C35 Q
C35 "Q" was created to be very lightweight. The scales and blade are "skeletonized". Simple to construct and easy to have different blades designs. Introduced in 1996 it was awarded Blade magazine's knife of the year. Production started in 1997 with the Spyderco Bug in the blade and continued for a few years. The initial name for the Q was the Silhouette.
Appearance in catalogs
Designer
History, mentionings from the forums etc.
Why the Q?
Built to be very lightweight (34g or 1.2 oz) the Q also brought a small and rather inexpensive platform for customization and since many blade designs were possible, it would become a marketing tool for companies. It would also be used to recognize employees for various companies and given away as prizes and the such.
Innovations
New Patent was for the "spring lock". Essentially a formed piece of wire that rests in the scales and the wire fits into a notch in the blade tang that locks it in the open or closed position. The clip was also formed piece of wire that was located in holes in the scales. The holes were constructed for 4-way carry.
Information from the Spyderco catalog on the web
Variations
Initially the FRN handle was built in a 'sculpted' design. Where the scale was a little wider in the middle and narrower at the top and bottom. The next generation of handle the sides were flat. Also an additional pin was added at the top of the scales near the lock. It is unknown exactly how many variations of blade design were created. There exists pictures for more than 50 blade variables. Many were done with different color handles. Quantities also varied greatly between variations. From Prototypes where 1 or 2 exist, very small quantities of 25 up to thousands for companies like REI and EMS. SE is the most common edge although PE was available as requested by the companies ordering them. They can vary for each company, some varieties included both edge configurations. CE was also available, but rarely see on the regular blade. A Sheepfoot Blade was available on two versions that were only done in CE. One PE Sheepfoot Blade was done in a solid blade (A blade without any cutouts). The C35 Q was available in the following FRN colors: Black, Red, Green, Grey and Blue. Below we've tried to list the different variations as far as we know. If you know of others, please let us know here
| SKU | Handle | Edge | Steel | From/To | MSRP | Note | Number made | Grind | Clip | Clip positions | Collectors club |
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | Regular Bug in blade, 3D handle | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | Regular Bug in blade, 3D handle | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | Regular Bug in blade, flat handle | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | Regular Bug in blade, flat handle | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | HK in blade, relatively few PE exist | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | HK in blade | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | |||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | Viking helmet in blade Made for Norwegian Spyderco importer at the time Viking international products. | 150 | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | Viking helmet in blade Made for Norwegian Spyderco importer at the time Viking international products. | 50 | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | REI in blade Made for Outdoor retail store Recreational equipment Inc. | Unknown | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | REI in blade Made for Outdoor retail store Recreational equipment Inc. | Unknown | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | MIT INKJET in blade Made for a Swedish firm making inkjet heads for large scale printers. | Maximum 200 total PE and SE[1] | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35SBK | Black FRN | SE | 440C | MIT INKJET in blade Made for a Swedish firm making inkjet heads for large scale printers. | Maximum 200 total PE and SE[2] | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip | ||||
| C35PBK | Black FRN | PE | 440C | Moose in blade Made for former Swedish importer Rocky Mountain AB. | Maximum 200 total PE and SE[3] | Hollow sabre grind | Q wire clip |
Most collectible variation
With the C35 Q it's more a question of which variation is NOT very collectable. Considering the amount of people collecting the Q and how few was made of some of them, it's impossible to say which is the most collectible. The least collectible seems to be the regular Bug in blade Q and the one with HK in the blade. Both of these appear pretty often and never really bring the really high prices. Most of the others seems to command a premium whenever they appear for sale.
Questions regarding collecting the C35 Q
- How many different variations was made?
- How many of the different variations?
- How many in each edge configuration of the different variations?
- Which ones are mere Prototypes and which was made?
- All variations are supposed to have a 440C blade, but the crucible one seems to be marked 420V. Is there others with a different bladesteel?
Technical information
Typical metric measurements in mm and grams:
| Length overall | Length closed | Length edge | Hole Ø | Blade thickness | Weight |
Typical imperial measurements in inches and ounces:
| Length overall | Length closed | Length edge | Hole Ø | Blade thickness | Weight |
