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What are you here to do?
Find one answer
Every question the reference answers, by topic, each linked to the page that answers it.
New to Shirogorov
Start here: why they cost what they do, which to buy first, new or pre-owned, who makes them.
Authenticate a knife
Serials, COAs, build-matching rules, red flags.
Tell the tiers apart
Serial, Sprint Run, Custom Division, full custom: what each is and how to check a listing.
Value a knife
What drives price, and how to read asks vs. realized sales.
Maintain & service
Care, disassembly cautions, bearings, warranty paths.
History & background
The workshop, the brothers, the collaborations.
Start here
The first answers, which knife to start with, the four tiers, and the words on a dealer page.
Getting started
One question at a time for a first Shirogorov: why they cost what they do, the model names, which to buy first, who designs them, where they are made, the four tiers, and where the buying, checking and care answers live.
Choosing your first (or next) Shirogorov
The best first Shirogorov: Q95 or F95 Ursus in Elmax, then an F3 in Elmax or a Hati Gen 3 in M390, then an Astrum in M390. Plus what the lines, locks and blade shapes change in use, where collaborations and special editions sit, and how to think about new versus used.
The Shirogorov tier ladder
Production, Sprint Run, Custom Division, full custom: who builds each tier, how many, which bearings, and how to tell them apart.
Glossary
The terms a Shirogorov buyer meets on a model page or a listing, A to Z, each tagged by kind: technical, market, collector, model or Russian.
The reference
The collection, every section of the models catalog, the events, and the people and sources behind the knives.
The collection
The pieces offered and sold, by category
All models
50 lines and 174 models in the catalog
Production
42 serial models, with the Ursus sub-line
Collaborations
39 designer collaborations and Sinkevich designs
Limited Editions
100 editions in 11 groups, sprint runs, first productions and dealer editions among them
Sprint Runs
6 sprint runs, the Custom Division finish on a serial model
First Production
3 First Production runs, the first knives off a new line
Custom Division
39 Custom Division models and editions, 2015 to 2026
Customs
320 customs and prototypes, 2013 to 2026
Beads
49 beads by family, with photos
Tools
8 drivers and bits, with what each fits
Accessories
10 repair kits, the leather goods, the knife cases, the patches and apparel
Timeline
Every dated release, year by year
Events
45 shows since 2010, 124 auction lots and 116 draws
People
13 people: the workshop's founders, its designers and its collaborators
Sources
8 sources where the knives trade, forums to auction lots
Company History & Evolution
The workshop and the brothers, the lines from the early models to today, and how the designs developed.
The Shirogorov story
Two brothers in Yaroslavl, the workshop they built from 2007, the Custom Division of 2014, the loss of Igor in 2015, and the Blade Show years since.
From the early models to today
The workshop's lines in order, from the Seasons and the 2010 Nura to the Ursus knives of 2026, with what each changed and where its full story lives.
How the designs evolved
Generation by generation across seven lines, then the bearings, locks and steels, the Three Bears years, the collaborations as a parallel track, and how to read a model name.
Model Overviews
One overview per production line, each with its variants side by side; every line and model is on /models.
F95
The flagship flipper across five generations and seven variants, from the 2010 original to the Ursus, with the factory markers that identify each.
F3
The liner lock line: the F3 and the F3 NS revision, the Elements editions and the Outdoor, the Custom Division runs, and the checks that identify each.
111
The large flipper from Gen 1 to the Gen 5.1, its Elements editions and its Custom Division runs, with the checks that identify each generation.
Hati
The asymmetric lightweight from Gen 1 through the HatiR to the Gen 3 and its Slim, with the Custom Division runs, the Hati CGG edition and the checks that identify each.
NeOn
The 85 mm compact and its variants: Original, Lite, Zero, R20, Ultra Lite, NL, Lefty, the special editions, the Custom Division runs and the NeOn-platform HatiOn, with the checks that identify each.
Quantum
The serial Quantum and its Gen 2, the Ursus working line through the Q95, the Custom Division Mini Quantum and MidiQ, the special editions, and the checks that identify each.
Stellar
The 90 mm liner lock from the 2020 full custom and the 2021 Sprint Run to the serial Stellar, the Stellar CF and BearPattern, and the Stellaris and Stellar-B Custom Division sub-lines.
Astrum
The 100 mm liner lock flipper from the 2023 Sprint Run through the serial model and the Custom Division runs.
CannaBis
The Sinkevich CannaBis family, True, Real, Ice and the TNK Edition, and the Mini CannaBis of Cards V: what sets each apart, the runs, the dated releases and the checks that identify one.
Questions answered: Models FAQ
Collaborations
Every collaboration in one register, how a run is released, the designers, and the Sinkevich and Overkill series model by model.
How the collaborations work
Every collaboration the workshop has built, 2010 to today, in one register: what a collaboration is, how a run is released, and who the designers are.
The Sinkevich projects
Every Shirogorov x Sinkevich model in the order the factory numbered them, Nura to Pike, with the specifications, run sizes and dated releases in one table and the story of each knife below it.
The RJ Martin Overkill family
The five Overkill collaborations of 2021 to 2024: Russian, Soft, Molten, Denim and Arctic.
Limited Editions
The themed special editions, the First Production runs, Sprint Runs, and the anniversary and show editions.
Special editions
The themed one-time editions of the serial lines: the Elements series on the F3 and the 111, the Outdoor pair, and the IceBreaker, with what each one is.
First Production
What a First Production knife is, how the FP differs from the serial model that follows it, and the Stellar, Astrum and Stellar CF runs.
Sprint Runs
The Sprint Run register: every run with pieces, steel, bearings, year and distribution, where the program sits against Custom Division, and what to check on a listing.
Anniversary editions
The F95 10th Anniversary, the IceBreaker, the CDX and the two F95 commemoratives, with the show and regional editions beside them.
Sinkevich Touch sets
The six California Custom Knife Show sets, 2018 to 2025, on five platforms: what each set contains, the run size, and the tool that came with it.
Custom Division
The Custom Division's own designs, the CD marking and numbering system, and how CD pieces differ from serial production.
Questions answered: Custom Division FAQ
Full Customs
Sergey Shirogorov's one-off full customs: what defines one, the duck foot pivot, and the ordering process.
Questions answered: Full custom FAQ
Materials & Engineering
Steels, bearing systems, and the technical vocabulary.
Engineering: steels and handle materials
Every blade steel Shirogorov uses or has used, with composition and hardness as the workshop states them, plus the handle materials and decorative metals by model.
Bearing systems
The five Shirogorov pivot systems and the washers before them: what each is, which tier carries it, and how each feels.
Questions answered: Service and care FAQ
Service and care
Maintenance, warranty, and factory contact paths.
Routine care without disassembly
What to do after each use, weekly and monthly to keep a Shirogorov running without a teardown, and the signs that call for one.
Tools, supplies and preparation
The driver and bits Shirogorov hardware takes, the short tool list, cleaning supplies, lubricants, workspace setup and what to record before a teardown.
Disassembly, reassembly and pivot tuning
How to take a Shirogorov folder apart, put it back together and set the pivot, with the mistakes that cause most damage and the model differences that change the job.
Bearings and locks by system
How to clean, lubricate and inspect each Shirogorov bearing system (SRBS, MRBS, SRRBS, DRRBS and MRRBS) and each lock type (frame, liner and inset) once the knife is apart.
Troubleshooting after reassembly
Symptoms a Shirogorov can show after a teardown, the likely cause of each, and what to do before sending the knife for service.
Service and storage
Who services a Shirogorov, when to send it in instead of opening it, what the warranty does and does not change, and how to store the knife and its papers.
Warranty
What the factory's limited lifetime warranty covers and excludes, how it transfers between owners, and what disassembly changes.
Contact the factory
The Shirogorov Brothers Workshop's address, email, phone and hours, which channel to use for sales, service, papers and parts, and how to send a knife in.
Questions answered: Service and care FAQ
Tools, Beads & Accessories
The drivers for the factory hardware, the annual and limited beads, and the leather line and other pieces that are neither knife nor tool.
Tools
Every Shirogorov driver and bit: the Custom Division Tool, the Cyber Tool, the Sinkevich Ambi-Tool and Capsule Tool, the SiDiS pen screwdrivers and the REK bits, with what each fits, when it was made and how to use one without marking a screw.
Beads
Every documented Shirogorov lanyard bead: the pivot beads, the annual beads from 2023 to 2026, the show, seasonal and collaboration editions and the beads that ship in the box, with class, material, edition, run size and the cues that separate a real one from a copy.
Accessories
What the workshop makes that is neither knife, bead nor tool: the 2026 Italian wax-leather line (wallet, card holder, coasters, planner, desk blotter), the Cova pouches that ship with the Sinkevich Touch sets, the titanium bottle opener and the belt buckle.
Buying, Collecting & Value
Authentication, what things are worth, the price record, and dealers.
Authentication guide
What can be checked on a Shirogorov, marker by marker, with a per-tier checklist for serial, Sprint Run, Custom Division, full custom and collaboration pieces.
Buying, selling and value
How the secondary market prices Shirogorovs: the hype cycle, what has appreciated, ask against realized, US against Russian venues, when to buy and how to sell.
How to read a Russian listing
A typical Telegram sale post taken apart, and the Russian trade words for intent, identity, condition, completeness, terms and parts that a machine translation gets wrong.
Where to buy and where to talk
One directory: dealers by country and type, the secondary venues where Shirogorovs change hands, the groups and forums where collectors talk, and the pages worth learning from, grouped by country and venue class.
The resource directory
One map of every Shirogorov source worth having: the factory's own channels, Sergey's and the official accounts, the dealers and pre-owned venues, the groups and forums where collectors talk, the video channels, and the articles and threads worth reading.
Questions answered: Buying FAQ