two Fords but can't come close to buying a B'mer. A few Shiros I can afford (all off the secondary market BTW) and am really pleased to have them.
I can only imagine that a large part of the appeal is simply "conspicuous consumption " . The joy of buying ridiculously expensive stuff , to show the world that you can . A display of wealth and status . Bling . 
