The CRKT Homefront Family of Knives

By Mary and Dr. Jim Clary

When the original Homefront knife was introduced at the 2017 SHOT Show, it was a new type of folding knife. It incorporated the genius of renowned blade smith Ken Onion with the engineering expertise of design engineers at CRKT to produce the first true "field strip" knife.

The Homefront enabled the user to quickly take the knife completely apart for cleaning, without tools, and just as rapidly put it back together. It was a masterpiece of design that was topped off with one of Ken Onion's superbly designed blades. (For more on the original Homefront, see CRKT Homefront Folding Hunter.)

When you have a knife that is recognized as one of the best, how do you make it better? In this case, the answer is, you can't. However, you can increase its versatility by adding the option of additional blade styles to the original field strip concept. This is exactly what Ken Onion did. In response to user requests, he produced three additional blade designs to satisfy just about every user.

The first was the Homefront Tactical with a black Tanto blade.

CRKT Homefront Tactical
Tactical. Illustration courtesy of Columbia River Knife & Tool, Inc.

This knife found a home with a lot of individuals working in the field, including our daughter Susannah, who is an archaeologist. When she laid eyes on the Tactical . . . long story short . . . Our sample now has a new home in her field pack for when she ventures into the Rockies.

Homefront Tactical Specifications:

  • Blade Length: 3.427 in. (87.05 mm)
  • Blade Steel: 1.4166 stainless, HRC 55-57
  • Blade Finish: EDP Coating
  • Blade Thickness: 0.138 in. (3.51 mm)
  • Weight: 4.3 oz.
  • Handle: Glass reinforced nylon
  • Length open: 8.125 in. (206.38 mm)
  • Length closed: 4.684 in. (118.97 mm)
  • Country of origin: Taiwan

Next up is the Homefront Hunter.

CRKT Homefront Hunter
Hunter. Illustration courtesy of Columbia River Knife & Tool, Inc.

Ken designed this blade as an all-around folder for sportsmen. It is perfect for field use around camp and is readily up to the task of field dressing and skinning big game animals when necessary. We did not get to keep this one, either. Our colleague, Dr. Donny, who hunts all over the western United States, laid claim to it. We would venture a guess that it will be visiting multiple states in the fall as he hunts elk, bear and antelope.

Homefront Hunter Specifications:

  • Blade Length: 3.566 in. (90.58 mm)
  • Blade Steel: 1.4166 stainless, HRC 55-57
  • Blade Finish: Satin
  • Blade Thickness: 0.133 in. (3.38 mm)
  • Weight: 4.2 oz.
  • Handle: Glass reinforced nylon
  • Length open: 8.25 in. (209.55 mm)
  • Length closed: 4.743 in. (120.47 mm)
  • Country of origin: Taiwan

The last member of the family is the Homefront EDC.

CRKT Homefront EDC
EDC. Illustration courtesy of Columbia River Knife & Tool, Inc.

This blade is classic Ken Onion and reminds us of the Skinner he designed back in 2014. The high grind is ideal for skinning game and just as versatile around camp. This one, I kept for myself (just like the Skinner).

I imagine that over the next couple of years other hunters, as well as guides, will try and trade me out of the EDC, just as they did with the Skinner. The answer is NO. These blades are mine, but occasionally I will let Jim and Kevin (my guide) use them, as long as they promise to give them back!

Homefront EDC Specifications:

  • Blade Length: 3.539 in. (89.89 mm)
  • Blade Steel: 1.4166 stainless, HRC 55-57
  • Blade Finish: Stonewash
  • Blade Thickness: 0.135 in. (3.43 mm)
  • Weight: 4.3 oz.
  • Handle: Glass reinforced nylon
  • Length open: 8.25 in. (209.55 mm)
  • Length closed: 4.720 in. (119.89 mm)
  • Country of origin: Taiwan

The 2018 MSRP for each of these fine Homefront variants is $99.99. We think this is a fair price for blades of this quality and versatility.




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Copyright 2018 by Mary and Jim Clary and/or chuckhawks.com. All rights reserved.


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