My 35E was very consistent with a properly lubricated leather washer (soaked in Abbey silicone oil, then given a smear of SM50 before reassembly). It did about 10.5 with .177 H&Ns. I tried a PTFE washer but it bottomed out horribly.

They were not always at 12 ft/lbs even in .22, but some of them were either by chance or with a bit of tweaking and the right pellet. Mind you, the HW80 was rarely at 12 ft/lbs either when it first came out - getting it DOWN to 12 was the tuner's problem.

The 35 and the Feinwerkbau Sport were the top-quality rifles of their time, comparable with good quality firearms. The FWB was generally more powerful, as was the BSF series, than the 35, but the Weihrauch had that brilliant Rekord trigger, lovely walnut stocks, accuracy and were very easy to strip and maintain. You also have to remember that when the 35 made it's reputation very few people would put a scope on an air-rifle, and it was a great tool with the iron sights. There was a guy at the Thame Air Rifle Club, called Aubrey, who could hit any of the FT targets in the kill zone out to 45 yards time after time (this is before people used anything other than standard hunting springers) using the 'U' notch and small bead on his HW35. But he had been using that rifle for about 20 years and it was almost instinctive shooting.

They are great guns, although I am a bit suprised they still sell them seeing as the other HWs more or less cover what they do anyway.