Service and care FAQ

For someone who owns a Shirogorov and wants to keep it running, understand how it opens and closes, open it safely, or know when to send it in. Each answer is short and links to the page that goes deep; the routine itself starts on Routine care without disassembly.

Warranty

Does taking my Shirogorov apart void the warranty?

No. Owner disassembly and reassembly for maintenance does not void the limited lifetime warranty. What it excludes is damage done in the process, a torn screw above all, so use the factory bits, work in the cross pattern and heat factory thread locker before backing a screw out. Say plainly that you have had the knife apart if you send it in. Disassembly, reassembly and pivot tuning is the procedure.

Does the warranty transfer if I bought the knife used?

Yes. The warranty follows the knife rather than the first buyer, applies wherever the knife was bought, including the secondary market, and survives the loss of the certificate of authenticity. What matters for a claim is the knife itself: the factory examines it or photographs of it and decides whether the case is covered. Keep the box, certificate and purchase record together and add a note of any service, because a plain history makes a claim simpler. The warranty page has the full terms.

What does the warranty not cover?

Damage and modification, not ownership. Excluded are misuse and loads beyond what a cutting tool is built for, poor storage, changes to the design by an owner or third party (anodizing, third-party bearings, a change to the factory sharpening angle of 41 to 42 degrees), damage done during disassembly such as torn screws, ordinary wear and lost components, and loss or damage in transit. In excluded cases the factory still restores the knife as far as it can, but bills the work, and it never changes the knife’s configuration while doing so. The warranty page lists each exclusion.

Is a finish-artist edition still under warranty?

Yes, on the mechanism. A finish-artist edition is a serial frame given a themed surface treatment by an independent artist, and those sold through the distributor keep the factory warranty on the knife under the finish; the finish itself is the artist’s work. How the collaborations work lists the finish-artist editions.

Tools, oil and sharpening

Are the screws Torx?

No. The screws are the workshop’s own proprietary slotted hardware, so a standard Torx or hex set will not fit and will chew the heads. The Q95 Ursus and F95 Ursus are the exception: they take hex bits. Sinkevich collaborations use their own “tri-lobe” screws and need the matching bit. Tools, supplies and preparation covers the bench.

Which screwdriver and bits fit the screws?

The factory bits in the factory’s driver, a SiDiS pen screwdriver, or the REK titanium bits, which come in pivot and body sizes for the NeOn, HatiOn, F95, F3 and the 111 from Gen 5 and fit any standard 1/4 inch driver. A bit is right when it fills the slot without rocking, and a bit that marks the screw head is the wrong one. Tools, supplies and preparation covers the driver and the rest of the bench.

Which bits fit a Custom Division knife?

The ones in the Custom Division Tool, the workshop’s titanium bit driver, which carries them in its handle. REK does not make bits for Custom Division hardware, so measure a Custom Division screw before ordering anything else rather than guessing a size. Tools has every factory tool with its bits and fit.

What is “Pacman” hardware?

The collectors’ nickname for the workshop’s screws with the offset slot, which makes the head look like the arcade character. It describes the shape of the screw rather than a tier or an era. Tools shows the hardware beside the drivers that fit it.

What oil should I use?

A light knife-pivot oil, KPL or Nano-Oil 10wt, on the ball systems (SRBS and MRBS): one or two small drops, worked in by cycling the blade and wiped off the exposed surfaces. Roller systems take less, a single small drop of the lighter Nano-Oil 5wt on a Custom Division or Sprint Run knife. The lock face stays dry unless it sticks. Tools, supplies and preparation has the lubricants section.

What should I never put in the pivot?

WD-40, grease, 3-in-1, silicone spray, food oils and graphite, all of which either attract debris or gum the bearings. Clean with 91 to 99% isopropyl rather than a water-based cleaner, and keep graphite for the lock face if it is used at all. Tools, supplies and preparation lists what belongs on the bench and what does not.

How often should I clean and oil it?

For a carried knife: wipe the blade after each use, check the action and blow out the pivot weekly, and flush the pivot with thin oil, clean the lock face and check the screws monthly. A collection knife needs a monthly look and a lubricant refresh a few times a year; hard use means a check after each day out and a flush every couple of weeks; humidity moves everything up a step, and salt water means a rinse and oil that day. A full teardown is due yearly for a lightly used knife, every few months for daily carry, or whenever a flush stops restoring the action. Routine care without disassembly has the cadence in full.

What angle do I sharpen at?

The factory angle of 41 to 42 degrees, and keep to it: an edge taken off the factory angle is a warranty exclusion. Match the bevel the knife came with when setting a guided system. The one exception is the Kami Flipper, which the factory grinds as a chisel edge at about 30 degrees. Touch the edge up at that angle before it needs a regrind; Routine care without disassembly fits it into the monthly check.

The action

What is the difference between drop shut and hydraulic action?

They are two tunings of the same mechanism rather than two names for one thing. Drop shut means the blade falls closed under its own weight once the lock is released, the feel most buyers mean by the Shiro action, and the way the serial ball-bearing knives are tuned. Hydraulic means a damped, even travel through the arc, the feel of the roller systems on Custom Division pieces and Sergey Shirogorov’s customs, and tuned that way on purpose. Neither is a fault. Bearing systems explains what each system feels like.

Does the bearing system change the feel?

Yes, and it is the main thing that does. A single row of balls (SRBS) is good rather than exceptional; the multi-row system (MRBS) is fast and self-centering; roller systems give damped, even travel, which is what hydraulic action means, and more of it as the rows go up. Which system a knife runs mostly follows its tier, with a few named exceptions and collaborations set by model. Bearing systems covers all five with what each feels like in hand and which models run which.

Does a new Shirogorov need a break-in?

The action smooths over the first few hundred deployments, with closing improving most, and the roller systems settle faster than MRBS, which settles faster than SRBS. Nothing needs adjusting for it to happen, and a detent can soften after very extended use even where the pivot has never been touched. Disassembly and pivot tuning covers the adjustment if one is wanted later.

What does “double clutch” mean?

A closing that does not complete in one motion: after the lock is released the blade travels part of the way, hesitates, and needs a second push before it will fully close. The name borrows from the automotive term, where two separate engagements are needed, though on a knife it is a matter of timing and geometry rather than gears. The glossary keeps the term beside drop shut and hydraulic.

Why does a Shirogorov double clutch?

Three parts interact during closing. The detent ball, carried on the lock bar, rides the blade tang and must climb onto its seat at the end of the travel. The lock bar cutout sets where the thumb releases the lock, and so where the blade begins its fall. The flipper tab, as the blade falls, can land on the index finger and interrupt the travel, forcing a re-grip: that is the first clutch, and the detent ball climbing onto its seat is the second. A ramp on the tang ahead of the detent seat gives the ball a gradual transition rather than a step, which is how the workshop keeps the effect small; some models, the F3 and F95 among them, come close to it without showing the full effect.

How do I close the knife so it does not double clutch?

Release the lock bar at the correct position, not at the very top of the lock bar access area, and keep the finger placed on the flipper tab so the tab clears it as the blade falls. Closed with that technique, a Shirogorov completes the travel in one motion. Any flipper whose lock, tab and detent interact this way can show the effect, so it is not particular to this workshop.

What if technique does not stop the double clutch?

If closing technique does not stop it, something has changed in the knife. Dirt on the detent ball or in its hole, a dry detent path, or a lock bar whose tension has changed all produce an inconsistent detent; a pivot set too tight, scales binding or a bearing misseated after reassembly produce a stiff action. Troubleshooting after reassembly has the checks in order, and Routine care the cleaning that fixes most of them.

Something is wrong

My blade is off center. What do I check first?

The body screws. Loosen every body screw slightly and retighten them evenly in a cross pattern before touching the pivot, since uneven body tension pulls the blade off center more often than the pivot does. If the screws are snug and the blade still sits against one liner, the knife needs to come apart. Troubleshooting after reassembly has the symptom table.

My blade has play. What do I check?

Which direction the play runs. For side-to-side play, tighten the pivot 1/16 turn at a time and cycle the blade after each turn, stopping the moment the play is gone. For up-and-down play at the tip, leave the pivot alone: clean the lock face and tang and look at the stop pin, because that play comes from the lock interface rather than the pivot. If it persists, the knife needs to come apart. Troubleshooting after reassembly has the symptom table.

The action is gritty. What do I do?

Flush the pivot first. If a flush no longer clears it, the bearings and races need a full clean in isopropyl, complete drying and one small drop of thin oil, since debris, excess oil or the wrong lubricant is the usual cause. Grit that returns within days after a proper clean means something is damaged rather than dirty. Bearings and locks by system covers each bearing system.

The lock sticks. What do I do?

Escalate in order and stop at the first step that works: clean both faces with isopropyl, give a fresh lock face a break-in period, then a trace of graphite on the tang face, then Gunny Glide, and only as a last step a heavier oil on the contact patch. Keep graphite out of the pivot, and leave the lock bar tension alone unless the bar has clearly moved. Bearings and locks by system covers each lock type.

When should I stop and send it in?

Stop when a fix calls for more than a couple of minimal lock bar adjustments, when a screw shows any sign of stripping, when a ball or roller is missing or damaged, or when the same symptom returns after two clean attempts. Stop as well if you meet resistance you do not understand during disassembly; put the knife back together as far as you can and contact the factory or your dealer. Some jobs belong at the workshop from the start: a stripped or torn screw, a pitted or corroded bearing, a worn or galled lock face, and any refinishing. Service, warranty and storage explains when to send it in.

Sending it in

Who services a Shirogorov?

The factory itself, or the dealer who sold the knife. US owners go through Recon1, the workshop’s US distributor, which determines the service cost and the rest of the arrangement. Those are the two routes, and both start with a message describing the fault before anything is shipped. Service, warranty and storage describes both.

Can a local knife shop service it?

No. There is no factory-approved third-party service program, and third-party bearings and any change to the design are warranty exclusions, so a well-meaning local repair can take the warranty with it. A refinished knife is a changed knife on the same reasoning. Service, warranty and storage sets out what the factory accepts.

How do I send a knife in for service?

Contact the factory or your dealer first with a description of the fault and photographs of the problem area and the whole knife, and confirm the shipping route before anything goes in the mail; the factory examines the knife or the photographs and decides whether the case is covered. Include a short history: when and where you bought it, whether anyone has had it apart, what was changed, and what lubricants and treatments have been used. Pack the knife closed, padded and insured. Contact the factory has the address and email.

Can I get replacement parts?

Yes. Replacement parts are available while the model is in production and for one year after production ends; after that, replacement is done where parts are still available, and warranty repair itself continues for the service life of the knife. Parts can be bought from the factory’s dealers. A stripped or torn screw needs extraction as well as a replacement part, which is workshop work. The warranty page states the parts window.

Is the frame lock insert replaceable?

Yes, but only at the factory. The frame locks on the F95, Hati, NeOn and Quantum carry a hardened steel insert at the contact point, and replacing one is workshop work. At the bench, clean the insert’s face with isopropyl on a swab, put nothing abrasive on it, and look for galling or bright smearing, which means the interface has been running dry or dirty. A lock face that has worn so that lockup has changed and cleaning has not fixed it is a reason to send the knife in. Bearings and locks by system covers the lock faces.

What if my knife is lost in shipping?

The factory and its dealers do not compensate a knife lost or damaged in transit, in either direction, so the insurance you buy is the only cover you have. Confirm the shipping route with the factory or your dealer before sending anything, pack the knife closed and padded, insure it for its value and keep the photographs you took before it left. The warranty page states the transit exclusion.

Custom pieces, modifications and storage

Should I open a full custom knife myself?

No. The double- and multi-row roller systems on Sergey Shirogorov’s full customs, and the duck foot pivot with them, are workshop territory, and a knife at that tier cannot be replaced if a roller is lost. If one has lost its action, send it in rather than lifting the scale, and document the action and lockup when the knife arrives so a change is recognizable later. The Custom Division FAQ answers the same question for the Custom Division tier, where the answer is different.

Can I re-anodize my Shirogorov?

Not without losing warranty cover. Anodizing by an owner or a third party is a change to the design and an exclusion, and the factory does not change a knife’s configuration during service either, so a new color is not on offer from that side. The factory will still restore such a knife as far as it can, and bills the work. Service, warranty and storage covers finishes.

Can I swap parts without losing the warranty?

No. Third-party bearings, a blade swap and a changed edge angle are each changes to the design and each is an exclusion, and a knife assembled from parts of several Shirogorov folders may be returned to the sender disassembled. Factory replacement parts fitted in the course of ordinary maintenance are a different matter and are covered. Service, warranty and storage covers modifications.

How should I store it?

Closed, clean and dry, in a warm, dry place away from prolonged humidity and aggressive environments. Wipe the knife down before it goes away, put a light film of thin oil on the blade, lay it flat and keep it apart from other knives so clips and scales cannot rub; a silica gel packet or VCI paper in the box handles humidity swings. Keep the box and certificate with the knife but not touching the blade, and cycle the action now and then if the knife will sit for months. Service, warranty and storage has the storage and records sections.