Quote Originally Posted by rockmanj
Like the bleach wiki post said, some shinigami don't need to release their shikai because of their superior spiritual power, such as Ichigo and Zaraki. I don' have time to check the manga, but I'm pretty sure someone explained that to him. It is basically a matter or poor control on his part, like his father said: (Bleach manga; Chapter 187, page 17 - Isshin comments on how captain-level Shinigami must control the size of their zanpakutō.) Its also been said that knowing the name of your sword can increase its power. What you showed was that knowing increased the power of Ichigo's shikai, but didn't turn his shikai on (as its always released).
But the wiki article is against you, look at the first sentence, it remains released AFTER it gets released for the first time. The first time it got released was with the Urahara training thus the sword looking diferent, after that it never got to base state because that is it`s permanent Shikai state.