The Bears' Den--Shirogorov Showcase

So after selling two Shiros, regretting selling one of them and taking a small hiatus, I’m back in the game even stronger. Pulled the trigger on a certain CD from R1. Anyone want to take a stab(pun intended) at what I picked up? Should arrive tomorrow.
 
Well, you threw down the gauntlet, alude904 alude904 , so I wasn't gonna pick it up without a look around. ;)

That's a great pickup and just a fine looking knife. I have mixed feelings about some of the higher end Shiros. There's no question they're all amazing examples of fine craftsmanship, but some are more than a bit bling-y for my taste. Your F95 Antigue is exceptionally handsome, solid looking, and I'm sure must be smooth as glass. I saw over at USN that Vlad picked one up too. Super knife--enjoy!
 
Ok, I am ever so close to pulling the trigger on my first F95. The cheapo version (like any are cheap), but curious what you Shiro officianodos think I stand to lose if I get it, don’t like, and throw on exchange. And there is a 50/50 chance I could go either way with it. I am looking at the F95NL in black micarta and Elmax. I think I could stomach $75 loss to get to check one out since no other way I ever will get to. But don’t want to lose $100 or more.
 
The quality will still be there long after the price is forgotten.

Or something like that.

Henry Royce I recall.

My F3 one bear single row Elmax is as much knife as I need or can use. YMMV.

Buy with confidence at the price you can tolerate.
 
The quality will still be there long after the price is forgotten.

Or something like that.

Henry Royce I recall.

My F3 one bear single row Elmax is as much knife as I need or can use. YMMV.

Buy with confidence at the price you can tolerate.
Really well said.
 
M Mrgauth

Shiro will warranty your knife the same if it comes from Recon 1 or the secondary market. I have spoken to Tom rather extensively about this topic.

I do not see an added value when purchasing from an authorized retailer when there are literally dozens of knives being sold on the secondary that are 1000% authentic and come from solid sellers with documented reputations.

If I were in the market for a Shiro, I'd look on the popular social media site's Shirogorov group's.

If you've ever looked up Shirogorov on YouTube, you've seen the account "VladsBlades." Hes an authority and probably one of the largest collectors when it comes to Shirogorov. He runs and manages most of the groups. They're about bullet proof if you're diligent and exercise common sense.

Much nicer knives can be had for the same price you'd paying for a single bear brand new.

That's what I would choose.
 
M Mrgauth

Shiro will warranty your knife the same if it comes from Recon 1 or the secondary market. I have spoken to Tom rather extensively about this topic.

I do not see an added value when purchasing from an authorized retailer when there are literally dozens of knives being sold on the secondary that are 1000% authentic and come from solid sellers with documented reputations.

If I were in the market for a Shiro, I'd look on the popular social media site's Shirogorov group's.

If you've ever looked up Shirogorov on YouTube, you've seen the account "VladsBlades." Hes an authority and probably one of the largest collectors when it comes to Shirogorov. He runs and manages most of the groups. They're about bullet proof if you're diligent and exercise common sense.

Much nicer knives can be had for the same price you'd paying for a single bear brand new.

That's what I would choose.
I don't know if the warranty issue is a slam dunk. Maybe it's a new policy. I know that when I sent in my nudist for a detent ball replacement there was a hefty price tag.

Not sure if they consider that a warranty issue or not, but I would seeing that it was the only detent ball I've ever had fall out.

M Mrgauth I'd say the F95NL is a great choice. Shiro's tend to do well on the secondary if you don't love it. I had the detent issue with mine and I'm for sure considering another one. (Or two)
 
M Mrgauth , I think the deal with R1 and the warranty is that they'll handle the shipping both ways with the Workshop if the knife came through them whether you're the original owner or not. The identifier is the vertical black North American style COA card.

As far as the F95NL is concerned, you and I have discussed that knife earlier here and it has every bit the quality of my older SRBS Turtle--it just has Elmax instead of M390 and no jimping. If you feel more confident buying brand new from a dealer and price is a consideration, then that NL is a good deal and an excellent knife. I'm impressed with the NL World Tour pass around knife that I'm still using until it's time for me to send it along.

On the other hand, I've never bought a Shiro from a dealer--my two brand new knives came from Russian re-sellers and the rest off the secondary market and all were bought or traded here. I've never worried about the warranty and have never had any issues with the knives I couldn't deal with myself--just tuning the action and curing a bit of lockstick on one.

If you're thinking about turning the knife over, the brand new knife at worst might represent a loss of $75-100 when you're done with shipping, insurance, and PP fees, while you should be able to move a secondary market knife for what you paid for it, maybe even covering the overhead if you got a good deal.

I find it hard to imagine that you'd be dissatisfied with your Shiro, though, as I can recall maybe a couple guys from these pages that have bought their first and haven't been enthused with their new Bears.
 
Ok, I am ever so close to pulling the trigger on my first F95. The cheapo version (like any are cheap), but curious what you Shiro officianodos think I stand to lose if I get it, don’t like, and throw on exchange. And there is a 50/50 chance I could go either way with it. I am looking at the F95NL in black micarta and Elmax. I think I could stomach $75 loss to get to check one out since no other way I ever will get to. But don’t want to lose $100 or more.

I have a lot of fairly high quality knives over the years (CRK, Rockstead, Olamic, Hinderer, Microtech, Medford handmade, Emerson handmade, etc) and my F95NL is the highest quality knife I've ever had. It is just plain perfect, cuts like a laser, is great in the hand or pocket (best clip ever, so flat to the pocket, inserts easily, and retention is great too - plus looks awesome), and hands down the best action I've ever experienced. I personally think the micarta inlay is the best option Shiro makes, regardless of price, for a real world user knife.
 
M Mrgauth if you can get one you want on the secondary market I *think* you will stand a better chance of breaking even IF you choose to catch and release. It may be a bit gauche to say, but let someone else take the hit? I think there are somewhat well known instances of significant price differences from european to the US distributor (may be talking out my arse here). Let the secondary market trim off the difference to a level playing field here on the exchange.

Having said that, I doubt you'll decide you don't like it. I went through that same mental "what if" prior to getting my F95T. Instantly became my all time favorite knife, and even now with a lot of road miles, dents and dings which will certainly have wiped out the resale value, I have no concern that it's worth far less. To me it's still my most valuable knife.
 
I don't know if the warranty issue is a slam dunk. Maybe it's a new policy. I know that when I sent in my nudist for a detent ball replacement there was a hefty price tag.

Not sure if they consider that a warranty issue or not, but I would seeing that it was the only detent ball I've ever had fall out.

M Mrgauth I'd say the F95NL is a great choice. Shiro's tend to do well on the secondary if you don't love it. I had the detent issue with mine and I'm for sure considering another one. (Or two)

Hi Marcus,

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I've spoken to both Recon1 and Shirogorov about this on multiple occasions and have received quotes for pricing, so I'm fairly sure this information is rock solid -

Recon 1 will handle getting the knife to Shirogorov regardless of if you're the guy who bought it from them. I've called and asked. Now I'm not sure if they care if it's a Recon knife or Russian knife, mine was a Recon knife, so I didnt need to ask.

Regardless, all they do is hand the knives over at a show they're both attending to avoid shipping risks into Russia, where it is illegal to ship knives TO not FROM. You have little risk of having a package seized coming out of Russia if your shipper is prudent.

Now you also have the option of handing any knife over at Blade or whatever other show directly to Shirgorov as well. You may also ship it, which many have successfully, but, I personally wouldnt take the risk.

As for the warranty work costing money, the quotes I received to have my knife refinished, both the blade and handles, resharpened, and new screws, was like....50 bucks. I believe that included shipping. To stonewash the blade, anodized the handles, replace hardware, and sharpened/reassemble knife. Sounded more than fair to me.

I'm not sure why they charge money for warranty work, however reasonable, but I believe they have fixed rates for everything and so long as it isn't part replacement, like a clip or handle side, they're very agreeable.
 
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Ok, I am ever so close to pulling the trigger on my first F95. The cheapo version (like any are cheap), but curious what you Shiro officianodos think I stand to lose if I get it, don’t like, and throw on exchange. And there is a 50/50 chance I could go either way with it. I am looking at the F95NL in black micarta and Elmax. I think I could stomach $75 loss to get to check one out since no other way I ever will get to. But don’t want to lose $100 or more.
I was itching to buy a 95T a while ago but there hadn’t been any 95T’s around for some time. R-1 hadn’t had any and the exchange had been running dry. When R-1 finally put some up on their website, I grabbed one right away. Needless to say, R-1 has had 95T’s continually available since that time and as soon as I bought mine, 3 or 4 good used ones popped up on the exchange (for ~$200-250 less than retail) inside a couple months. My personal experience is that being patient, biding your time and waiting for “just the right deal” to show up is the best course of action. That deal might not show up in the first month you’re looking, but IMO it will show up and it’ll likely enable you to save significant money.

Regarding how much you might or might not lose if you resell... If that’s a major concern, you might be best advised to not buy in to start with. How you come out of a resale is always an unpredictable crapshoot. If you can’t afford to or don’t want to take a hit on the deal, not exposing yourself to that possibility might be the sensible course of action. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.
 
I was itching to buy a 95T a while ago but there hadn’t been any 95T’s around for some time. R-1 hadn’t had any and the exchange had been running dry. When R-1 finally put some up on their website, I grabbed one right away. Needless to say, R-1 has had 95T’s continually available since that time and as soon as I bought mine, 3 or 4 good used ones popped up on the exchange (for ~$200-250 less than retail) inside a couple months. My personal experience is that being patient, biding your time and waiting for “just the right deal” to show up is the best course of action. That deal might not show up in the first month you’re looking, but IMO it will show up and it’ll likely enable you to save significant money.

Regarding how much you might or might not lose if you resell... If that’s a major concern, you might be best advised to not buy in to start with. How you come out of a resale is always an unpredictable crapshoot. If you can’t afford to or don’t want to take a hit on the deal, not exposing yourself to that possibility might be the sensible course of action. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

Thx. Good advise. Sadly I have not seen one for months here I would buy. So I suspect that will be a long wait and with my luck at usually being late to the party when things post, chances will be seldom I reckon. Is what it is and probably for the best.
 
Thx. Good advise. Sadly I have not seen one for months here I would buy. So I suspect that will be a long wait and with my luck at usually being late to the party when things post, chances will be seldom I reckon. Is what it is and probably for the best.
After the sting of paying full retail for my 95T when nicely priced, pristine used ones showed up in the few weeks after I made my move, I learned my lesson. BTW--I just bought another personal Shiro grail--this time from the exchange and at a good price. I waited for this one for >6 months and it wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I did.
 
Hi Marcus,

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I've spoken to both Recon1 and Shirogorov about this on multiple occasions and have received quotes for pricing, so I'm fairly sure this information is rock solid -

Recon 1 will handle getting the knife to Shirogorov regardless of if you're the guy who bought it from them. I've called and asked. Now I'm not sure if they care if it's a Recon knife or Russian knife, mine was a Recon knife, so I didnt need to ask.

Regardless, all they do is hand the knives over at a shoe\w they're both attending to avoid shipping risks into Russia, where it is illegal to ship knives TO not FROM. You have little risk of having a package seized coming out of Russia if your shipper is prudent.

Now you also have the option of handing any knife over at Blade or whatever other show directly to Shirgorov as well. You may also ship it, which many have successfully, but, I personally wouldnt take the risk.

As for the warranty work costing money, the quotes I received to have my knife refinished, both the blade and handles, resharpened, and new screws, was like....50 bucks. I believe that included shipping. To stonewash the blade, anodized the handles, replace hardware, and sharpened/reassemble knife. Sounded more than fair to me.

I'm not sure why they charge money for warranty work, however reasonable, but I believe they have fixed rates for everything and so long as it isn't part replacement, like a clip or handle side, they're very agreeable.
Thanks for the response. I'm actually talking to Tom now about the warranty claim I made. I might have been charged for a spa, but only had a detent ball replacement.
 
Thanks for the response. I'm actually talking to Tom now about the warranty claim I made. I might have been charged for a spa, but only had a detent ball replacement.

Let me know what he says, I'd like to know how they actually define "warranty."

I believe it's a bit strict in the sense that if it's not an actual defect and user error, there is a charge. I bent the living hell out of my clip on my T, I had to pay around $100 for that, but, it was my fault.
 
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