Shirogorov NeOn Zero my new EDC (vs. CRK Small Inkosi)?

T

Tseg

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Aug 25, 2018
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With only 4 knives in my current "collection" I'm not really a collector or hoarder. About a year ago in quick succession I bought a CRK Umnumzaan, Sebenza 21 and Inkosi and quickly realized I appreciated a lighter smaller knife in my pocket. They are all great knives but the Inkosi became my EDC for nearly a year. At the same time I wanted to get a really good but smaller flipper as well. My heart was set on the Grimsmo Rask. Since I only buy new, I was doing a lot of waiting. I know the Rask just went into production again (but I've not yet been picked in the lottery) but I just recently stumbled upon the Shirogorov NeOn Zero... it was like an alarm light on a Skee Ball game after nailing the center hole. This knife ticked a lot of boxes:
  • High quality steel (M390)
  • Multi-row bearing system reported to be one of the most amazing flippers on the market
  • Light (at 2.9 oz, .2 oz lighter than the much shorter Inkosi micarta)
  • Thin (at .39 in. is .10 in. thinner than the Inkosi micarta)
  • Lower cost (at ~$700 is >$200 less than the Rask)
Well the NeOn just showed up today. It is a beauty. Perfectly centered, super sharp and perfect flipping capability with a gravity drop blade out of the box. There is a technique for easy flipping... need to hold the knife far back with center finger resting in the middle of the clip. The blade springs forth. What a sharp slicer.

If I had to use a vehicle analogy, the Inkosi is like a 2 door Jeep Rubicon... small and unbelievable capable. Beefy looking in a small package. The NeOn, on the other hand, is like a European sports car... not a flashy Lamborghini but more like a very refined Aston Martin. The Inkosi is more Cool, the NeOn is more Drool.

So is the NeOn my new EDC? Too soon to tell. The one item that may be holding things back is the NeOn has a very stout clip on it. There is little give and a very short lip to slide past the seam on a pocket. I'll need to spend some time to see if this is a real issue or just requires a different technique to easily affix the clip. For now I'm enjoying the honeymoon.

 
The clip on my Warrior 2 V2 almost stopped me but eventually I formed a callous on the heel of my hand and the sharp spot wore off. I was surprised since I have pretty rough hands to begin with but somehow it just hit the right spot creating a hot spot. Moral of the story is rock it for a week and perhaps it will grow on you. If not, as stated there are aftermarket clip makes. Apurvis makes some really cool mokuti clips and accessories.

Nice collection btw. I've been on the fence of a CRK for a while. The 31 looks really cool and it might be my first.
 
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Nice collection! From when I bought my first “serious” folder, it took me >8 months and >1 1/2 dozen knives before I stepped up into CRKs and Shiros. Now I have around a dozen knives that I’m going to end up selling off one of these months and paying the appropriate toll for moving out of them. I wish I’d entered the folder world at the CRK/Shiro level instead of working my way up to it. I envy your wisdom in starting out at the CRK level.
 
ErocSD said:
The clip on my Warrior 2 V2 almost stopped but eventually I formed a callous on the heel of my hand and the sharp spot wore off. I was surprised since I have pretty rough hands to begin with but somehow it just hit the right spot creating a hot spot. Moral of the story is rock it for a week and perhaps it will grow on you. If not, as stated there are aftermarket clip makes. Apurvis makes some really cool mokuti clips and accessories.

Nice collection btw. I've been on the fence of a CRK for a while. The 31 looks really cool and it might be my first.
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Thanks... for more clarity on my clip concerns... the ease of putting it in and taking it off my pocket (still to be determined). From an ergonomic perspective there are no concerns with this clip. I ended up removing my clip from my Umnumzaan because I was always getting severe hot spots hurting my hand. Without a clip that knife is very comfy.
 
Very nice trio. The LG 21 makes the Shirogorov look small in comparison.. I have a 95 and have been contemplating a zero since they were announced, but I might stay in the 95 zone.

Pictures are deceiving sometimes, wish I could try one on.

Nice score!
 
Congrats on your Zero. I love mine but agree with your observations on the clip. I think it will have a little more play to it overtime. Also, I find myself flipping mine often and the pivot screw has required tightening as it gets loose and the blade would have play to it. I've had to make a tightening adjustment which seems to have done the trick. I was wondering if anyone else has that had that issue? Don't get me wrong I totally love this knife particularly as a summer carry due to its light weight.
 
Tigerden said:
Congrats on your Zero. I love mine but agree with your observations on the clip. I think it will have a little more play to it overtime. Also, I find myself flipping mine often and the pivot screw has required tightening as it gets loose and the blade would have play to it. I've had to make a tightening adjustment which seems to have done the trick. I was wondering if anyone else has that had that issue? Don't get me wrong I totally love this knife particularly as a summer carry due to its light weight.
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Last night I experienced the same thing. Based on my experience with the Inkosi, I carefully added a small drop of purple loctite using a toothpick to the female side internal pivot screw threads and re-screwed the pivot screw, careful to not over-tighten. Use the loctite suggestion at your own risk. It is very important to land that adhesive in the right spot. We’ll see if that did the trick.
 
Question...would anyone be able to post a pic with a Neon and a Neon Zero for size comparison? :) Please and thank you.
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Question...would anyone be able to post a pic with a Neon and a Neon Zero for size comparison? :) Please and thank you.
Click to expand...

I don’t have a NeOn and I have since sold the HaTion but this pic should give you the same comparison as the HaTion and NeOn are the same in size.

z9CwrWn.jpg
 
marcus52AR said:
Very nice trio. The LG 21 makes the Shirogorov look small in comparison.. I have a 95 and have been contemplating a zero since they were announced, but I might stay in the 95 zone.

Pictures are deceiving sometimes, wish I could try one on.

Nice score!
Click to expand...

I have been eyeing these Zeroes as well and have had 3 95’s go thru my hands in the last month. None worked for me and big time money losing proposition. Want to attempt a try at the Zero for my last shot at a Shiro before I move on from the brand but boy scared to lose out yet again. Size won’t be the issue as I have found that the 95’s are just too big for me; lock bar pressure causing me to misfire and any sign of lockstick will. Had a Neon ultra lite for 5 seconds but sold it the day I got it due to stick and any lockbar pressure made it tough to flip. Hate that.

Knowing me though I will give one a shot someday and throw caution to the wind. If you hear me getting one keep an ever watchful eye on the sale forums as I have zero tolerance with issues on expensive knives.
 
Mrgauth said:
I have been eyeing these Zeroes... lock bar pressure causing me to misfire and any sign of lockstick will. Had a Neon ultra lite for 5 seconds but sold it the day I got it due to stick and any lockbar pressure made it tough to flip. Hate that.
.
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I can tell you if you have the lightest touch on the Zero lock bar you will have issues opening it. Need to relearn how to hold the knife with fingers resting on the pocket clip.
 
Tseg said:
I can tell you if you have the lightest touch on the Zero lock bar you will have issues opening it. Need to relearn how to hold the knife with fingers resting on the pocket clip.
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Good to know. Yeah, not something I care for in a frame lock. It is looking like I may need to move on. Thx for letting me know.
 
You could put a thin shim between where the clip screws into the frame to see if that makes it easier to slide in and out of pocket
 
One week update:
  • The sturdy pocket clip is growing on me. I would rather it be overly secure than flimsy. I saw some posts about the early days of the Neon Light and I guess that clip was a bit weak
  • I ran into issues with my pivot screw coming undone. I first tried Loctite, but that became a bit problematic in that some must have worked its way over to the bearings and I could sense some grinding. After further research and a good cleaning, I made the move to Teflon tape on the pivot screw. That has done wonders and is nice and clean. Problem solved
  • Reference above and the cleaning... despite opening my NeOn Zero in a Tupperware bowl, that last little nudge to remove the scale sent the bearings flying. When all was counted, that's right, I was 2 bearings short. I first freaked, thinking the bearings were some rare earth metal custom made in the Ural mountains in a cave, but after research identified they are plain 1.5mm stainless steel bearings (and I further confirmed the size with a caliper). That then sent me on a pivot bearing research project... steel... chrome... ceramic? Maybe I'll make a separate post on my conclusions, but I ultimately decided on ceramic.
  • Next: no lubricant? oil? grease? lightly done or heavy? Besides additional research and a few decades hanging around tribologists, enough to be dangerous, I tried my knife without lubricant, with 10w nano oil, with very light grease and finally I identified filling the titanium scale channels with a fair amount of high-end synthetic bearing grease resulted in the most beautiful, smooth quick and quiet action. Don't get me wrong... the 1st three permutations provided a really good result, but this last option delivered action that I dreamed about in advance of buying my first and only high-end flipper.
  • I also did my first (hand) sharpening today. It came from the factory very sharp but now slices like everything is warm butter. I never was able to get my stocky-bladed small Inkosi to slice like this. Wow!
So a week later I picked up my small Inkosi with micarta inlay. That knife is a brick sh!!thouse. Clearly quality, clearly sturdy, but now that my Shirogorov is all pimped out, the CRK feels a bit clunky and thick, even though the blade is quite a bit shorter than my NeOn. I'm sure I'll make my way back to it at some point, but for now, it is only the NeOn clipped to my pocket.
 
Hey mate just wanted to say Thankyou for sharing all the information that you have. It has helped me a lot personally!
I'm currently looking into a Shiro Neon Zero but am a little hesitant.
I own 3 CRK's and my small Inkosi is my absolute favourite of everything I own. I have a Plain Drop point model.
Why I'm hesitant is partly because of cost and I wanted to do some research on ease of cleaning with them. I love how easy CRK's are to maintain. I really enjoy taking them apart.
For reference I don't like taking PM2's apart I feel like I'm gonna break the scales every time trying to get it all undone.
Can I ask what teflon tape you use? Was thinking about trying this on my Inkosi and Umnumzaan I was worried that overtime the continual use of loctite may build up and cause issues down the line.

Thanks again

Joel
 
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