F7: Sergey Shirogorov's full custom design

Overview

The F7 of 2016 is a Sergey Shirogorov design made only as full customs, never as a serial or Custom Division model. It is a 3.75 in knife, 8.75 in overall and 4.7 to 5.3 oz (about 133 to 150 g) by configuration, on 3D-milled titanium with carbon fiber options, on double-row rollers (DRRBS). Most F7s are frame locks with a steel insert. Some full customs are liner locks, such as the F7 Black with zirconium scales, and a rarer few put a bolster over an inset lock. Blades have been Damasteel, Vanadis 10, S125V, Mike Norris Damascus and a Zladinox Damascus of Elmax and Vanadis 10.

Its blade profile, wider than the F95’s with a more pronounced belly, later shaped the F3 NS of 2020, and the CDX of 2024, the Custom Division’s tenth-anniversary model, was built on Sergey’s custom F7 and inherits its lines. The Custom Division releases with their documented counts are on the tier ladder; the tier itself is explained on the Custom Division FAQ.

Quick Reference:

• Designer: Sergey Shirogorov
• Classification: Full custom
• Initial release: 2016

Pricing is tracked in the price record.

Variants

F7 Standard

The base configuration: frame lock with steel insert on 3D-milled titanium.

F7 Bronze

A full custom from August 2017 and a bolstered liner lock: solid bronze bolsters with silk milling, 3D-sculpted scales of CarboTi, a carbon fiber infused with bronze dust, and a naturally aged bronze backspacer. The blade is Mike Norris Damascus, and the pivot runs on double-row rollers.

F7 Thion

The numbered Thion series.

Descendants

The F3 NS of February 2020 took the F7’s blade profile onto the serial F3, and the CDX, announced on 7 June 2024 and first offered by lottery at Blade Show Atlanta that month in a run of 100, is the F7’s shape with a through fuller and a tumbled, anodized titanium handle. The CDX is on Anniversary editions and the CDX record.

Authentication

Every F7 is a full custom, so the checks are the full custom’s: the duck foot pivot, double- or multi-row rollers and Sergey’s own documentation. There is no Custom Division F7, so a listing that calls one Custom Division has the tier wrong. The authentication guide has the per-tier checklist.

Pricing and collecting

Prices are in the price record; the questions a buyer asks before paying are on the Buying FAQ. The full-custom sale and auction results are in the record.

Questions answered: Models FAQ.