I've had this knife for probably 15 years (or longer). In fact, it's the second one of this model that I purchased (the first was lost on a camping trip). I've been through the entire site and I can't find it. The blade is stamped "Seki-City Japan" on one side and "SPYDERCO ATS-55" on the obverse.
The reason that I'm asking is that, over the last year or so the blade lock has failed and will no longer hold the blade locked open making it unsafe to use. I can't see any dust, grit or fuzz in the lock that could possibly block the action so I think it's something to do with the steel/mechanism of the lock/spring. I love this knife and it's my favorite knife and the one that I would carry every day if it was still safe to use.
Looking at the photos on the wiki none of them match my knife exactly. There are no visible rivets on the handle, the tang markings are not the same on the only photo that shows a plain, unriveted handle. the handle also seems a bit slimmer than the images on the wiki. The clip is different on every image that shows a clip, mine is narrower, tapering down to the indent and it has the Spider near the top of the clip, near the three screws that hold the clip in place.
The knife is a CoPilot. It was designed in the 80's to be able to carry a knife on an airplane to a safari in Africa, use it to process your game and fly home with it. If fact more than a few had done exactly that. Early models had a brass liner and were made with "G2" blade steel (Gingami 1). Then the brass liners were dropped. We made an aluminum version that had a different clip. This was the model used to make the collection of "Divers" knives that we made for DEMA back in the late 80' and early 90's.
Contact Customer Service. If you do send it in send a note saying it has sentimental value to be safe.
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Did you ever end up sending this in to Spyderco W&R? If so, what was the verdict?
Just curious. Sounds like possibly a broken or damaged lockspring or significant wear on the lock.
><> The most important blood trail leads to the Cross <>< C09 CoPilots My Specialty Integrity is Being Good Even if No One is WatchingTM
Looking for: C04 Executive plain edge, C09 CoPilot plain edge with brass liners and a G-2 marked blade
