martial life,
There are a couple of major differences between the CQB1 and CQB3. First is of course the blade steel....ATS-34 stainless in the CQB1 and 0170-6C carbon steel in the CQB3. Both are plenty strong...we have been makeing the CQB1 in stainless for a couple of years now, and to my knowledge never heard of one breaking in the field. Technically, the carbon verson should be slightly stronger with regards to lateral flexing. In practice, I don't think you would have a problem with either one.
With regard to price, the carbon steel in the CQB3 costs us less to purchase. The CQB3 is not as nicely finished as the CQB1 also. The CQB1 has more polishing and blending around the handles scales and tang. But the biggest savings for us, and ultimately the customer, is the sheath used in the CQB3. The CQB1 comes with a complete kydex carry system from BLADETECH. Molded sheath, tek lok, and IWB loop. Very nice, and costly sheath. But IMHO, one of the finest complete caryy systems ever offered with a production knife. The CQB3 comes with a very serviceable kydex lined nylon sheath. It has ALICE clip attachment slots and a handy pouch on the outside of the sheath for a sharpener or other accesory. But certainly not as complete a carry system as the BLADETECH unit with the CQB1.
Think of the CQB3 as the "service grade" version, and the CQB1 as the top of the line, "high speed-low drag" model. Both will get the job done
PS, before someone asks, the sheath for the CQB1 will not work with the CQB3. The blade thickness is slightly thicker on the CQB3, and the knife won't fit
