Spyderco Military ATS-34 Question

Hi,

Back then we made the G-10 black by putting WD-40 on it, We soaked the handles in a vat of Wd-40.

sal

That's a relief!

I don't have to feel guilty anymore about spraying WD40 on all of those faded black G10 scales on my vintage Spydies to bring the color back.

Worked great but I was always worried that I was doing something "wrong" doing that. Apparently, not, LOL! ;)
 
Yeah I don't think they ever did make a GOLDEN, CO model with ATS-55>> I do believe that Rycen is right about that. I think that only Japan made models ever had ATS-55>> correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I'm wrong on that one. But I did find it curious that they did make a Golden, CO made model with ATS-34 because it was also a Japanese made steel>> but the C-36 Military wasn't the only GOLDEN,CO made Spyderco model with ATS-34>> oddly enough they did at least 3 GOLDEN, CO models in ATS-34. It's really hard to believe it now-a-days with all the new premium blade steels we have now but at one time back in the early to mid 90s ATS-34 was considered a really premium blade steel. I even still have the old BLADE magazine issue from way back touting ATS-34 as a premium blade steel.

I had 3 different Military models with 440V blade steel and one of them was a fully serrated model which I wish they would make again in full SE with that same steel. I found 440V to be an excellent performing steel for Spyderedges.
 
Hi,

Back then we made the G-10 black by putting WD-40 on it, We soaked the handles in a vat of Wd-40.

sal
Sal, in the Spyderco Forum (another website entirely operated by Spyderco) a gentleman named Sid wrote he had just landed a 1990 SEAL. I didn't have my glasses on and assumed Sid was YOU. UGHHH. Anyway, here are more photos of that 1990 Black SEAL I was talking about. Curious if you know anything about it. It says Gen 2 on the blade and it's HEAVY, with a SEAL Trident beautifully engraved on the presentation side.
IMG_2610.jpg

IMG_2626.jpgIMG_2622.jpgIMG_2620.jpg
 
Sal, in the Spyderco Forum (another website entirely operated by Spyderco) a gentleman named Sid wrote he had just landed a 1990 SEAL. I didn't have my glasses on and assumed Sid was YOU. UGHHH. Anyway, here are more photos of that 1990 Black SEAL I was talking about. Curious if you know anything about it. It says Gen 2 on the blade and it's HEAVY, with a SEAL Trident beautifully engraved on the presentation side.

I think Sal is familiar with the Spyderco forum. He and his wife are the founders of Spyderco!
 
I think Sal is familiar with the Spyderco forum. He and his wife are the founders of Spyderco!
I'm aware which is why I was embarrassed I confused him with 'Sid'. If you read the thread I was presuming Sal was an owner of a 1990 Black SEAL however it was a man named Sid from the Spyderco forum; it was my oversight which is why the questions to him about this knife don't make much sense in retrospect.

It's a honor he is responding to questions here and I admire Sal tremendously.
 
Hi Hamilton,

We were experimenting with TCN coatings back in th day. there were a number of organizations that thought a black knife would be of value.

sal
 
No military made with ATS-55.
Yeah I agree I've never seen any of the GOLDEN, CO made models with an ATS-55 blade. There were some misprints in some of the older Spyderco catalogs. Because I seen about 3 models that they claim were available in 440V but I've never seen any of those either and I've heard similar stories about ATS-55.

At the time they offered the C-36 Military in ATS-34 that particular blade steel at that time was considered a premium blade steel if you can believe that.
 
Awesome! So they literally were introduced at the same time but your steal won long-term. How do you keep the G10 so dark? Mine looks blue
I have had the best luck treating and cleaning most of my G-10 handles with "Ballistol". It truly keeps G-10 handles looking almost brand new and it actually seems to preserve the properties of G-10 handles.
 
I wish I knew where I could get my hands on one of those Centofante C-50 models. I think the one you have there in the pic is it's little brother the C-25. But the C-50 in full SE was a mega-beast of a cutter and I wish I had one back again. It's a shame because Sal said some time back that they eliminated the tooling to make those anymore..
 
I wish I knew where I could get my hands on one of those Centofante C-50 models. I think the one you have there in the pic is it's little brother the C-25. But the C-50 in full SE was a mega-beast of a cutter and I wish I had one back again. It's a shame because Sal said some time back that they eliminated the tooling to make those anymore..

The C25 Centofante 1

There are two generations of the C25, and 13 different variations. The C25 had a blade length of 2 7/8", an overall length of 6 7/8", and a weight of 2.25 ounces. The blade steel was ATS 34. The Spyderco catalog listed it as having 440V, but to my knowledge, the C25 was never produced with that steel. The locking mechanism was a Walker LinerLock.
The C50 Centofante 2

The C50 Centofante had a blade length of 3 5/8", an overall length of 8 9/16", and a weight of 2.9 ounces. The blade steel was ATS 34. It had a Walker LinerLock.

It had:
G10 handles with a G10 backspacer
A Spyderco Bug inlay (either Silver or Gold)
Frank Centofante's SecurLok

It was available in PE and SE.

Yea me too! I will find one eventually, I always do, just takes time(ever the optimist lol).
 
The C25 Centofante 1

There are two generations of the C25, and 13 different variations. The C25 had a blade length of 2 7/8", an overall length of 6 7/8", and a weight of 2.25 ounces. The blade steel was ATS 34. The Spyderco catalog listed it as having 440V, but to my knowledge, the C25 was never produced with that steel. The locking mechanism was a Walker LinerLock.
The C50 Centofante 2

The C50 Centofante had a blade length of 3 5/8", an overall length of 8 9/16", and a weight of 2.9 ounces. The blade steel was ATS 34. It had a Walker LinerLock.

It had:
G10 handles with a G10 backspacer
A Spyderco Bug inlay (either Silver or Gold)
Frank Centofante's SecurLok

It was available in PE and SE.

Yea me too! I will find one eventually, I always do, just takes time(ever the optimist lol).
Yeah You're absolutely right that there was not ever a C-50 Centofante with 440V steel ever made available to the public. I looked for one of those for about two years before I finally resigned myself that it must have been a typo. As I said earlier it's hard for us to get our head around the fact that at one time all of the Spyders with ATS-34 blade steel were considered "Premium" models. I can remember all the way back to the 90s when most of the knife magazines were bragging about how good ATS-34 was in the day.

However I still rate it good in full SE. If I ever find another C-36 Military model in either ATS-34 or 440V in full SE I'll buy it. Both steels were good in full SE IMO.
 
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