Spyderco Military ATS-34 Question

Brooks_V

Brooks_V

Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
1,054
Hi all,
I recently bought this old Spyderco (I can tell by the white box and steel type) however I don’t know the product number. I’ve searched endlessly and it appears this model was made with ATS-55 steel too. Can anyone help me out? I presume this is 20+ years old. Here are some photos:

*hoping I’m posting this in the right place.
Cheers!
 

Attachments

  • 5F102B33-5B82-4342-9CC0-792B8DAB706C.jpeg
    5F102B33-5B82-4342-9CC0-792B8DAB706C.jpeg
    73.6 KB · Views: 56
  • 936BBAE9-BA27-4D6D-B1A0-3CED80034336.jpeg
    936BBAE9-BA27-4D6D-B1A0-3CED80034336.jpeg
    19.5 KB · Views: 52
  • 6F6B28E8-7510-46E8-818C-98F2E716E262.jpeg
    6F6B28E8-7510-46E8-818C-98F2E716E262.jpeg
    27.1 KB · Views: 53
It's a first generation C36G serrated, produced for a few years starting in 1996. Spyderco reuses SKUs when they make a base steel change, so there are a number of different variants labeled as C36G, including ATS-55, CPM 440V and the current production S30V satin model.
 
Congrats! Nice find!

I rely a lot on SpydieWiki to give me background info on the Spyders that I own/want to buy.

The info provided is not always complete or accurate but (apart from Spyderco Source, which is sometimes helpful but generally less useful) it's the only consolidated source of info available on the Net regarding the history of Spyderco knives for most (if not every) model ever produced.

Here's the info listed there for the C36 Millie: http://www.spydiewiki.com/index.php?title=C36_Military

Based on this info, the knife probably was among the 1st Millies made. Millies using ATS-34 were made between 1996-1999. Millies were also being made concurrently between 1996-1999 w/CPM 440V. However, the CPM 440V versions reportedly used a 3 screw triangular clip (the one with a hole in the middle which sits over the pivot, which is still in use now), while your knife uses only a 2 screw clip that sits below the pivot.

So, my guess is that your knife is about 25 years old.
 
Last edited:
The ATS-34 and 440V versions were released at the same time, both used 2 screw clips. They had problems with those clips and changed over to the 3 screw version pretty quickly on both. My guess would be first year or two of production. That is a rare bird you have there, cherish it.
 
yablanowitz said:
The ATS-34 and 440V versions were released at the same time, both used 2 screw clips. They had problems with those clips and changed over to the 3 screw version pretty quickly on both. My guess would be first year or two of production. That is a rare bird you have there, cherish it.
Click to expand...
Many thx!
 
sgt1372 said:
Congrats! Nice find!

I rely a lot on SpydieWiki to give me background info on the Spyders that I own/want to buy.

The info provided is not always complete or accurate but (apart from Spyderco Source, which is sometimes helpful but generally less useful) it's the only consolidated source of info available on the Net regarding the history of Spyderco knives for most (if not every) model ever produced.

There's the info listed there for the C36 Millie: http://www.spydiewiki.com/index.php?title=C36_Military

Based on this info, the knife probably was among the 1st Millies made. Millies using ATS-34 were made between 1996-1999. Millies were also being made concurrently between 1996-1996 w/CPM 440V. However, the CPM 440V versions reportedly used a 3 screw triangular clip (the one with a hole in the middle which sits over the pivot, which is still in use now), while your knife uses only a 2 screw clip that sits below the pivot.

So, my guess is that your knife is about 25 years old.
Click to expand...
sgt1372 said:
Congrats! Nice find!

I rely a lot on SpydieWiki to give me background info on the Spyders that I own/want to buy.

The info provided is not always complete or accurate but (apart from Spyderco Source, which is sometimes helpful but generally less useful) it's the only consolidated source of info available on the Net regarding the history of Spyderco knives for most (if not every) model ever produced.

There's the info listed there for the C36 Millie: http://www.spydiewiki.com/index.php?title=C36_Military

Based on this info, the knife probably was among the 1st Millies made. Millies using ATS-34 were made between 1996-1999. Millies were also being made concurrently between 1996-1996 w/CPM 440V. However, the CPM 440V versions reportedly used a 3 screw triangular clip (the one with a hole in the middle which sits over the pivot, which is still in use now), while your knife uses only a 2 screw clip that sits below the pivot.

So, my guess is that your knife is about 25 years old.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
HP2114B said:
It's a first generation C36G serrated, produced for a few years starting in 1996. Spyderco reuses SKUs when they make a base steel change, so there are a number of different variants labeled as C36G, including ATS-55, CPM 440V and the current production S30V satin model.
Click to expand...
Many thx!
 
That will have the steel type diamond engraved beneath the “Military” on the show side of the blade. Yeah it’s ATS-34. Model number is C36GSE I believe.
 
Hi HamiltonBrooks,

We planned on introducing the Military with a powdered metal. After visiting Crucible, we decided on CPM 440V. It was the first time a powdered steel was used on a production knife. We were concerned the reaction to a powdered metal in the knife might stop some from buying the model, so we decided to offer an ATS-34 version at the same time, as a back up to the experiment of CPM blade. Once we were convinced that the market would accept the powdered steel, we dropped the ATS-34 version.

sal
 
Sal! Thank you for responding. I was just looking for a way to get in touch with you about your 1990 Black SEAL. I just picked one up and I'm super psyched. Do you still have yours? There isn't much information on them and I certainly understand why, but if you have any details or feedback on the photos I posted here I would greatly appreciate it. What I have is your post here when you received yours. I tried to access the photo from your instagram and couldn't.
IMG_0041.jpg And, many thanks for your response to my Military -- BTW any idea how many of the ATS-34 were made?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0042.jpg
    IMG_0042.jpg
    24.3 KB · Views: 16
  • IMG_0043.jpg
    IMG_0043.jpg
    17.6 KB · Views: 12
  • IMG_0045 copy.jpg
    IMG_0045 copy.jpg
    61.8 KB · Views: 18
  • IMG_2419 copy.jpg
    IMG_2419 copy.jpg
    61.8 KB · Views: 20
We were the first company to experiment with a black coating. The knife shown was one of the early coated knives. I don't remember how many ATS Military models were made and the factory manager at the time was not that great about keeping records.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
We were the first company to experiment with a black coating. The knife shown was one of the early coated knives. I don't remember how many ATS Military models were made and the factory manager at the time was not that great about keeping records.

sal
Click to expand...
You're awesome, thanks. You once said the 1990 Black Seal was the sickest Spyderco you had ever owned; is that still true?

As for me, the Klotzli/Spyderco C22 Walker Liner-Lock w/ ATS-34 is my favorite of all time. I like the Blue Almite as well.

Just got this Black Seal.
 
Hi HamiltonBrooks. I have one just like yours but 440v

440v-mil.jpg
 
So many red n black boxes said:
That will have the steel type diamond engraved beneath the “Military” on the show side of the blade. Yeah it’s ATS-34. Model number is C36GSE I believe.
Click to expand...
Knibes said:
Hi HamiltonBrooks. I have one just like yours but 440v

440v-mil.jpg
Click to expand...
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
 
HamiltonBrooks said:
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
Click to expand...
Yea, and mine was made the same year as yours most likely. Mine has the two screw clip too. I love these old gems.

I got mine on ebay about 6 months ago. When it got to me it looked more like yours but dirtier. I took it apart and placed the parts in an ultra sonic with some Zep degreaser mix. After that I cleaned the parts with Ballistol and then wiped them with a dry cloth (leaves a little Ballistol oil). The super clean g10 looks even darker with a little Ballistol.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top