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FOG HORN 2017HOM… · inch blade is made of AUS 8 steel with and HRC index of 57-58. ... Ken’s...
Transcript of FOG HORN 2017HOM… · inch blade is made of AUS 8 steel with and HRC index of 57-58. ... Ken’s...
FOG HORN 2017
Twobirds Flying Publication
Copyright 2017, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.
CRKT Homefront with Field Strip Technology
Ken Onion Design
CRKT Homefront with Field Strip Technology 2017
Copyright 2017, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
CRKT HOMEFRONT – with Field Strip Technology
By: Sal Palma
Knifemakers, or more accurately bladesmiths,
are artisans and expressionists. It’s easy for me
to imagine them living and working in the
communes of Sausalito or the Height – Ashbury
in San Francisco. They’re not simply artistic, as
can be seen from some of the exquisite work of
French bladesmith and Parisian Bastien Coves’,
they’re also metallurgists, smelters, welders
and engineers.
Ken Onion of Kaneohe Bay, HI, fits all those
descriptions. A former U.S. Marine, Ken was
inducted into Blade’s Cutlery Hall of Fame. He
invented the SpeedSafe assisted opening
mechanism for Kershaw Knives and is now
credited with numerous designs produced
under the CRKT label. If you see a hollow
ground blade with a sweeping belly and a touch
of recurve, chances are it’s a Ken Onion design.
Ken now has another industry first design,
under the CRKT label, the Homefront with Field
Strip Technology.
CRKT’s Homefront is an exceptional EDC folder.
Everything on this knife is top of the line. Its 3.5
inch blade is made of AUS 8 steel with and HRC
index of 57-58. It is a slicer from the ground up
with a gorgeous sweeping belly and a slight
recurve. I used it to slice up some canned ham
when Hurricane Irma rolled in. It saved the day
I’ll tell you!
Hollow ground blades are, at least for me, a so-
so decision. The hollow ground blade gives you
a razor’s edge you can shave with, BUT edges
tend to break when called upon to perform
heavier work. Ken’s choice of blade steel
tempers to sufficient hardness as to mitigate
that risk; however, I still prefer the flat ground
profiles for a working knife. This is simply my
preference much like saying that one prefers an
oaky Chardonnay over one less seasoned. Be
assured that Homefront will admirably perform
any EDC task you can throw at it.
Ken Onion included a bayonet lug style flipper
that deploys Homefront’s beefy modified drop
point blade smoothly and with all the authority
of a Gunnery Sargent. He also did something
that I found interesting, when he added flutes,
port and starboard, along the blade spine.
These are not blood grooves and my theory on
blood grooves is that they’re like racing stripes
CRKT Homefront with Field Strip Technology 2017
Copyright 2017, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
on a car, they don’t make the car any faster but
they add to esthetics. In Homefront’s case, I
believe the grooves are a combination of Ken’s
artistic expression and practical consideration
of lightening an otherwise very muscular blade.
Homefront’s beefy blade, with a thickness of
.133 inches, is stout to be sure. So, removing
some of that metal, to lighten the blade, is
probably a good way to allow for easier
operation and subsequent deployment using a
flipper. It also helps to move its center of
gravity rearward on the handle. Homefront is
balanced so its center of gravity is about ¾ of an
inch aft of its axis point.
Generally speaking, a handle can make or break
a pocket folder and Homefront’s is extremely
well implemented. The 4.7 inch, 6061
machined aluminum handle sits very
comfortably in the hand and is very supportive
of a variety of grips. Ken used tank gimping
along to top of the handle for a very secure grip.
In addition to providing a comfortable and
secure grip, the handle is tasked with a couple
of other functions.
First, it provides the
pocket clip attachment
point. The clip itself is
excellent and slides
easily over clothing
without damaging the
garment. It also allows
the knife to sit deeply
into the pocket. My only disappointment with
the clip is that it is not reversible.
Second, the aluminum scales provides the
foundation for Ken’s innovative field strip
technology.
So far I’ve described what is unquestionably an
excellent pocket folder built with excellent
craftsmanship and materials, but that’s not its
most exciting feature. My joy stems from what I
see as a revolutionary design concept, the Field
Strip Technology.
The common performance sapping condition
encountered with even the most competently
designed folder is the accumulation of dirt. It’s a
given that every available nook and cranny will
collect lint, sand and mud. Accumulations of
these substrates will lead to lock failures, rough
operation and even axis failure or wear and
deterioration.
So, we all know that cleanliness is next to
godliness but taking apart your pocket folder is
sometimes impossible but more often a pain in
the derrière. Good news, Ken Onion has saved
the day with his Field Strip Technology.
The Field Strip Technology is a slick, easy to use
mechanism that allows you to completely
breakdown your pocket folder to clean and
lubricate all of its components. The operative
word here is easy!
CRKT Homefront with Field Strip Technology 2017
Copyright 2017, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
There are three components that I need to
cover in this review. The first is the knurled
wheel located at the rear of the knife handle. Its
function is clamping the two handle scales
together. Rotating the wheel in a clockwise
direction separates the scales, and a
counterclockwise rotation clamps the scales
together.
The second component is the pivot point clamp
shown below. Its function is to clamp the
handle scales at the pivot point. It does not
affect pivot point tightness.
These two components are the only fasteners
used to breakdown or reassemble the knife.
Occasionally, looseness of the blade at the pivot
point creeps in. This is characteristic of all
pocket folders so designers provide an
adjustment to tighten the blade at its pivot
point to eliminate any wobble, the Homefront is
no different. That adjustment is located on the
opposite side of the pivot point clamp. This
adjustment has nothing to do with the Field
Strip Technology. Do not over tighten the pivot
point should your blade wobble! That sounds
almost X rated.
Ken and CRKT did something that I thought was
the personification of enlightenment, they
etched instruction on the inside of one of the
scales.
In closing, I’d like to describe CRKT’s Homefront
pocket folder using the words of a fallen CPO
CRANK: “it’s slicker than cat shit on linoleum.” I
give it a great big BUY rating. Sadly, Ken and
CRKT Homefront with Field Strip Technology 2017
Copyright 2017, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved
CRKT will likely have to deal with more knock-
offs than the corner 7-11. Do check out this EDC
folder, with Field Strip Technology, it belongs in
your pocket.
- SP
Manufacturer Specifications
- Blade Length 3.502" (88.95 mm)
- Blade Edge Plain
- Blade Steel AUS 8, HRC 57-58
- Blade Finish Brushed Steel
- Blade Thickness 0.133" (3.38 mm)
- Closed Length 4.728" (120.09 mm)
- Weight 4.8 oz
- Handle 6061 Aluminum
- Style Folding Knife w/Locking Liner
- Overall Length 8.313" (211.15 mm)
- M.S.R.P. $150