C70 A.T.R.

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The C70 A.T.R or At The Ready, was introduced in 2003 and discontinued in 2006. The design was revamped and offered as the A.T.R. 2 in 2017, and discontinued in 2018. It was the first Spyderco folding knife with an integral compression lock.

Appearance in catalogs

The C70 A.T.R. appears in the following catalogs:

  • 2003 Spyderco Product Guide (C70)
  • 2004 Spyderco Product Guide (C70)
  • 2005 Spyderco Product Guide (C70TI, C70SS)
  • 2006 Spyderco Product Guide (C70SS, C70BK)
  • 2017 Spyderco Product Guide (C70GP2)
  • 2018 Spyderco Product Guide (C70GP2)

Designer

Sal Glesser [1]

History, mentionings from the forums etc.

On the Spyderco forums:

  • One of the first threads presenting specifications and options for different handle materials for the A.T.R..
  • In this thread, Sal mentions that the A.T.R. was inspired by Glock firearms. Spyderco offered the design to Glock, but the firearms company didn't want to make a knife. Spyderco then pursued the design that became the C70.
  • In this post on the Spyderco.com forum, from 8 May 2023, Sal Glesser shares some information on the design history of the A.T.R. and he reflect on the design process in general and the C229 Shaman:

Some history. When I first designed the original ATR, (At The Ready), which actually took quite a while to refine, my plan was to present it to Glock to be used as their official Glock knife.

Probably more "hope" than actual. I was really all about myself and thought it was a great design. I figured that Glock would jump on the opportunity. Reality put my ego back in line. Although I tried many ways to try to present the knife to Glock, every path was a dead end. Crushed, I decided to offer the knife as just another Spyderco model. I was complimented on the design from some of the custom makers for which I had much respect, which restored my ego somewhat. It was just about that time that Glock came out with their "official" Glock knife. It was a fixed blade that did nothing for me, but it is it what it is.

Funny thing about design; Something that probably most designers feel at one time or another. One works on a design, refining over and over, for sometimes years. When one feels the design is complete, they give themselves a rating on how well they like their piece and how well they think it will be received. Then reality rears it's ugly head and puts the designer in their place.

Some of my designs, like the Polestar and Alcyone, which I had great hopes for, actually never moved the needle. The ATR was one of those. One of my designs that Peter, Roque and I refined for years making many prototypes before completion, was the Native Shaman. We were very proud of our achievement.

We thought it was a heavy duty hard use model, like the ATR, that was ready for anything. But the design received very little attention. We entered the design in the Blade Magazine "Knife of the Year" contest and few noticed it. Even my own staff was lukewarm about it. The model was introduced in G-10 and S30V and again, not much.

Later, the Shaman was re-introduced in Micarta and Cruwear and rang the bell. Subsequent "Exclusives" had good response and the follow up models using the Shaman pattern have yet to hit the market. The lighter performance version ("Edgerati" (TM), the Choil-less version, and the FRN version are still in-the-works, but we really won't know how you (the market) will respond until they've been out for a while. "Persistence is King", and we will continue to try.

There have been many examples that fell into the above categories of hit and miss, which has taught me, as a designer, to be humble and patient. Something I would venture to say most designers have experienced.[2]

Information from the Spyderco catalog on the web

C70 A.T.R.

A.T.R. is an acronym for At The Ready -- and it is. Spyderco showcases several technologically advanced features offered to the cutlery world in this high-end tactical folder. Voted 'Knife of The Year 2003' by Knives Illustrated magazine. We precision machine a fistful of 6AL4V titanium into a handle then drilled it full of holes. The holes lessen weight, doubling as indexing divots in order to rotate the folder from one grip position to another. A second set of holes machined from the contoured pocket clip line up with the handle's holes for balanced indexing. Curvy expansions on opposite ends of the handle flare outward into a choil and a pinky shelf insuring the hand remains gripped on the folder in any draw. Rated suitable for heavy or MBC-use, the Compression Lock is integrated, actually part of the handle scale. The CPM S30V blade is hollow-ground with a sloping unsharpened swedge down the spine. As the tip sweeps down, the belly sweeps up to meet it, making a thick substantial tip for aggressive penetration and cutting. Seated above the Spyderco Round Hole is a Cobra Hood. While deploying the blade the thumb naturally positions itself under the overhang of the Cobra Hood properly positioning the thumb pad over the hole by feel (rapid deployment). Once opened, the textured Cobra Hood functions as a support/control seat for the thumb while cutting. Clip fastens into pre-tapped positioning holes for tip-up, left/right-hand carry.

The C70 A.T.R. in Spyderco's online catalog.

Variations

The C70 A.T.R. features a:

  • Cobra hood
  • A symetrical 'dagger-type' grind with a fin or hump near the tip.
  • Integral compression lock
  • Holes in the handle and clip to allow the user to rotate the knife towards different grips

With the introduction of the A.T.R. with steel handles, the product numbers of the A.T.R. in the catalog switched to C70TI for the original version with a titanium handle, and the C70SS for the A.T.R. with steel handle scales. The C70BK SKU number was used to catalog the A.T.R. with stainless steel handle scales and an all black coating.

C70 A.T.R.

SKU Handle Edge Steel From/To MSRP Note Number made Grind Clip Clip positions Collectors club
C70TI Titanium PE, SE CPM-S30V 2003 - 2005 $299.95 Made in Golden, CO Regular production Saber Silver 3-hole custom clip RH, LH, TU Main
C70SS Steel PE, SE VG-10 2006 Made in Seki-City, Japan Regular production Hollow Silver 3-hole custom clip RH, LH, TU Main
C70BK Steel, All Black PE, SE VG-10 2006 Made in Seki-City, Japan Regular production Hollow Black 3-hole custom clip RH, LH, TU Main

C70 A.T.R. 2

SKU Handle Edge Steel From/To MSRP Note Number made Grind Clip Clip positions Collectors club
C70GP2 Black G-10 PE CPM-S30V Made in Seki-City, Japan Regular production Saber Black Hourglass TU Main

Most collectible variation

Most interest by collectors appears to be in the C70TI (titanium handle) with a plainedge.

Technical information

Measurements (mm and grams) of the C70 A.T.R.

Variations Length overall Length closed Length blade Length edge Hole Ø Blade thickness Weight
A.T.R. Titanium 214mm 129mm 87mm 82mm 14mm 3mm 135g
A.T.R. Stainless Steel 216mm 129mm 87mm 82mm 14mm 3mm 150g
A.T.R. 2 216mm 127mm 89mm 82mm 14mm 3mm 133g

Measurements (inches and ounces) of the C70 A.T.R.:

Variations Length overall Length closed Length blade Length edge Hole Ø Blade thickness Weight
A.T.R. Titanium 8.5" 5" 3.438" 3.25" 0.551" 0.125" 4.75oz
A.T.R. Stainless Steel 8.5" 5" 3.438" 3.25" 0.551" 0.125" 5.4oz
A.T.R. 2 8.49" 5.00" 3.49" 3.23" 0.551" 0.118" 4.7oz

References

  1. Sal Glesser's original comment can be found on Spyderco-Forums [1]
  2. From the Spyderco.com discussion forum thread | 'Anyone know why the A.T.R. was discontinued?'

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