Every question, answered
175 questions across 7 topics. Each one links to the page that holds the answer.
Getting started
The first answers: why they cost what they do, which model to buy first, who designs them, where they are made, and the four tiers.
- What is Shirogorov?
- Why are Shirogorov knives so expensive?
- What are the model names?
- Which model should I buy first?
- Should I buy new or pre-owned?
- Who designs the knives?
- Where are Shirogorov knives made?
- Why do I need special tools to take one apart?
- Is the workshop still in production?
- Can I still buy a Shirogorov outside Russia?
- How do I read a model name?
- What are the four tiers?
- What is a Sprint Run?
- What is a First Production?
- What is a special edition?
- Is a dealer exclusive a tier of its own?
- What is a collaboration?
- Frame lock or liner lock: does it matter to me?
- Does the workshop make left-handed knives?
- Is a Shirogorov meant to be carried?
- Which line is the working line?
- What does a Shirogorov cost?
- What is the least expensive Shirogorov?
- Where are the prices on this site?
- Why is the same knife listed at five different prices?
- Are they a good investment?
- Where do I buy one new?
- Is there a factory shop?
- How are limited releases sold?
- Where are pre-owned Shirogorovs sold?
- What is Recon1?
- What are the US events?
- Does a Shirogorov come with a certificate?
- What should I check on a used one?
- Who can help me verify one?
- What does a missing certificate change?
- Is a Shirogorov still under warranty when I am the second owner?
- Can I take my Shirogorov apart?
- How do I look after it?
- Can I sharpen it myself?
- Will the action change as I use the knife?
- Where do collectors talk?
Models, names and editions
The suffixes one at a time, the families side by side, the locks and blade lengths, the generations, and what First Production and dealer exclusive mean.
- What does the number or name in a model name tell me?
- What do T and Turtle mean on an F95?
- What does Nudist mean on an F95?
- What is BearPattern?
- What does Zero mean?
- What does Slim mean?
- What do Lite and Ultra Lite mean?
- What does NL mean?
- Is an NL a different knife?
- What does R mean on a model name?
- What does NS mean?
- What does 3M mean?
- What do the Gen numbers mean?
- What does Ursus mean?
- Which knives are Ursus?
- Quantum, Quantium, Mini Quantum, MidiQ, Q95: which is which?
- Is the HatiOn a Hati?
- What is the difference between an F3, an F3 NS and an F3-B?
- What is the difference between the F95 and the F3?
- Which lines are frame locks and which are liner locks?
- How do the blade lengths compare across the lines?
- Is there a left-handed model?
- Can I move the pocket clip?
- What is CPS?
- Which knives have CPS?
- What is the difference between M390 and Elmax on a Shirogorov?
- How do I tell which generation a knife is from the knife itself?
- What does First Production mean?
- How do I tell a First Production from the serial knife?
- What are the Elements editions?
- What is a dealer exclusive?
- Is a Sinkevich Touch set a collaboration?
- What is the CannaBis family?
- What is the Overkill family?
- Which models ship with a tool or a bead?
Buying, checking and selling
Where to buy new and used, how lotteries, allocations and drops work, duty on a Russian shipment, reading a listing, paying safely, counterfeits and clones, and selling.
- Where do I buy a new Shirogorov?
- Is there a Shirogorov dealer in Europe?
- Where do I buy used?
- Can I buy direct from the factory?
- Will the factory ship outside Russia?
- How does a factory lottery work?
- What is a dealer allocation?
- What is a dealer drop?
- How do I get a limited release at retail?
- Is there a list I can join to be offered a new release?
- Where are the factory auctions and lotteries announced?
- Is it safe to buy from a retailer that is not on the factory's list?
- Can I buy from a Russian dealer into the US?
- What duty applies to a knife shipped from Russia to the United States?
- Why is the same knife listed at different prices?
- How far under asking do knives sell?
- What should I look at first on a listing?
- What should come in the box?
- What do I check the box and certificate against?
- What do LNIB, mint, excellent, very good and user mean?
- What does condition do to the price?
- How do I pay a private seller safely?
- Are there counterfeit Shirogorovs?
- What is a clone?
- What is a frankenknife?
- Can anyone verify a serial number for me?
- Can a lost certificate be reissued?
- What does a blue sticker on the pivot screw mean?
- How do I prepare and price my Shirogorov for sale?
- Where do I sell it?
Value
What drives price in each tier, what has appreciated, how far below asking knives sell, new against pre-owned, and how to sell well.
- What drives pricing in the limited tiers?
- Is the Custom Division tier a good store of value?
- What has appreciated?
- How far below asking prices do knives sell?
- How do the US and Russian markets differ?
- Are Shirogorov knives worth the money?
- What separates a collector-grade piece from a user?
- How should the generations affect a purchase?
- What about condition, storage and maintenance?
- When is a good time to buy?
- New or pre-owned?
- How do I sell well?
- What drives a premium?
- What are the risks?
- How is the brand positioned long term?
Service and care
Warranty, tools, oil, cleaning cadence, the action vocabulary, first checks for play and lock stick, parts, sharpening and storage.
- Does taking my Shirogorov apart void the warranty?
- Does the warranty transfer if I bought the knife used?
- What does the warranty not cover?
- Is a finish-artist edition still under warranty?
- Are the screws Torx?
- Which screwdriver and bits fit the screws?
- Which bits fit a Custom Division knife?
- What is "Pacman" hardware?
- What oil should I use?
- What should I never put in the pivot?
- How often should I clean and oil it?
- What angle do I sharpen at?
- What is the difference between drop shut and hydraulic action?
- Does the bearing system change the feel?
- Does a new Shirogorov need a break-in?
- What does "double clutch" mean?
- Why does a Shirogorov double clutch?
- How do I close the knife so it does not double clutch?
- What if technique does not stop the double clutch?
- My blade is off center. What do I check first?
- My blade has play. What do I check?
- The action is gritty. What do I do?
- The lock sticks. What do I do?
- When should I stop and send it in?
- Who services a Shirogorov?
- Can a local knife shop service it?
- How do I send a knife in for service?
- Can I get replacement parts?
- Is the frame lock insert replaceable?
- What if my knife is lost in shipping?
- Should I open a full custom knife myself?
- Can I re-anodize my Shirogorov?
- Can I swap parts without losing the warranty?
- How should I store it?
Custom Division
What the Custom Division is and is not, how many are made, which pieces to know, how to tell a genuine one, and how they sell.
- What is the Custom Division?
- Is a Custom Division knife a custom?
- Is a Sprint Run a Custom Division knife?
- Which designs are the Custom Division's own?
- What does CDX mean?
- How many Custom Division pieces are in a run?
- Which Custom Division pieces should I know?
- How do I tell a genuine Custom Division piece?
- How are Custom Division knives sold?
- Do Custom Division pieces hold their value?
- Can I take a Custom Division knife apart?
Full customs
What a Sergey Shirogorov full custom is, how one reaches a buyer, what the sale record shows, and how to know one is genuine.
- How does a full custom differ from a Custom Division knife?
- What is a Sergey Shirogorov full custom?
- How does a full custom reach a buyer?
- What do they cost?
- How do I know a full custom is genuine?
- What paperwork and marks come with a full custom?
- Does Sergey take commissions?
- Should a full custom be carried?