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I would love to own a Shirogorov. They're functional works of art with incredible machining and attention to detail. It's not something I can currently justify, but maybe some day. Until then, I'll enjoy them from afar and appreciate that they are something that exists in the world.

I own the bronze F3NS as well, and it is my favorite knife in my entire collection. I feel that it is the finest production knife ever made.

I had my Quantum out last night comparing it to a couple of Hermans. What really stood out to me is the crispness and cleanliness of all the milling in the Shiro. Yet every angle is perfectly knocked down. Look at that plunge line, just sharp and crisp and clean. Compared to other marvels of milling like the Herman knives, and you'll see more rounded edges and blending of lines and angles. Still beautiful, but easier to hide tiny little mistakes.

Normally I wait until my lunch to watch your review video of the day, but I couldn't wait on this one. I was able to hunt one down and should have it tomorrow!

Good to see you have your F3 back. Definitely my favorite Shirogorov and an amazing knife. Enjoy it and make videos about it whenever you like. Shiro quality and quality in general would be a great topic for a Knife Guy episode..

Nice to see such a beautiful knife reviewed. Can't say I want to spend $900 for a pocket knife but I still appreciate the effort made to design and manufacture such a great knife

Concur completely. I was wondering what happened to the og f3. I had just got my first shiro right before your original unboxing. Shiros are awsome. I live 20 min from recon1 so I’ve handled a few. You played a considerable part for me finally grabbing one. I got my second A few months ago (111) and the quantum has been on my radar for a while. Thanks again for all the great content

I own a shiro ice breaker, quantum (gen 1), f95ns mars valley, f95 crazy micarta and a f3ns bronze with roller bearings (it had mrbs). I enjoy all of them and favor the icebreaker in looks however the f3 consistently gets carried the most. the f3 has the best egos. the best action (subjective, its not as drop shut as some of the others) and is the most pocket friendly.

I recently bought a purple cf one off of bladeforums for a great price and It has immediately bumped everything else I own out of the pocket. The f3ns be the most perfect flipper knife out there. It has an arguably better action than the thorburn L36 that I own and It is way easier to maintain. Absolutely flawless knife!

In a world with $700 Osbornes, $1300 Norsemen, $1200 Holts and $600 Spydercos etc.. You could easily get a Hinderer or Socom up to those prices. Is the Shiro a legacy knife? Some people purchase 3-4 knives a year in the $200 price range. Some purchase way more for drops and for sprints runs. But for the folks who aren’t interested in having 10 different pocket knives. And are searching for a edc legacy knife that will still look amazing in 10-15 years. Does the Shirogorov have that lasting appeal for the end user? It’s a “nerd knife” for sure and the only people who will understand and not judge/hate you for having a $1k pocket knife are the absolute nerds of this hobby. it’s like having a pair of Jordans , a Prada or Gucci handbag or pair of Sony Mdr R10’s. Chances are only you will appreciate it fwiw. You won’t be able to explain it to anyone or make it makes sense to them. We can try and qualify why a card board cutter cost $1k. Or we can accept the fact for those of us who don’t need to justify why the pocket knife you’ve had for the last 5-10-15-20 years in your pocket cost as much as it does. We are the “nerds” of the hobby. We’ll talk about super steels and action and milling and tolerances like we are a bunch of mechanical engineers. Or we’ll talk about how it’s a good investment. Hopefully you’re honest with yourself and just say “I like nice stuff” and this pocket knife is the epitome of nice stuff that has a generational shelf life. Just like the grandads or dads or uncles etc. Who let us play with their bucks, oh so long ago. You’ll be able to do the same with someone you care about and are able to leave behind a cool heirloom or two. Ymmv..

I always appreciated the precision machining coming out of Russia, just some of the top level stuff you see in the world. I haven't owned that many Russian knives, but there's quite a few that's on my wish list and Shirogorov is definitely on that list. Was looking at a few of their knives about a week ago, and I thought I saw one of their models for $480. I said to myself man maybe I should pick that one up but then I realized the actual price was $4800, I'm glad I didn't just click buy cause my bank account would have been red for a long time (if the payment went through) 😆 But I gladly pay $700 - $1200 for a knife from them (if I could afford it I would def go higher), cause you know you are getting quality and the makers stand behind their products. Just stunning knifes. And I wish I could afford some of the super high end Custom knifes on Rusblade.

My bank is happy that these are hard to find. But it is fun to always be on the look for one.

I just ordered mine today, can't wait

I was seriously wondering if the F3 NS could be an overall better knife than the other amazing knives in the top 15 of your 2022 top 50 video, but alas I agree. This is especially significant because the Shiro F95 and Quantum, Herman Slim, Holt Specter v. 4, Koenig Arius, SBD Evo Typhoon, Rockstead Higo 2, Hinderer, (CRK should be there too) 😊 and a few others are extraordinary knives are also on this list. But the F3 NS is better IMHO and for way less $ than what you have to pay to get some of these other knives. To me, as just an enthusiast, the F3 NS feels like a bargain at $895. Simply love it for all the reasons you described. Thanks for the review Metal.

I have the smaller NeOn. It was the action that surprised me, but how light it was given the dimensions.

I like the lines on the knife. Looks great and functions great..need to pick one up...

I love my NeOn zero, would describe with the same affection you used. I cannot afford $700 -900 knives but, as soon as I can go without enough food to buy an F3ns I will.

That’s one I haven’t picked up yet but my favorite two are the neon zero and the F 95 zero. Great Review brother. You definitely have me wanting one lol

What an awesome knife! I want a F3 NS sooo bad! I really want Shiro to make a TI scale version of the F3 NS. A TI scale version would be abosulte perfection in my opinion.

I bought the blue carbon fiber F3 NS and loved it. However, it was just slightly too big and chunky for me to carry every day, so I sold it. I wish Shiro made a F3 NS exactly the same but in the size of the NeOn Zero or Hation Zero. It'd be the perfect knife for me.

Thanks for the Review, gonna get one of those one day, a Koenig also, Keep On Keeping On MC😎😎😎

Even before I knew anything about knives, I fell in love with the Shiro look. Still wanting one, but afraid I wouldn't use it at the cost. Not sure why, loI. Think I'd be afraid to ruin perfection.

So nice. I would definitely carry this in my athletic fitted leather pants.

$900?! You could buy a Shirogorov F3 NS for that! Wait...

I do like the shiros and have been intrigued by them. I would also put CKF right up there in craftsmanship on some particular models. My fif20 and Evo are perfect in all aspects. The existence of these types of knives and also Koenig being right at this same price point have kept me from picking up a shiro thus far. I would have to put the arius above all other makes/models when it comes to ergos. My 2 cents.

You can just look and see that knife is AMAZING

I absolutely agree with this review. My F3 NS is now probably my favorite knife I own. The Ne0n still fit better in my hand, tho

Best knife in the line up I think. I'm looking for one now.

Looking to buy one in blue carbon fiber! Great review! My holy grail knife!

Very impressive knife. Very far out of my price range. Thanks for sharing this!

Stunningly beautiful

Hate to nit pick, but Bently 100% makes race cars haha. Pretty good ones too!

Do you think a custom division Shirogorov is on the horizon? Beautiful knife. Thanks MC!

I love my F3. If you would’ve told me that I would choose a titanium liner lock with El Max steel and G 10 scales as one of my most carried knives for the past few months, out of all of the different things that I like to carry, I would’ve laughed. That knife looks very basic to me, and unless you were a nice person and understood some of the elements that make it a good knife, it would be very hard to appreciate. When I show people they look at me like I’m nuts. And when I open and close the knife they see my face changing and they can tell that I’m in love with that and They cannot tell why. I have gotten a few non knife people to get into it a little bit, but the look of the knife is so “laconico” in its design (very subtle details that would blow your mind as a knife lover, and make no difference to you in any way as a normie). I love shiro. I thought it was hype, but the hype is real. I use a button, or a coin and some cloth to make sure I’m not marring it up. A penny, a nickel, and a button will work (button from your pants will work… ask me how I know lol). My pivot backs out like crazy, so I need some loctite (I’m out) but after that I see it as a very heavy contender for one of the best knives I bought last year, that gets carried into this year. Love my shiro. Something that everyone should try at least once and make their own decision about it. Thanks for sharing MC.

I def cannot afford one but I grabbed a MKM Goccia cause I felt like it would give me a kinda premium feel and I totally love it. Even slapped on a set of rocket glides lol. That’s a beauty 👊🏼

Love my f3NS!! But love my Gen 4 🐢 a little more!! Both are great in their own ways!

Shiro has the best action of any knife you can buy. Change my mind

Shirogorov makes amazing knives! I agree with you. The F3 is my favorite knife as well. But it is crazy how over priced they are. Arizona Custom Knives charged me 2,000.00 for an F3 Terrus. UPS is doing there best to lose the knife!! I wish the custom division features were more accessible

my 2 most recent a f95rnl winter storm and a f3r nl in blue cf

With everything going on, it’s near impossible to find a Shiro now. These will become even more of a collector’s item than before.

Great review! Do you have any concerns about the lock-bar steel insert being glued in instead of held in by a screw on this particular model? One of the reasons why I didn't pick the F3 up, I have a F95T, F95 Zero and a F111, all are favorites! :) Thumbs up on the video!

You have to try the neon zero. It is so amazing it’s even better than the F 95 zero

Thanks MC

amazing knife! but it's way out of my budget... jum! could the viper orso2 be a cheap version? maybe a "versus" in the channel?

I've wanted to get a F3R for a long time but I wish they made one at 3". I have a Neon Lite and love it but can't carry it at work. Stupid rules.

You didn't mention whether or not you like this one... I've got a Bestech Ascot I picked up a couple years ago that does have a similar look to this, especially the blade grind/shape/jimping but also other very similar smaller details like the chamfer in the liner by the flipper tab. Almost like it's a copy.

at one point in my collection i was at 30 folders, once i got my first F3R, i sold everything and now i have only shiro lol

Can I use it daily? I don’t mind spending money but is it going to hold up?

Yes this is the best knife ever made.

An excellent knife, but was just a bit too large for me and I ended up selling it. I wish Shirogorov would do more liner locks.

I’m sold on a mini version under 3” blade 👍🏻

Additional: for those of you who say Shirogorovs are too expensive, I ask you this. How many Civivis do you have? I have 20. I could buy 3 Shirogorovs for the price of 20 Civivis. I would certainly give 6 or 7 Civivis for one more Shirogorov.

I own the purple cf f3ns. If i could only keep 1 knife from my collection, it would be the f3ns hands down

I want to say thank you very much.

Those scales look just so cool, and love the size. That pivot screw slot looks like it will fit a 1.5x6 or 8mm tritium tube fixed in place with Norland. 😁

for some reason you reminded me of old school nutnfancy with your enthusiasm on this review. mean that in an endearing way

30+ minutes. Now that’s what I’m talking about.

Hi Complex! Would you recommend this F3 NS over the Shiro Quantum Gen 2? I know Quantum is like 200 bucks more.

Thanks

that's bae right there...Don't hate me but I only have a greenthorn F3 and even that is one of the most well made and nicest knives that i own...

Is Holt Bladeworks or Rockstead comparable in your opinion or different animals? I know two guys who pretty much sold all their knives for shiros and koenigs.

This makes my 535-3 Bugout feel like a Kershaw.

I would not advise taking a screwdriver to that pivot. It will almost certainly scratch it. But you can buy aftermarket Shiro tools pretty reasonably

Shiro’s seem to be a useable art form knife. They could take hard use but few could afford the resale value loss to do so. Rembrandt knives are enviable but outside of the price/performance/value metric for many of us. Reprint Rembrandt’s are enjoyed - and used - by far more people. Ones that are intended to sell as real = forgeries. Decent reproductions get extensively used and no tears are shed if they are damaged. That is the art world, where people even commission high-end reproductions and that is accepted.

$900?!?! You could buy a lightsaber for that much money

Hey man. I’m super sold. I have probably 50,000 dollar plus knife collection mostly mid tech autos but guess what my next one is? It’s either a quantum or this bad boy. Which of the two would you go with. We have a very similar taste in aesthetics and size for sure. Also I just got my hands on a brand new Makora by Microtech which is super rare. Want me to send it to you to review or unbox? Btw most definitely my next one is Shirogorov. Also I’m getting Husky by Hoback. Do you also want to review an alpha by Andre De Villiers. Very interesting at least lol

i got a shiro F95 a week ago i threw the rest of my knives in the trash.😂

sounds like you actually found some minor flaws as you kept going on about it. Ha. Great review. Would love to get one some day.

So, you like it huh? LOL Its the best knife in my collection. Period.

Maybe it's the light but the pivot doesn't look to be exactly centered in the handle. In any case nice knife.

tSpyderco Kapra that I modified reminds me of this knife

Correct, the hardware is steel. In fact it’s a hardened Russian equivalent to D2 steel 🙂

Dam that's such a beautiful shank brotha

So the Shirogorov is better than the Herman or the Holt? I truly am curious. I want one but can only afford one.

What's the precision difference between shirogorov and like Chris reeve? I know shirogorov is supposed to be the best, but I have never seen one in person. I have a sebenza. I know crk is also known for high precision. Can someone use a sebenza comparison and give me a good idea of how crazy these are?

The sounds of deployment alone…🤤

Heck yeah

said in the voice of hank hill(i would never spend that much on a pocet knife)how can a pocket knife cost over 20 dollars?lol jkg i now have and own 8 shirogorovs.i didnt get that many to collect but i guess i do.and this video made me order another one.

If your wearing leather pants you have bigger issues than the size of your knife. Lmao

I actually see two tiny things I don’t like The bite (opening between the blade and the frame) when closed And the visible screw on the pocket clip Just close but no cigar (for me)

How did this compare to a Koenig Arius?

Dang! $900 for that!? To me that looks more like a $300ish knife. However, I know I'll end up buying something like that eventually

The only knife that is better than the F3 NS is the custom division F3 😃

Ohhhh “ bites finger “ That’s a lovely knife! Something about matte gray/silverish blade and Cf scales... just dang!!! Even the average Microtech guy will say that’s pocket jewelry! Lmao Me!? Nah... I’ll just admire it on my phone.. maybe one day!!! Lol.... I’m not a smart man but I know what thiccc is! An that’s not a thiccc knife....

I agree MC, buying clones/fakes is never a good idea. Not only is it not the same quality, but the maker of the clone is stealing from the original designer, kind of a knife world plagiarism.

That awkward moment when you're both first and second first

Check the green thorns replicas, there are absolutely perfect.

hey

YOU are definitely #1 knife hype guy! I appreciate the hundreds of fine details on this knife, but the overall folding steak knife design really doesn't incite much desire for me. I DO wonder how desireable these are as investment pieces though. You know what would make for a really interesting video? Do a little research on what the higher-end brands sold for maybe 10 or 15 or 20 years ago, and what those same collector knives have sold for recently. It would be incredibly interesting for someone (like you) to actually get a handle on the investment value increase over 10 years or so. Maybe 10 top brands, 5 top models, compare selling prices between now and then. If the people realize a very nice return graph, then you will promote sales of higher-end brands in general as collector investments, and elevate beyond hyping a single knife at a time. Wait a minute- never mind- I should do that on my own- and start buying up the brands/models with the fastest price differential increases to re-sell later - yeah... forget I metioned that at all...rather keep that to myself... never mind...

I am glad I am not at all interested in this class of knife, I'd be so broke.

The clones are just as good

were you bricked up making this review? just plain hahaha

First

Aren’t we bout to go to war with Russia? 😂

$895? LOL no thanks.

Fakes suck.

Slots don't line up on hardware. Hard pass

It is a really nice knife, but $900 is insanity. It just is. Even $400 would be more than it is really worth compared to other top makers with more reasonable prices. I know clones are bad, but the clones of this knife are 95+% accurate and cost under $100. Unless Shiro is putting $500 cash in the box there is just no way this knife should be that expensive. More power to them for getting suckers to pay it I guess...

Just bought mine today! Picking it up in a few hours from R1 woot (15 minutes drive). Edit: Just noticed you don't have any sexy color bummer! Went with the purpsssss