C22 Michael Walker

The C22 Michael Walker with carbon fiber handles was first introduced in 1994. In 1996 a Lightweight variation was introduced, initially denoted as C37 Michael Walker Lightweight, this variation's SKU was changed to C22BK in 2000. In late 1997 the CX06 Experimental 6 batch of the Michael Walker design was produced, featuring black almite coated aluminum handles. In a 2005 Sprint run another variation with blue almite coated aluminum handles was produced.

Appearance in catalogs

The C22 Michael Walker appears in the following catalogs:

1994 Spyderco (CF)
1997 Spyderco (CF, Lightweight)
1998 Spyderco (CF, Lightweight)
1998? Ironstone (Black Almite CX06)
1999 Spyderco (CF, Lightweight)
2000 Spyderco (Lightweight)
2005 Sprint Runs (Blue Almite)

Designer

Michael Walker

Michael Walker Makers mark

History, mentionings from the forums etc.

C22CF

Extracted from a post^[1] by "sal" on the Spyderco Forum:

"...

The Michael Walker C22. A Spyderco, Michael Walker, HP Klotzli collaboration. Early 90's.

First production carbon fiber handle.

First production nested Walker-linerlock.

First production colored titanium.

Only Swiss made production Spyderco.

Custom made phosphure bronze pivot.

The Carbon fiber came from the Sauber F1 race team.

The knife was built for us by HP Klotzli.

My wife, Gail carries one as an EDC.

..."

Extracted from another post^[2] by "sal" on the Spyderco Forum:

"...

HP Klotzli came up with the idea for a Walker/Spyderco collaboration. He also swanted to build it. It was his idea to

use carbon fiber and he worked with Michael to develop manufacturing methods. I worked with Michael on the design.

Michael is quite a genius.

HP made the knives for Spyderco. We made the ATS-34 blades in Golden and shipped them to Switzerland. He

developed the carbon fiber and titanium mfg methods. HP does great work.

We thought about working with HP to make a slightly larger version of the C22 Walker. His wife Beah, had drawn a

beautiful larger version by incrementally extending the pattern.

..."

Historic information provided by HP Klotzli^[3] (email communication 2009/03/24, informal translation from German):

A total of 1165 C22CF were produced.
The exact numbers per edge grind type cannot be determined anymore. The Spyderco order consisted of 500x PE and 500x PS.
Klotzli delivered knives with "naked" blades to Spyderco. Spyderco did the engravings and numbering on the blades.
Glossy vs. matte carbon handles: Spyderco's quality demands were high. Initially only perfect carbon handles with the glossy surface were accepted. That resulted in more than 50% wastage with the carbon. Klotzli then started matting the carbon handles, so that fine scratches (that were unavoidable during production) disappeared.
"Klotzli" vs. "Swiss made" engravings on the blade: Initially it was agreed that all three names should appear on the blade: Spyderco, Walker, Klotzli. At some point Spyderco stopped putting Klotzli on the blade (and used "Swiss made" instead).
The Klotzlis are not in possession of the drawing by Bea Klotzli of the larger version of the C22.

Other C22s

Almite Walker CX06PS Experimental Photos thread in the Spyderco forum

Information from the Spyderco catalog on the web

Not listed.

Variations

The C22 features a Walker Liner Lock and a spear point shaped blade.

The C22 with CF handles and titanium liners were made in Switzerland by Klotzli. Spyderco individually numbered them (exceptions?). Two CF handle types exist:

CF glossy (and some without numbers?)
CF matte

Earlier produced C22s with CF have glossy (shiny, polished) handles and later ones matte. There are also two types of engravings on the blade: The "Klötzli" put on earlier blades was later replaced by "Swiss Made". There also exist C22CF blades with lasered names and number instead of engraved (in the [1500,1699] range?). C22s with an engraved number in the 1700-1799 range have been reported.

All other C22 variations (incl. CX06) were made in Seki-City, Japan.

SKU	Handle	Edge	Steel	From/To	MSRP	Note	Number made	Grind	Clip	Clip positions	Collectors club
C22	Black CF (glossy and matte variants)	PE PS	ATS-34	1994-1998	299.95$ (1994), 455.95$ (1999)	Swiss made; "Klotzli" or "Swiss Made" on the blade	1165 total^[3], >500x PE, >500x PS	Hollow	Metal	RH, TD
C22BK	Black FRN	PE PS	AUS-8	1996-2000	64.95$	before 2000: C37	N/A	Hollow	Integral FRN	RH, ?
C22 (CX06)	Black Almite coated Aluminum	PE PS	AUS-8	late 1997	79.95$	Ironstone only	1000?	Hollow	Chrome 3- screw old standard clip	RH, TD
C22BLP	Blue Almite coated Aluminum	PE	VG-10	2005	99.95$	Sprint	1000	Hollow	J- clip	RH, TU

Most collectible variation

The low numbered early ones or the later ones are believed to be the most collectible variations, although one might say all C22's are collectible for several reasons as listed above!

Questions regarding collecting the C22

Some interesting questions we are looking for an answer to:

Questions with an answer:

Technical information

Measurements (mm and grams) of the C22 Michael Walker:

Variations	Length overall	Length closed	Length blade	Length edge	Hole Ø	Blade thickness	Weight
C22CF	149mm	84mm	64mm	60mm	12mm	2.4mm	42g
C22BK, CX06, C22BL	156mm	92mm	64mm	60mm	12mm	2.4mm	44g

Measurements (inches and ounces) of the C22 Michael Walker:

Variations	Length overall	Length closed	Length blade	Length edge	Hole Ø	Blade thickness	Weight
C22CF	5 7/8"	3 5/16"	2 1/2"	2 3/8"	15/32"	3/32"	1.5oz
C22BK, CX06, C22BL	6 1/8"	3 5/8"	2 1/2"	2 3/8"	15/32"	3/32"	1.6oz

References

↑ 2004 post by Sal on the Spyderco forum
↑ 2007 post by Sal on the Spyderco forum
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Information provided by HP Klotzli (per email to the Author, 2009/03/24)