Medford Praetorian A Review - Picture Heavy

BWilson678

BWilson678

Joined
Aug 27, 2011
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707
I've had this one a very short time but its impressive in every way! Below I will do an initial review with plenty of pictures and size comparisons. I have to say up front that its yet to be used/abused so that aspect will come over time. The lighting when these pictures were taken was less than ideal (I'm also not a professional photographer) - so pictures won't be the greatest. I have seen several videos about Praetorians but no picture comparisons/written reviews to date which would have been helpful IMO when making a high end purchase. I'm pulling the trigger on a Praetorian Ti any day now so in 16-24 weeks I will put together a massive picture filled review of that one also.

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^^^ The pelican case it came in was a very nice touch.

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Now for size comparison purposes below you will see an XM-18, XM-24, and Grayman Satu. The Praetorian blade is huge in comparison but its surprisingly easy to carry and at 3.75" isn't even the longest shown.

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^ XM-18 Comparison

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^ Xm-24 Comparison

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^ Grayman Satu Comparison


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Now that you've seen the size comparison......

Rating Scale (1-10) for simplicity


Quality Rating - 10
It's extremely well done with tight fit and finish. The attention to detail is apparent and its seriously robust - cant imagine it won't take whatever abuse given and beg for more.

EDC Rating - 9
Unbelievably easy to carry for a beast, feels good in your pocket. I'm a big guy and enjoy carrying a larger blade so this part is biased/personal preference.

Deployment Rating - 9
Two handed opening is a breeze and one hand is easily possible with a little practice. This one isn't broken in yet so wrist flick opening may come with time which would result in a 10 rating - no complaints here/detent is perfect.

Takes Abuse Rating - TBD
i haven't tested this one yet but if in hand feel is any indicator..... It's a TANK!

Customer Service - 10
Anyone who has ever dealt with Greg must know his customer service is unparalleled, he literally has answered the phone every time I called - it's truly incredible. This company will bend over backwards to make the customer happy and that is a value that can't be replaced when it comes to warranty/purchasing a high end blade. Couple that with being able to speak to Greg and you've got a winning experience that can't be beat.

Overall as you can tell I'm really happy with the Praetorian and recommend it to any fellow knife nut who's on the fence.



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Nothing I've read or seen here makes me want to buy that knife.


I don't like the Blade shape.

I don't like the Blade's grind.

The Blade is ridiculously thick.

I even have trouble visualizing that handle being comfortable in my hand.


That said, it does intrigue me.

I look forward to your review.




Big Mike
 
The tip looks a little exposed when the knife is closed? Does the handle cover sufficiently cover the tip?
 
brownshoe said:
The tip looks a little exposed when the knife is closed? Does the handle cover sufficiently cover the tip?
Click to expand...

Lol you're right. The damn tip is sitting outside of the handle. I can only imagine how bad it will poke out after a couple sharpenings.....

Not sure how I feel about Mefords yet. They seem to be incredibly high priced for what they are....which is a machine made knife.

I like the knife OP, but I wouldn't buy it. Glad you're enjoying it though. That's all that matters!
 
Fellas - The blade spine is.190 I believe.

The tip does appear to protrude in the pictures but it is tucked in just barely. It is very comfortable in the hand (my personal opinion) but that's really a preference thing. I'm all about ridiculously thick blades so this one is right up my alley - that said if overbuilt isn't your thing its just not going to work.
 
(Tip protruding) Are you guys looking at the glass breaker? It doesn't seem like the tip protrudes beyond the frame.
 
Ive handled a friends medford and was unimpressed especially considering what was paid. It was the TFF1 and the blade came close enough to the back of the handle when closed that if sharp, you could possibly cut yourself IMO. The blade rubbed the side of the handle and it was un-closeable with 1 hand.
 
My first thought when I saw it closed was... That looks like a Sibert MPR :)

Obviously after looking at it for .0025 seconds it looks nothing like the Benchmade.

You listed the blade width. It would be cool if you put down as many of the specs as you can though. I've never seen the knife, and it's interesting, but I probably won't go spec hunting. Of course you could always tell me to piss off, but to me a good review should at least have the blade, scale and other materials listed. ;)

Thanks for your effort btw. I enjoyed the pics.
 
I just cannot seem to wrap my head around these types of knives. What have you actually cut with that thing?

Is it that you want a sharpened prybar so you can use it roughly when the time comes or you just want a heavy knife to clock someone over the head with?
 
D1omedes said:
I just cannot seem to wrap my head around these types of knives. What have you actually cut with that thing?

Is it that you want a sharpened prybar so you can use it roughly when the time comes or you just want a heavy knife to clock someone over the head with?
Click to expand...

Just a preference thing - I don't need a pry bar/but don't ever do any precision slicing either. I'm just a big guy who enjoys larger folders - no necessity.
 
Lots of criticism in this thread. I own a few medfords. They are pretty nice. But depending on how they are configured (glass breaker finish choice) it's mind numbing how much they cost. My only issue is the fact that Greg uses D2. It's a fairly inexpensive steel and at 600 bucks before adding the glass breaker, and the fact that these are not exactly "hand made" (hand assembled sure) but machined production knives, I'm just thinking "dayum!"
But I still buy them :)
Nice praetorian op. I do understand the side of the critics. I consider myself a Medford critic. But still enjoy their knives and edc my praetorian and tff1 almost exclusively.
 
Thanks for the review. I hadn't heard of Medford before. The knife reminds me of the Airkat line (if I remember the name right). I'm not sure it would be all that user friendly, but things in real life work differently than their photos on the internet.

From a business standpoint, it's interesting that a new maker (at least to me) would charge more than established names like Reeve, Hinderer, and Strider.
 
^^^ That is Anna ruby falls in Helen, great place.

I have since picked up a Praetorian Ti and wanted to share the below pic with you guys - it shows spine thickness compared to the A. If anybody is on the fence about which to order my vote is Ti, but they are beastly so beware....

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BWilson678 said:
^^^ That is Anna ruby falls in Helen, great place.

I have since picked up a Praetorian Ti and wanted to share the below pic with you guys - it shows spine thickness compared to the A. If anybody is on the fence about which to order my vote is Ti, but they are beastly so beware....

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Click to expand...

Didn't know you were in ATL. We should get together and geek out on knives sometime.
 
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