The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

I did a quick writeup of the Sigma in anticipation of the Pero for anyone who is interested.
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Officer's Match said:
For my first Shiro, what can you tell me about F95 vs F3 vs Hati?
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Each of the three is the same size and profile, but the the F95 and its variants are framelocks with both scales being titanium and a single standoff; the F3 is a liner lock with titanium liners and either G10, carbon fiber or Micarta scales and a backspacer either matching the material of the scales or titanium; and the Hati is a framelock with a titanium locking side scale and a carbon fiber or Alutex presentation side scale and a titanium backspacer.
 
CPP said:
Each of the three is the same size and profile, but the the F95 and its variants are framelocks with both scales being titanium and a single standoff; the F3 is a liner lock with titanium liners and either G10, carbon fiber or Micarta scales and a backspacer either matching the material of the scales or titanium; and the Hati is a framelock with a titanium locking side scale and a carbon fiber or Alutex presentation side scale and a titanium backspacer.
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Thanks, that was/is my understanding. I should have asked what are the personal observations of the three models in ownership and use?
 
Officer's Match said:
For my first Shiro, what can you tell me about F95 vs F3 vs Hati?
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I'm new to the world of Shiro myself but agree w/ CPP's response above. My HatiOn Lite is a smaller version of the Hati. It's much smaller and lighter than the F95 and F3. It's hard to tell in my photo due to th angle.
 
aleforme said:
I'm new to the world of Shiro myself but agree w/ CPP's response above. My HatiOn Lite is a smaller version of the Hati. It's much smaller and lighter than the F95 and F3. It's hard to tell in my photo due to th angle.
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Thanks. I'm interested primarily in the 95 size rather than the 111 or "Neon/HatiOn" size.
 
Officer's Match said:
Thanks. I'm interested primarily in the 95 size rather than the 111 or "Neon/HatiOn" size.
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IIRC, you are a big fan of Spyderco Millies. Ever since I got into Shiros, I sold off all my Millies but one and never got into any of the newer sprints like Rex45. IMHO, the F95 beats the Millie very handily in every aspect, as one would expect it to be so for a knife up to 7 folds in price, but as we already know there are a lot of pricy knives which don't do a darn thing if actually used as a knife!

By and large, the Shiro 95 is lighter than the Ti Millies, carries and holds more naturally and is a lot more robust in all aspects of construction and strength. I don't want this to become a proverbial pound-for-pound comparison but just a layman kinda thang!
 
I'm feeling it.. I know they said "soon", but have you heard an ETA?


Recon1 has some Peros in stock but are waiting for the rest before beginning the lottery. The wait is in weeks not months.
 
CPP said:
Recon1 has some Peros in stock but are waiting for the rest before beginning the lottery. The wait is in weeks not months.
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I've never done a lottery there, do you have to put down a deposit? how does it work?
 
george65 said:
I've never done a lottery there, do you have to put down a deposit?
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No deposit is required but if you are selected and then don't buy it you are penalized in some way that I can't remember–maybe you won't be allowed to enter the next raffle.
 
Officer's Match said:
For my first Shiro, what can you tell me about F95 vs F3 vs Hati?
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There are the new R series knives--F3R, F95R, and Hati R--which feature upgrades from their earlier versions such as MRBS and weight-reducing, interior milled pockets. Those newer series knives feature "higher end" steels such as Vanax 37 and M390. These are knives which fall within Shirogorov's 3 Bears category, although the Bears designations are only used for knives sourced directly from Russia and not from the authorized North American dealer.

There are also 95 series knives which fall within the 1 Bear category--most notably various F3's and the F95NL. These knives feature "lesser" steels, such as Elmax, SRBS, no jimping, and no weight-reducing milling. The F95NL has Micarta inlayed handle slabs and is quite a hit with those who have or have handled that knife. The 1 Bear F3's I've seen have very nicely milled, textured grips in Micarta and G10. @marchone has his posted here and on other threads and it's a wicked handsome knife that he seems quite pleased with. The 1 Bear knives are of no lesser quality--they simply have more economical features and are available new at considerable savings compared to the R series knives.

There are also lots of older 95's--Hati's on washers, F95's with SRBS, F3's with steels like S30V or Elmax--that are available on the Exchange. The greater availability of Shiros in general as well as a plethora of newer serial production models has brought the general secondary market prices for older knives down and there are some nice deals to be found.

My take on the three 95 models you mentioned is that the F3's are really comfortable and hand-filling, while the Hati's are the lightest and most well balanced. I have an older Hati with milled pockets on washers which is almost CRK-like in its smoothness and flips like a Sebenza might if it were so equipped. My F3 Python has Micarta grips and S30V which is far superior to any other maker's iteration of that steel. I have both an older F95T and a 3 Bears F95R, both sourced from Russia through Vladimir_K, a registered dealer here on BF. The F95R is MRBS, wicked smooth, flips with little pressure, drops shut, and mine has rare 3.5mm blade stock. It's a great knife, but of all my Shiros my F95T Turtle is my most carried and used. It's "just" SRBS, but flips easily and aggressively, drops shut, slips in and out of pocket easily, and its exterior milled handle pattern more than makes up for the inherent slipperiness of all-Ti handles. I love all my 6 Shiros, but if I had to pick just one (God forbid!) I think it would be my old well-worn Turtle.

Hope all that helps and welcome to the Den!
 
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ChazzyP said:
You've been around here long enough, Officer's Match Officer's Match , to know that without pictures it didn't happen, although there have to be many dozens of pictures of this baby posted at BF. On the other hand, there's no such thing as too many Shiro pics either--gratuitous or not. :D
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ChazzyP ChazzyP , as I'm unfamiliar with the F95T I'm not on top of the different versions. In your photos I noticed that the jimping is directly atop the primary grind without a flat buffer between. Was this standard or perhaps a customization you commissioned?
 
ChazzyP said:
There are the new R series knives--F3R, F95R, and Hati R--which feature upgrades from their earlier versions such as MRBS and weight-reducing, interior milled pockets. Those newer series knives feature "higher end" steels such as Vanax 37 and M390. These are knives which fall within Shirogorov's 3 Bears category, although the Bears designations are only used for knives sourced directly from Russia and not from the authorized North American dealer.

There are also 95 series knives which fall within the 1 Bear category--most notably various F3's and the F95NL. These knives feature "lesser" steels, such as Elmax, SRBS, no jimping, and no weight-reducing milling. The F95NL has Micarta inlayed handle slabs and is quite a hit with those who have or have handled that knife. The 1 Bear F3's I've seen have very nicely milled, textured grips in Micarta and G10. @marchone has his posted here and on other threads and it's a wicked handsome knife that he seems quite pleased with. The 1 Bear knives are of no lesser quality--they simply have more economical features and are available new at considerable savings compared to the R series knives.

There are also lots of older 95's--Hati's on washers, F95's with SRBS, F3's with steels like S30V or Elmax--that are available on the Exchange. The greater availability of Shiros in general as well as a plethora of newer serial production models has brought the general secondary market prices for older knives down and there are some nice deals to be found.

My take on the three 95 models you mentioned is that the F3's are really comfortable and hand-filling, while the Hati's are the lightest and most well balanced. I have an older Hati with milled pockets on washers which is almost CRK-like in its smoothness and flips like a Sebenza might if it were so equipped. My F3 Python has Micarta grips and S30V which is far superior to any other maker's iteration of that steel. I have both an older F95T and a 3 Bears F95R, both sourced from Russia through Vladimir_K, a registered dealer here on BF. The F95R is MRBS, wicked smooth, flips with little pressure, drops shut, and mine has rare 3.5mm blade stock. It's a great knife, but of all my Shiros my F95T Turtle is my most carried and used. It's "just" SRBS, but flips easily and aggressively, drops shut, slips in and out of pocket easily, and its exterior milled handle pattern more than makes up for the inherent slipperiness of all-Ti handles. I love all my 6 Shiros, but if I had to pick just one (God forbid!) I think it would be my old well-worn Turtle.

Hope all that helps and welcome to the Den!
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Thank you for all that info! Great summary of the various designs. I'm bookmarking this!

My F95T posted above is an older S30V, SRBS and no internal milling design. No jimping on the spine. I have to say, it's crazy smooth. Flips amazingly well and falls shut. I wasn't sure about the size so I found an older more reasonably priced version to try out. Based on it's performance, I don't see a need to upgrade to a newer model. But, based it and my HatiOn Lite's performance, I am going to obtain other Shiros down the road for sure. Just outstanding knives. The F3 liner lock seems to be calling my name at the moment.
 
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