Tools, supplies and preparation

Shirogorov production knives use proprietary slotted hardware, not Torx, so a standard bit set will not fit the screws and will chew the heads if you try. The Q95 Ursus and F95 Ursus are the exception: they take hex bits. Buy bits cut for the slot and a driver that takes them: the factory bits in the factory’s own driver or in a SiDiS pen screwdriver, or the REK Products titanium bits, which come in pivot and body sizes for the NeOn, HatiOn, F95, F3 and the 111 from Gen 5, fit any standard 1/4 inch driver and lock into a Wera or Wiha locking driver. REK does not make its bits for Custom Division hardware, so measure a CD screw before ordering. A driver is right when the bit fills the slot without rocking. Sinkevich collaborations (the Fat Strip and Fit Strip, for example) use their own “tri-lobe” screws and need the matching bit. Everything else on this page is ordinary bench equipment, but the driver is the one item you can’t substitute.

Tools

You need fewer tools than most guides suggest. The list, in the order you reach for them:

• The factory bits and a driver that takes them, covering the clip, body and pivot screws on your model.
• Non-magnetic precision tweezers for bearings and rollers. Magnetized steel tweezers grab balls and fling them.
• A magnetic tray or dish for screws and the clip. Keep it well away from the bearings.
• A light-colored, soft work mat so a dropped 1.5 mm ball shows up instead of vanishing.
• A jeweler’s loupe or desk magnifier for inspecting screw heads, races, rollers and the lock face.
• A syringe with a blunt needle or a needle oiler, so you can place a single drop where it belongs.
• Blue 242 medium-strength thread locker for the pivot and lock bar stabilizer at the end of reassembly.
• A small heat source you can hold to one screw head for a few seconds, for softening factory thread locker before you turn a screw that resists.

A smartphone camera counts as a tool here; you photograph every stage. Calipers, a soft-jaw vise and pry tools are optional and most owners never need them. Nothing on a Shirogorov should need prying.

Cleaning supplies

Microfiber cloths handle the blade and scales without scratching. Compressed air blows lint out of the pivot and lock area and dries parts after solvent. For degreasing and dissolving old oil use 91–99% isopropyl alcohol; the higher the purity, the faster it flashes off and the less residue it leaves on bearings. Cotton swabs reach the lock face and race channels, and lint-free swabs do the same job where a stray fiber would end up in a bearing. Plastic dental picks lift packed debris out of corners without marking titanium. A soft, clean paintbrush is useful for rollers.

An ultrasonic cleaner is optional. If you use one, run hardware and bearings in a closed basket so nothing escapes. Avoid water-based cleaners on bearings and races; they leave moisture behind and invite corrosion. Let every part dry fully before oil goes on.

Lubricants

Use a light knife-pivot oil, KPL or Nano-Oil 10wt, for the ball systems, SRBS and MRBS. Roller systems take less oil, and a lighter Nano-Oil 5wt is the usual choice for SRRBS. One or two small drops on a ball system and a single small drop on rollers, worked in by cycling the blade and then wiped back off the exposed surfaces. The lock face stays dry unless it sticks; for a sticky lock face, Gunny Glide or a trace of graphite applied only where the surfaces meet is the treatment, and the escalation is covered on Bearings and locks by system.

Keep the following away from the knife: WD-40, which is a solvent rather than a lubricant and attracts dirt; grease and 3-in-1, both too thick for these bearings; silicone spray; graphite in the pivot; and food oils, which gum up. If you’re unsure of a product, don’t use it.

Workspace

Set up on a solid table under bright, diffuse light with the mat down and clear space around it. Close windows and switch off fans; a draft moves a 1.5 mm ball. Keep pets and children out of the room, and ventilate if you’re using alcohol at the bench.

Containment is the habit that saves knives. Work over the mat, keep a tray at the edge of the bench to catch anything that rolls, and put every part down in a fixed place as it comes off. Lay the parts out by side: show-side screws, scale and bearings on one side of the mat, lock-side on the other, in the order they came out. Screws are not all the same length, so their position matters. Bearings get their own lidded container per side and never mix.

Give yourself uninterrupted time. Rushed disassembly is where parts go missing.

Before you start

Take photographs of the knife from both sides, open and closed, with the clip on. Then record the baseline you’ll compare against after reassembly:

1. Cycle the blade a few times and note the action, both flipping open and closing, and whether the detent holds firmly.
2. Look down the spine with the blade closed and note the centering.
3. Open the knife and note where the lock bar sits on the tang, from a photo straight down at the lock face.
4. With the correct bit, feel how tight each screw is before you loosen it, and look for the residue of factory thread locker, which tells you to reach for heat rather than force.
5. Check every screw head for any existing damage so you know what you started with.

If a screw resists, stop and heat it. A bit that slips once has already begun the damage.

Owner disassembly does not void the limited lifetime warranty, but damage done in the process, torn screws included, is excluded, and the policy is on the warranty page. With the tools laid out and the record made, go to Disassembly, reassembly and pivot tuning.

Questions answered: Service and care FAQ.