CannaBis

Overview

The CannaBis is Dmitry Sinkevich’s outdoor folder built by the workshop: a 100 mm blade opened by a flipper tab, on a liner lock under Micarta, G10 or carbon fiber overlays, with a thick handle that fills the hand. The factory announced it on 26 December 2012 as its project for 2013, and the name comes from the hemp Micarta scales on Sinkevich’s original custom. On a listing the first question is which configuration, because the four made in 2013 differ in steel, scales, pivot and grind, and the fifth, the 2016 Mini CannaBis, is a different knife on the same name.

The main run of 200 let each participant choose among three configurations, True, Real and Ice; a clipless pilot batch of ten came first, and the TNK Edition of 100 numbered pieces was sold through the US shop TNK. The True runs on washers with an RWL34 blade; the Real, Ice and TNK Edition run on the multi-row bearing system (MRBS) with M390 or Zladinox ZDI-V blades. All four share the 4.2 mm blade, the 130 mm handle and 163 g. The Mini CannaBis of July 2016 scaled the design to 85 mm on a titanium frame lock for the Born in Vegas Cards V project: 54 knives, one for each card in the deck. Factory specifications and the dated releases are on the CannaBis record.

At a glance:

• Designer: Dmitry Sinkevich, built by the workshop; the fifth Sinkevich project
• First release: 2013 (announced 26 December 2012); Mini CannaBis July 2016
• Generations: none; three configurations of the main run, the TNK Edition of 100 beside it, and the Mini
• Related lines: the other Sinkevich projects on The Sinkevich projects; the NeOn, the workshop’s own 85 mm knife

Variants comparison

Every configuration side by side: kind, release, blade, steel, bearing system, lock, scales, weight and run.

Production history

• 26 December 2012: the CannaBis announced as the project for 2013, the fifth Shirogorov and Sinkevich project after the Nura, Dark, Tetra and Koordinal.
• 2013: a pilot batch of ten with no clip, meant for pouch carry; a low-profile clip recessed into the scale was added before the main run.
• 2013: the main run of 200, each participant choosing True (51), Real (101) or Ice (48).
• 2013: the TNK Edition, 100 numbered pieces with green canvas Micarta, sold through the US shop TNK.
• 25 February 2016: the Mini CannaBis teased as the Born in Vegas Cards V project; 1 July: the project opens; 8, 15 and 19 July: the three draws; 20 July: the factory closes the project with the cards dealt.
• All configurations are discontinued.

Variants

CannaBis True

The washer configuration: an RWL34 blade, stonewashed, on canvas Micarta overlays over titanium liners, 51 pieces. It is the one CannaBis of the main run without bearings, which is the first thing to check on a listing that calls itself a True.

CannaBis Real

The largest configuration of the main run at 101 pieces: a satin M390 blade on MRBS, under 3D-milled G10 overlays, with the recessed clip the main run introduced. It differs from the True in steel and pivot, and from the Ice in scales and steel.

CannaBis Ice

48 pieces in Zladinox ZDI-V on MRBS, under 3D-milled carbon fiber overlays. The carbon is the tell; the steel confirms it.

TNK Edition

100 pieces for the US shop TNK, each individually numbered (a listing reads “#76 of 100″ or the like): an M390 blade with stonewashed bevels and satin flats, on MRBS, under green canvas Micarta overlays, with a tip-up titanium clip. Green Micarta on a CannaBis means the TNK Edition, and the number is on the certificate.

Mini CannaBis (Born in Vegas Cards V)

Born in Vegas was the workshop’s yearly community project from 2014 to 2018, each edition sold by draw among club members rather than through dealers. Dark V came in 2014, Seasons V in 2015, Cards V in 2016, Roulette V in 2017 and Coins V in 2018, and Cards V was the CannaBis year. The knife is a Mini CannaBis, a Shirogorov x Dmitry Sinkevich (SiDiS) design scaled from 100 mm to an 85 mm blade on a titanium frame lock. The project was built around a deck of cards: 54 knives for the 54 cards, jokers included, each with its card painted on the spacer, so no two are alike.

The factory teased the project on 25 February 2016 and opened it on 1 July. The order of the cards had been fixed at the Arsenal VIII show and was matched to club numbers in ascending order. Registration ran in members’ accounts on shirogorov.com and closed an hour before the first draw, at 13:00 Moscow time on 8 July 2016. A member whose card came up had three days to pay to keep it, unpaid cards returned to the pool, and second and third draws followed on 15 and 19 July. On 20 July the factory posted that the players were determined and the cards dealt.

The build is a Vanax 37 blade on MRBS, 85 mm, 195 mm overall, 110 g, in two hardware treatments: zirconium spacer, pivot collars and backspacer (Cards V Black) or copper accents (Cards V Red). Each knife shipped with its box, its playing card signed by Sergey Shirogorov and Dmitry Sinkevich, and a matching signed certificate. Because the card is the identity of the piece, each one is named by it: an Ace of Spades, a 10 of Clubs, one of the two Jacks. The Mini CannaBis is not a Custom Division knife; it sits with the collaborations as a factory-run project.

Authentication

What to check on a CannaBis, in the order a buyer can check it.

The box and the certificate carry the serial. The certificate names the model and specifications, and the TNK Edition’s number is on it; the standard packaging is the branded box and microfiber cloth. A Mini CannaBis travels with its box, its signed playing card and a matching signed certificate. The card painted on the spacer still names a Mini that has lost its papers, but the signed card and certificate are part of what a buyer pays for.

A liner lock under overlays, 100 mm. Titanium liners with Micarta, G10 or carbon fiber over them, a 4.2 mm blade and 230 mm overall. A frame lock at 85 mm is the Mini; a frame lock at 100 mm is not a CannaBis.

The pivot tells the configuration. Washers mean the True. MRBS means the Real, the Ice, the TNK Edition or the Mini. A “True” on bearings, or a “Real” on washers, is a listing error at best.

The scales name the configuration. Canvas Micarta is the True, G10 the Real, carbon fiber the Ice, green canvas Micarta the TNK Edition; the steel in the table above should agree. The ten pilot pieces had no clip.

Both marks are on the knife. The workshop’s bear head and Sinkevich’s maker’s mark sit on the liner. A knife with one and not the other is a question for the seller.

The per-tier checklist, the photographs to ask for and the remote-buying rules are on the authentication guide.

Telling the configurations apart

Pivot first, scales second, and the table above settles the rest. An 85 mm frame lock with a card painted on the spacer is the Mini, and the card names the knife.

Pricing and collecting

Prices are in the price record; the questions a buyer asks before paying are on the Buying FAQ. On a CannaBis listing the configuration is the first question, and on a Mini the card and its signed papers are the second.

Questions answered: Models FAQ.