CRKT Humdinger Knife Review

Columbia River Knife and Tool company was founded in Oregon in 1994. This is an American company that is known for its distinction in design, selection, and quality. For over twenty years, CRKT has put innovation and integrity first, making a commitment to build products that inspire and endure. They also operate on a simple principle: that the greatest thing they can give their customers is Confidence in Hand. To accomplish this, they collaborate with the best designers in the world. Some of these knife makers and designers are Ken Onion, Harold “Kit” Carson, Allen Elishewitz, Pat Crawford, Liong Mah, Steven James, Greg Lightfoot, Michael Walker, Ron Lake, Tom Veff, Steve Ryan, and the Graham Brothers. Out of these collaborations, CRKT has racked up quite a few ground breaking and innovative inventions. With these, CRKT now owns fifteen patents and patents pending. Some of these patents include the Outburst Assist Opening Mechanism, the Lock Back Safety mechanism, and the Veff Serrated edges.

CRKT was founded by Paul Gillespi and Rod Bremer. Both of these men were formerly employed by Kershaw Knives. While they now collaborate with the top knife designers and makers in the world, it wasn’t always this way. The company did not truly take off until the 1997 Shot Show. It was here that they introduced the K.I.S.S (Keep It Super Simple) knife. This is a small folder that was designed by Ed Halligan. It was a total success and CRKT actually sold out the years’ worth of product within the opening days of the Shot Show. They now produce a wide range of fixed blades and folding knives, multi tools, sharpeners, and carrying systems.

They have just released a brand new hunting knife called the Humdinger.

 

The Designer:

The Humdinger is designed by the one and only Ken Onion. He lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii and is the real deal. He was the youngest ever inductee into the Blade Magazine Hall of Fame in 2008 and he is recognized as one of the most innovative and successful knife designers of all time. In 1996 he created the first commercially successful assisted opening mechanism, and 20 years later unveiled his award winning Field Strip Technology. As the designer of the successful Eros folder series, as well as the award winning Hi Jinx, it seems as if Ken never seems to be at a loss for ideas.

 

The Blade:

The blade on this steel has been made out of 65Mn Carbon steel. This is a readily available Chinese steel that is formulated to provide good wear resistance and hardness. This steel has a medium high carbon content that makes for a high degree of toughness and resilience, while the manganese, in addition to improving these properties, improves the hot working characteristics of the steel, making it an excellent candidate for forged swords blades and other larger blades that have to take on harder tasks. This steel has the element of toughness without the brittleness, which is paramount when developing extreme use tools. The steel has a hardness level of 50-53.

The blade has been finished with a black corrosion resistant finish. This finish not only provides a sleek, black look to the blade, but it also cuts down on glares and reflections. It also cuts down on how likely the blade is to rust or corrode.

The steel has been carved into a drop point blade shape. This is one of the most popular blade shapes that you are going to find on the market. It is so popular because it is a fantastic all-purpose blade shape that can take a beating while also remaining extremely versatile. To form the shape, the back, or unsharpened, edge of the knife runs straight form the handle to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, which creates a lowered point. This lowered point provides more control and adds strength to the tip. The drop point blade shape has often been miss-associated with the clip point blade shape. The clip point blade shape is the other most popular blade shapes and is also very versatile. However, the two shapes are different and the biggest difference between the two are the points. The clip point blade shape has a thinner, finer, and sharper blade shape that provides you with plenty of stabbing and piercing capabilities, but it is much weaker. If you try to perform some of the heavier duty tasks with the clip point blade shape, it will be prone to breaking. The drop point blade shape has a lowered, broader blade shape. This is one of the drawbacks because it does take away from your stabbing capabilities. But, it is a major advantage because it you are able to take on all the tougher tasks without snapping. And because the tip is so strong and is so able to hold up to heavy use, drop point blades are very popular on tactical and survival knives.

The lowered tip on this style of blade makes your cuts and slices easily controlled. Because of this, the drop point blade shape is very popular on hunting knives. The lowered, controllable point makes it easier to avoid accidentally nicking internal organs and ruining the meat. One of the other reasons that a drop point blade shape is the perfect option for the Humdinger is because of the large belly that makes it extremely versatile. The belly is perfect for slicing or skinning. When you choose a drop point blade shape, you are preparing yourself for all of the tasks that you will encounter, whether the situation is expected or unexpected.

The edge on this knife is a plain edge. This is the more traditional edge that you can find on a knife and is ideal for push cuts. This includes slicing, skinning, and peeling. The plain edge is the easiest to sharpen and it is very easy to get a very fine edge.

 

The Handle:

The handle is made out of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). This is a class of polyurethane plastics that has many properties, which includes elasticity, transparency, and resistance to oil, grease and abrasion. This material has high abrasion resistance, low temperature performance, and high shear strength. The handle is black and very grippy, which provides a secure grip in the messiest, or bloodiest, of situations. On the butt of the handle, there is a lanyard hole. The lanyard can be easily tied to your belt or back pack strap to keep it out of the way until you need to use it. The lanyard will also easily secure your knife against loss. Since the Humdinger is a hunting knife, you are going to be adventuring and in the wild in rough conditions at many times, so having a lanyard will really be a benefit. Another benefit to having a lanyard tied to your knife is that it provides safety when processing a large animal. While filed dressing a large game animal, there comes a time when you’ll reach inside the cavity to cut the esophagus sot eh intestines can be pulled out. This is a messy, bloody situation, which makes a knife handle slippery. You really don’t want your hand to slip down the handle onto the blade. Or if you have a lengthy fish cleaning session, you knife will dull, and the handle will most likely get a little slippery form the slime, scales, blood and guts. A lanyard around your wrist or hand can easily prevent this. One of the last benefits is that it provides greater visibility. If you put your knife down while doing some task, you may lose it or forget where you put it. A great solution to this conundrum is to tie on a brightly colored lanyard to flagging.

To keep your fingers safe from getting cut fi you do slip, the handle on the Humdinger has a thick finger guard.

 

The Mechanism:

The Humdinger is a fixed blade. There are a so many benefits to having a fixed blade, especially for your hunting knife. The first is that they are strong and big. You can really get a fixed blade in any size that you desire from a small fixed blade that is still very powerful, to a ginormous knife that can take on almost any task or cut any material that you throw at it. Another benefit is that they don’t break. This is because there are no small, moving, or inward parts on a fixed blade, so there is really nothing to break. Another reason that they don’t break is because of their size, the blade is thicker and tougher. The next benefit ties in to the last benefit and it is that they are easier to maintain. This is also because they don’t have any of the small, moving, or inward parts. The maintenance with a fixed blade is extremely simple and straightforward, all you have to do is wipe down the blade and oil it on occasion. The next benefit to having a fixed blade is that they have longer blade lengths. This is because they do not have to fit inside of the handle, and because they are built thicker When the blade is long but thin, it is prone to breaking or snapping, but with such sturdily built knives, you don’t have to worry about that problem. The next benefit is that a fixed blade offers you superior tactical use. Fixed blades can be brought into play in a tactical situation faster than a folding knife can be. With a folding knife, you have to take it out of your pocket, then deploy it, and then it will be ready for use. With the fixed blade, you just have to draw it and it is ready to be used. The last, and for the Humdinger, probably the most important benefit that you gain from having it be a fixed blade is that it is a superior survival tool. A fixed blade offers more versatility for any number of tasks associated with so called survival knives, including but not limited to cutting most materials, digging, splitting wood, using it as a first aid tool, using it for food preparation, using it as a hunting knife, using it to hammer, and you can even use it as a prying tool.

 

The Sheath:

The sheath that comes with this knife is made out of black polypropylene with black weaved polyester fabric that allows you to attach it to basically whatever you want.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife is 5.973 inches long with a thickness of 0.180 inches. The overall length of this knife is 11.438 inches long and it weighs in at 9.4 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

“As imperative as your rifle, as useful as your compass. World-class knife designer Ken Onion is at it again, and this time with a no-frills, fixed-blade hunting companion. Its big-belly, carbon steel construction is as burly as the Alaskan back-country, and as impressive as the grizzly you’ll be skinning. Ken Onion has turned out countless flawless knife designs from his shop in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and the Humdinger™ is a worthy addition. Inspired by an experience on an Alaskan bear hunt expedition, it’s well-equipped for the rigors of hard, backwoods use. The blade is constructed of 65 Mn carbon steel and paired with a tough textured glass-reinforced nylon handle for optimal grip and control even when your elbow-deep. It neatly tucks away into an injection-molded sheath that is wrapped with woven polyester to provide you with multiple carry options. Out in bear country, you can’t afford to go without an out-standing knife—on that account, the Humdinger™ delivers.” The drop pint style blade with the black finish is sleek but also manly. This Humdinger knife is the perfect hunting companion to meet all of your needs, even the ones that are not immediately correlated to hunting. This hunting knife is going to change your mind on what a hunting knife should be. Pick yours up today at BladeOps.