F3

Overview

The F3 is the workshop’s liner lock: the F95’s 95 mm drop point on full titanium liners under scales, with a backspacer on every model, in production since 2011. It was the entry serial model from its arrival; since the Q95 Ursus and F95 Ursus it is the next step up on the ladder in Choosing your first Shirogorov. On a listing the first question is which F3: the Standard, the NS revision of 2020, one of the four Elements editions, the Outdoor, or a Custom Division run.

The blade is a full flat grind, bead blasted as standard and stonewashed on some variants. The lock is a titanium liner with a hardened stainless insert, the construction the 111 shares. Scales are G10, canvas Micarta, Alutex or carbon fiber; the current factory F3 pairs an Elmax blade with Alutex scales at 138 g. The handle is thicker than the F95’s and the knife is a few grams heavier in most configurations.

The pivot ran on a single row of balls (SRBS) from 2011 and moved to the multi-row bearing system (MRBS) around 2016, where the serial line has stayed. Custom Division F3s run single-row rollers (SRRBS). Factory specifications for every model in the line are on the F3 record.

At a glance:

• Designer: Sergey Shirogorov
• First release: 2011
• Generations: none by name; the F3 NS of February 2020 is the one dated redesign
• Related lines: the F95 (the same blade on a frame lock), the 111 (the same construction at 111 mm), the Stellar and Astrum (liner locks with an apron)

Variants comparison

Every model in the line: kind, release, blade, steel, bearing system, lock, handle, weight and run size.

Production history

• 2011: the F3 goes on sale, a liner lock on SRBS, one year after the F95.
• April 2014: F3 Custom Division variants shown at the Arsenal exhibition in Moscow, beside the Hati 3D Seashell, in the Division’s first showing.
• Around 2016: MRBS replaces SRBS on the serial F3.
• 6 November 2017: the F3 enters the Three Bears category as the F3 3M, on carbon fiber scales at 130 g; the F3 in Elmax with Alutex scales at 138 g, listed the same day, is the configuration the factory still sells.
• 22 February 2020: F3 NS, with 3D-machined carbon fiber scales and the F7’s wider blade profile, built in limited batches.
• F3R: F95-style blade geometry on the F3 handle, with G10 or Micarta scales, on MRBS.
• 26 December 2022 to 16 September 2023: the Elements series, four one-time editions of the NS with the CPS pivot: Aquatic (Vanax 37), Terrus (S90V), Ignis (M390), Aerum (Elmax).
• 17 June 2023: F3 Outdoor, 50 pieces, in Cromax PM with a sheath in place of a clip.
• Custom Division runs: F3 CD, F3-B CD (50 pieces, Damasteel Vinland) and F3 NS CD (50 pieces).

Variants

F3 Standard

In production since 2011: G10, canvas Micarta or Alutex scales over full titanium liners, a titanium liner lock with a steel insert, and a backspacer. Elmax is the steel on the current factory knife; earlier production carried M390 and S30V. Colors have grown from black and olive drab to blues, oranges and dealer patterns. On a Standard the scale material and the pivot date the knife: SRBS is early, MRBS is 2016 or later.

F3 NS

The February 2020 revision: 3D-machined carbon fiber scales and the wider blade profile of the F7, in M390 or S90V, at 132 g. The NS is built in limited batches rather than run continuously, so it comes and goes at the dealers. It is the base of the Elements editions and of the F3 NS CD.

F3R

F95-style blade geometry on the F3 handle, with G10 or Micarta scales, on MRBS.

Elements editions

Four one-time editions of the NS, each with a blade steel, a TechnoCarbo scale material, anodized or polished hardware and a bead chosen for its theme. The F3 Aquatic of December 2022 is Vanax 37, the Terrus of May 2023 S90V, the Ignis of July 2023 M390 and the Aerum of September 2023 Elmax. Each has a 4.0 mm blade, a 128 mm handle and the CPS pivot the serial NS does not carry, and weighs 141 g with lanyard and bead (the Aquatic 142 g). The same four themes ran on the 111 a year later, and Special editions has the full table.

F3 Outdoor

The field knife of June 2023, 50 pieces: a Cromax PM blade in the shape of the updated F95NL, green G10 scales with flush orange G10 inserts over pocketed titanium liners, a titanium backspacer that covers the tip when closed, MRBS, 125 g. It ships with a Dmitry Sinkevich sheath that mounts vertically or horizontally, and no clip. The 111 Outdoor came first; both are on Special editions.

Custom Division F3s

The F3 CD carries carbon fiber scales with a blue Silver Twill inlay, in Vanax 37 or S90V by configuration, and a second configuration puts canvas Micarta inlays in orange G10. The F3-B CD is a run of 50 with a Damasteel Vinland blade and Lightning Strike carbon fiber, the B marking its bolster construction. The F3 NS CD is a second run of 50, in S90V on anodized titanium. All run SRRBS. The Custom Division FAQ covers the tier; the steels page has the factory’s hardness bands.

Authentication

What to check on an F3, in the order a buyer can check it.

The box and the certificate carry the serial. Most F3s have no engraved serial; the original box and the certificate of authenticity (COA) are the record. A Custom Division F3 also carries its markings inside, on the scales and/or the backspacer, with a CD mark beside the bear head.

It’s a liner lock, under the scales. Titanium liners with a steel insert, scales over them, and a backspacer on every model. An “F3″ with a titanium frame lock is an F95 or something else. The Q95 Ursus and F95 Ursus are the other 95 mm liner locks on the working line, in Micarta over titanium liners; the all-titanium Q95 Ursus Ti of May 2026 is a frame lock.

The pivot tells the tier. A serial F3 runs MRBS; a 2011 to 2016 Standard on SRBS is the exception. A Custom Division F3 runs SRRBS, a single row of loose rollers per side. The Elements editions carry the CPS pivot screw, the gear that keys the pivot to the handle; a serial NS does not. A duck foot pivot belongs only to Sergey’s full customs.

Slotted screws only. Every F3 takes the workshop’s slotted hardware. Torx screws mean someone has replaced the hardware, or the knife isn’t what it says.

The scales name the variant. G10, Micarta or Alutex over liners is the Standard. 3D-machined carbon fiber with the wider blade is the NS. TechnoCarbo in one of four patterns is an Elements edition, and each pattern belongs to one theme only, so a Terrus in the Aquatic’s scales is a listing error at best. Green G10 with orange inserts and no clip is the Outdoor.

An Elements knife travels with its lanyard and bead. The bead carries the workshop logo over the element’s pattern (a bear over wind on the Aerum), and on the F3 editions the pivot collars are anodized to match the spacer and clip. A listing without the lanyard and bead is incomplete.

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

Telling the versions apart

The blade and the scales do most of the work. The NS blade is wider than the Standard’s, the F7 profile, and the NS scales are carbon fiber; an Elements blade is 4.0 mm and its steel names the theme (Vanax 37 Aquatic, S90V Terrus, M390 Ignis, Elmax Aerum). Between an early Standard and a current one, the pivot is the guide: SRBS before 2016, MRBS after.

Pricing and collecting

Prices are in the price record; the questions a buyer asks before paying are on the Buying FAQ. The F3 NS revision and the Elements editions are the ones with their own trading histories; on an Elements listing the scale material is the fastest tell, since each theme has its own.

Questions answered: Models FAQ.