Jake
Georgia

Jun 29, 2016

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Top notch production knife!

Like any new concept you have to learn the nuances of working it. It's a great fun knife. I can disassemble it and reassemble it in about 45 seconds. Lock goes back to exactly where it was before. The blade is a perfect shape and is a dead on match for the custom Ken Onion Military. It's a great knife, solid and stout and has the styling of classic military knives with a modern twist. I love mine!

Kuwombia
Minnesota

Oct 09, 2017

Pros: Ease of Opening, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Feel

Can't say enough good things about this knife

Great design, excellent blade... love the fact that I can work with it outdoors in the mud and rain, then come home and take it apart in a few seconds. Wash it, dry it, and put it back together again and it's like new.

Mitch
Oregon

Jun 28, 2016

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality

Cons: None

Great knife - ingenius mechanism

Full disclosure - I've known Ken Onion since about 2000. This CRKT version of his custom "Military" model is pretty amazing. From a shape and design standpoint the crew at CRKT nailed it all the way to the tire tread texture on the handle. For a non-IKBS / non-Speedsafe knife that KnifeCenter sells for right at $100, the action is great. I don't know how they did the blade finish, but it looks like a custom "hand rubbed finish" (the rub lines go lenghwise with the blade, not across it the way it's ground). Lock up is solid, and I've carried it most days for the last 6 weeks since Blade Show 2016. As a straight up folding knife with no unique mechanism/feature - it's a solid buy. Now the thing everyone probably wants to know about - the disassembly. It's dead simple. Move the cam on the pivot, unscrew the screw at the back of the knife. It comes apart simply. To reassemble, push the pieces together. Sometimes it requires a little wiggle to get the pivot to sit into the cam mechanism. It really requires no tools and should not be forced. I'm disappointed to read the other review on this knife that the the other reviewer was unable to reassemble and forced it into a vice. The mechanism requires no force. I posted a quick video of how easy it is: https://www.instagram.com/p/BHMyXE6BgbL/?taken-by=mitchlum For anyone who wants a solid knife that is field stripable so that you can clean it out hunting/camping or just get the pocket lint out without using compressed air, this knife is for you. If you want something without the disassembly mechanism my other favorite EDC is the CRKT Eros. ~Mitch

George S
On, Canada

Mar 13, 2017

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Sheath

Home Front Flipper Review

Like the knife - finish was perfect, sharp blade. The flipper action is impressive, smooth and fast, one of the best things I like about the knife. The knife takes practice to disassemble, after a couple tries very easy. Would have been nice if it came a sheath to carry on belt had to go out and purchased one.

Alfredo G
Mexico, Other

Jun 27, 2016

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality

Cons: None

It is the best edc knife you will ever own

Five seconds is all you need to disassemble this beautiful knife; five more to put it back together again! But aside from this extraordinary feature, knife is extremely well built. You will be surprised of how Ken achieved with such an risky invention a perfect blade centering, a very soft and fast deployment and a very well balanced knife that feels great in hand with a pocket clip design that will allow it to glide smoothly into your pocket. In ten years you will remember this knife as the one that started all; a new invention that without any doubt will be adopted by other knife manufacturers as it once happened when new locking mechanisms were invented. I have more than 200 knives in my collection and I can tell you this knife has become my very favorite as I can take it for it can hunting, use it as a tactical knife or just as a edc.

Charles
New Mexico

Jun 29, 2016

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great Knife

This is a fantastic knife in every way imaginable, minus the steel. Wish they'd used better than AUS-8 but the flip, handle ergos, and Field Strip Technology are excellent and plus, it's a Ken Onion design which is good enough for me.

J R
Texas

Jul 19, 2016

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Overall Quality

Cons: None

CRKT Homefront

I love innovative knife technology. This knife is great. The first thing I did when the knife arrived - take it apart and put it back together / fun. The build is top quality and sturdy. The flipper is smooth and the liner lock is tight and secure. There was no blade play and I actually loosened the blade a touch with the included Torx wrench. This knife is larger than most other CRKT knives I have. It is more the size of my Benchmade Griptilian. I like the larger heft of this knife and the "throwback" styling is refreshing. Every time I look at I think CAPTIAN AMERICA. I am very happy with my purchase and KnifeCenter was fast and easy. FIVE STARS *****

Paul
Massachusetts

Mar 24, 2017

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Overall Good Knife - Here is how to put it back together

I agree with all the other posts about the difficulty of this knife. when I first bought this, I almost returned it as well. There is a key to putting it back together though. It took me a couple of tries to figure it out. When putting it back together, first screw in the pinwheel on the back of the knife. Then, pressure must be applied with your thumb to the torque screw head on the bottom side of the knife. This forces the axle that the blade attached to, to sit higher so that the side with the switch can actually close.Without that pressure, the axle will not pop up enough to allow the switch side to properly seat. Hope this helps.

David
Tucson, Az

Apr 08, 2021

Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality

Cons: None

Well, I like gadgets

It’s not clear that a field-strippable knife is necessary, but the design is clever, and makes a handsome knife. It takes down into just two handle halves and the blade, with no loose screws or parts. The blade stop is hidden, and the lock bar is a separate piece screwed to the handle. The clip is deep-carry and not reversible. The blade rides between nylon bushings, with a little more friction than is usual for a flipper. It can hesitate, especially if your finger catches on the heavy jimping. Pushing in on the oversized tab, rather than flicking it back, does the trick. The blade looks stocky, and has a nice rubbed finish. It is AUS-8 steel, which has a reputation for taking a fine edge but, maybe, not holding it well. The factory did a brilliant job of sharpening it, but the blade has a heel that may be tricky to resharpen.

Garrett
Louisiana

Jul 19, 2016

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great EDC

I've been using this as my main EDC for about a month now and have no complaints. I was initially drawn to it because I like Ken Onion's designs and obviously the new field strip feature. The field strip feature is such an innovative idea that I think will be revolutionary in the folding knife industry. If you've ever taken apart a knife that uses tiny torx screws and standoffs, then you know how time consuming it can be. I can disassemble and reassemble this knife in about 15 seconds. It's really a great knife, but to be nit picky the overall build quality is a little lacking. It is an import, but I believe it's slightly over priced.

Cory
Youngstown, Oh

Apr 24, 2022

Pros: Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Interesting but Expensive

The Field Stripping Technology is very interesting and definitely something different compared to the average knife. I just feel the quality is lacking in the knife for the price point. I would prefer a different type of blade steel and the liner lock is pretty thin. Their is alot of competition for a great knife at $100 or less and I just don't think this one lives up to the price. You can buy a $30 knife with AUS 8 blade steel. Why throw it on a $100 knife?

Cody B N
Bigfork, Mt

Jul 21, 2017

Pros: Blade Sharpness

Cons: Lock Ease of Use

If Grime Is That BIg of an Issue, Carry a Fixed Blade

This is the first time in my entire 4 decades on this planet that Ive ever given a negative knife review, but this knife, unfortunately, warrants it. The knife I was trying out was literally fresh out of the box, and I was only the second person to try its field strip gimmick. Worked pretty slick at first. A coworker gave it a try and couldn't quite get the handles to align to be pressed down all the way for re-assembly. I gave it a shot, and when trying to position the top handle, the torx screw that the blade pivots on had moved an iota. I gave just a little more pressure and then. . . . . .BLOOD EVERYWHERE because my hand slipped because the pivot was no longer aligned after being handled just 3 TIMES. Gashed the tip of my ring finger wide open(the reason for the only positive remark about blade sharpness). Turns out the torx screw needed to be tightened with a torx driver. Tool-less take-down this blade is not. If grime on your knife is that big of an issue, carry a fixed blade.

Jc
Cedar Park, Tx

Jun 23, 2016

Pros: Weight, Pocket Clip, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Feel, Lock Ease of Use

Flemsy - not properly aligned

I like the idea but it doesn't hold up to daily use. I took it apart as soon as I took it out of the box. After all, that's why I bought it. Comes apart easy but was very difficult to get it back together. Its not a complicated process but couldn't help but feel like I was doing something wrong. I just could not get the locking slide to go back down i to the lock position no matter how hard I tried. I secured the back portion and put it in my pocket. I walked around a while and went to the garage to try putting it in a vise. When I pulled it out of my pocket the latch slid right into place. Maybe I just got lucky. Aside from the above, the blade is very loose while in the locked open position. It has about a half an inch of wiggle at the tip of the blade. The knife also drags against the edge of the cutout in the handle upon opening and closing. I've purchase knives at convenient stores that are more structuraly sound. Overall, not happy with my purchase and I will be returning it asap.

Bo
Tyler

Jun 24, 2018

Pros: None

Cons: None

Neat design rubish bin execution

I work in the oil fields and refineries. I like the ability to take apart and clean my knives, however, even here a fixed blade is a no go at work. I have carried a mini-commander for years but was attracted to field stripping ease. The flipping action is poor even by Bud K standards. The liner lock is tin foil thin, lock up is super late, and the scales flimsy. No jimping on the blade or anywhere to choke up and do detail work is inconvenient. It looks good, the blade was sharp-ish, the idea is neat. The rest of this knife is a tragedy.