Dude, I hate you lol
JK, but damn that is one of the coolest knives I’ve seen! Aside from the fact that it’s FULLY dressed, how does it compare to your Shiro Quantum? Say if they were both plain jane TI, and no Damascus, which would you prefer? Not that I’ll be able to buy a Herman in the near future, but it’s fun to dream lol
Herman for the win! Mine are smoother than any of my Shiros, but not by much. However, Herman prices are better. Herman is also made in Poland instead of Russia. So that’s currently a good thing lol.
I agree with
sixplymaple
that Herman is smoother and more refined in a way, and Poland >> Russia. But fully dressed up, the Herman is also the big standout among them; not that a dressed up Shiro is bad or anything, but they're almost impossible to get top of the line ones without going through a lottery just to win a chance to buy one. I did enter the Lottery for a could of dressed up Shirogorov at 1/2 the price of a Herman custom, and didn't win, and made the choice to go for the next Herman that popped up.
But I bought a mildly dressed up Micro Sting to try Herman out first, before buying a full size Herman; and I liked it enough to go all out on my first and only custom. I'm really partial to the larger Dragonfly model, but I needed something slightly smaller like the Sting if I ever want to carry it in a front pocket. My Micro Sting is a little on the smaller side (like a mini Griptilian), and the blade feels a little thin and light for heavier work, unlike a similarly sized Benchmade Mini Griptilian. Micro Sting is not meant for hard work, unlike the Benchmade. But despite the Micro's smaller and thinner 2.8" blade it flicks out nicely.
The Sting with around a 3.3" long and thicker blade would be a better EDC than the Micro Sting, as are my pair of Shirogorov NeOn NL with similar sized blades (3.375" I think). My NeOn NL were about $200-$250 cheaper than a Herman, and do feel more heavy duty than my Micro Sting - but while the blade of the NeOn NL is similar in length to the Herman, the Sting overall feels a bit bigger than the NeOn NL. I think a regular Sting could be sufficient for heavier work, although it would probably feel weird to be using it as an electricians or carpenters knife, etc.
It's still too soon to really answer the question adequately, as I only received my Herman yesterday, and it's not a plain jane EDC. I honestly could not say for sure whether I'd rather have my Shirogorov R1P or a plain jane Herman Sting, which go for around the same price. I do like the full-size Sting more than the NeOn NL, but maybe the NeOn NL more than the Micro Sting for EDC. Without having felt what the normal "not-fancy" full-sized M398 or Elmax Herman blade is like, in heft and thickness and profile, it might be the Herman over Shiro R1P, depending on how substantial and user friendly the Herman M398 or Elmax blades might be.
Note - availability of a plain jane Herman is better too, although the main Shiro dealer online always seems to have some Quantum Ursus in stock plus the occasional Neon NL, just not a lot of larger F3 or F95 etc very often, etc.
Shipping for the Herman took only a few days via DHL, with signature required. I ordered on Friday May 12th, shipped on May 15th, paid $215 in duties and taxes to DHL on the 17th, and while it had been scheduled for a Friday May 19th delivery it came a day early on the 18th!
sternum888
and I'm surprised that he sold these. I love budget knives and I love high end customs, what can I say.
