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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



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!



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 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