Where Tool & Art Diverge: $2,000 Shigorov vs. $200 ABW
If Shigorov is known for being one of the premium and luxury brands of the knife space, then what would be the more affordable equivalent for those shopping on a budget. How much more affordable? One tenth of the price more affordable. Few have heard of American Blade Works but those who have know there is value in spades.
Anyone can buy a knife online for $10 that can do most jobs a knife would be needed for. For every dollar you spend over that it starts to go beyond utility. The American Blade Works retails from $200-$300. Like Shigorov, they’re a relatively new brand within the knife community, but just like the Shigorov the American Blade Works sell out swiftly. They are designed and machined by one maker in the United States out of his home shop in North Carolina. What comes out of this home shop will surprise any knife enthusiast in terms of its quality and finishing.
This is the ABW Model 1 Version 7. It comes with a Magnacut blade which is quite incredible at its given price point. The blade itself has been heat treated and cryogenically tempered to give it superior strength. The detail is incredible as you notice the fine grain that runs parallel to the blade edge. The version 7 is focused on reliability and ease of use as its newest refinements come in the form of its elongated thumb studs and grippier flipper tab.
For those left handers out there, it can be difficult to find a knife with an orientation that suits you. Most knife makers make their knives one way and leave little room for customization to fit your everyday needs. The Model 1 is an ambidextrous piece with protruding thumb studs on both sides of the blade. The handle scale is drilled on both sides so that the pocket clip can be moved from side to side depending on your preferences. Most knives have a “presentation side” where the majority of the eye focus and detail has been put towards. The Model 1 is a mirror image of itself on either side. The inset frame lock pops in securely and leaves you feeling confident. The inset frame lock is titanium and is buried into the G10 handle scale. This keeps the design consistent and seamless.
One aspect that many customers will appreciate is a little stamp on the Model 1s pivot screw that reads “Made in the USA.” A lot of cost in modern day knives are the built in overhead costs that makers have to recoup from their large factories and R&D budgets. When you’re buying a knife from one maker that’s made out of their home shop, you know that you’re getting craftsmanship at a price that screams value.
Any tool has to be capable and the American Blade Works Model 1 is just that. It’s strong and overbuilt with materials that both look and feel fantastic. At the $200 price point, it’s difficult to beat. But where the ABW sacrifices time for its more plain and utilitarian design, the Shigorov F95NL is a wonder to the senses.
Shigorov is a niche brand in of itself. Their focus has been on slowing down the knife process and really paying attention to the details. One of their claims to fame to their signature smoothness is their use of the Multi Row Bearing System (MRBS). Just as Apple didn’t invent the the wrist computer and smartwatch, neither did Shigorov invent the Multi Row Bearing System. But like Apple, they know how to do it better. One of the finest examples that one can find of a Shigorov Brothers masterpiece would be their F95NL Solar System. The Solar System in the palm of your hand.
This piece goes for North of $2,000. What separates the F95NL from other knives is their breath taking level of finishing and attention to detail. It has every a knife should have: a strong blade, reliable locking system, smooth actuation and a grippy scale. Then again, so does the ABW Model 1. When viewed from the Macro level, you’d begin to think that the extra decimal place must have been placed haphazardly.
The Shigorov brothers decided the way they should separate themselves from the competition within a highly competitive knife market would be to focus on the little things. The very little things. The connection most feel to a knife come down to the feeling as well as the looks. The tactile experience of having a tool that you use everyday that feels more like an experience.
The tip up pocket clip in anodized titanium acts as the anchoring point for all of your secure and regular interactions with this piece. As the F95NL is unsheathed from the pocket and its masterfully milled handle comes into view, you admire it for a moment. The depression of the flipper tab transitions the blade from its concealment using their silk like multi row bearing system. With a satisfying click and soft ring, the blade locks in place and is ready to get to work.
There is a fine line that separates tool from art. Shigorov occupies the space right between those lines. Along the presentation scale there are milled concentric circles. At the peaks of each ellipse are perfect and round representations of planets. Each is finished to be recognizable as the planets of our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Yes, those Russian lads included Pluto. Where in this menagerie is the sun you ask? All these micro sized planets are orbiting around the anodized titanium pivot screw. Each planet measures about a millimeter across. Even on this micro scale you can see the continents of Earth as well as its moon. The distinctive representation of Jupiter has its own milled display of its rings.
The minute details is what separates the Shigorov and the American Blade Works. A sculpture and a painting are made to be appreciated. Humans seek meaning and beauty and Shigorov provides.
Do you want a tool? Do you want an art piece? Or are you looking for a little bit of both? Any purchase of a knife at either of these price points is beyond necessity. A premium item can be labeled in both of these and a premium item is supposed to fulfill you in some way. All you have to do is choose.
