I find this quote on their website to be golden: "When you buy one of our knives you will not want another."
Enough said...
Enough said indeed. One can't do much talking when rolling on the ground laughing.
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What's everyones opinion of Medford knives?
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Enough said indeed. One can't do much talking when rolling on the ground laughing.
brancron
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I had a Micro Praetorian and actually enjoyed it. It was too heavy for its size and didn't cut worth a damn (an inescapable fact of blade geometry), but it was well made and was actually sort of "cute". Here's a picture:
Medford himself is a complete buffoon, judging from the handful of youtube videos I've seen.
Medford himself is a complete buffoon, judging from the handful of youtube videos I've seen.
Conscript here and from the looks of it I can (quite) safely say I don't want that hunk of metal on me during any form of training. Even if it were standard issue equipment. It just doesn't look like it'd cut anything properly.
In fact, if it were standard issue equipment I'd toss it in favor of one of my S&Ws, Schrades, Sanrenmus or Enlans.
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Medford's a bumbling, racist dolt and his 'knives' are ridiculous folding prybars with cutting-edges ground on as an after-thought. Just my opinion. I didn't feel a need to hold a Mantis to pass judgement, and I don't plan on trying a Medford. Bad design, to my eye. I'm sure some people like them, though... and that's super!
:thumbup:
:thumbup:I don't really plan to buy on of these unless it was just to have. I just bought a sebenza 25, I have about 8 different benchmades (folders and fixed blades) I carry a sprint run PM2 daily. I was just curious to see what the opinions were on these knives and if they matched with my own opinions. I honestly think that my next knife is going to be another chris reeve, maybe a pacific.
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Total length: 9"
Blade length: 3 3/4" (inch and a half more handle than blade)
Blade Thickness: .190"
Blade width: 1 3/4"
Scale thickness: 1/8"
Total thickness 1/2"
Closed Length: 5 1/4"
Weight: 8.3oz (over half a pound)
Add D2 steel, the grind, and the sticker price, and these are not specifications that make me want to click the "buy it now" button.
That's my opinion any ways. No, I don't need to handle, own, or "experience" one to form this opinion.
Blade length: 3 3/4" (inch and a half more handle than blade)
Blade Thickness: .190"
Blade width: 1 3/4"
Scale thickness: 1/8"
Total thickness 1/2"
Closed Length: 5 1/4"
Weight: 8.3oz (over half a pound)
Add D2 steel, the grind, and the sticker price, and these are not specifications that make me want to click the "buy it now" button.
That's my opinion any ways. No, I don't need to handle, own, or "experience" one to form this opinion.
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Love my 187 f for what it is. But I also bought second hand and didn't pay new prices. I kinda feel the same for Medford as I do for Brous. The price for the knives just doesn't add up for d2 and titanium. But I own one Medford, and one Brous, and if you can find one lightly used snatched it up and give them a try!
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Like I said, not trying to discourage comments of anyone, just pointing out my own personal amusement with strong statements from folks who admittedly have no actual first-hand experience. Your initial post in this thread would not qualify for said amusement - it was IMHO even-handed and reasonable. As for slicing, my Praet-T was a fantastic slicer, a fact I can report from having used it myself, which is precisely my point. I too would not have anticipated the excellent slicing performance without having experienced it myself.
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For me, it's not so much about the lack of slicing ability, it's more about their image. See the pic above:
Warning: open in private the first time, you will want to stab something
What kind of marketing is that?!?! It's very mall-ninja and childish; these are supposed to be tools, not toys...
When I buy a hammer, it doesn't say "use in private, you will want to bash something" it's a freaking hammer, not a weapon! This stuff hurts our hobby...
No real argument from me except the hyperbole on both sides, including yours. I completely agree that thick blades with obtuse edges do not slice well if at all. If I am choosing a knife for slicing performance (from the knives I own), it is going to be a full-flat grind spyderco, either a PM2 or Mili or one of my remaining Manix2s (I sold most of my Manix2s because I like the blade shape on the PM2 or Mili better).
I have some thick bladed knives that really are incapable of slicing, or do it very poorly. That is why I was surprised that the Medfords, although they do not come close to a Mili in this regard, are able to be used for this purpose at all - I had the same "theoretical" view as you express, but Gizler's thread (that got locked down because people can't have a civil discussion it seems) demonstrated otherwise. I would ask it this way - if you were choosing a folding knife where you had blade strength as a high priority (begs the question why you would want that, but if that is part of the equation), can you get that AND still get some slicing capability? The Praetorian actually offers one design solution to this - make the blade wide enough you can maintain stock thickness for part of that width, but then use a deep hollow grind to get more thin-bladed cutting performance from the rest of the blade. To repeat - that does not match the FFG slicing ability of my Mili, but it was decent. As always, match the tool with the job.
I'll respond to BB's question separately (what I use my Medford for), but I am happy to talk about the knife, totally not interested in talking about Medford the man or the marketing BS (which is in no way unique to Medford).
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This thread is making me miss this one a lot...
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This thread makes me appreciate these ones a lot...
The way I see things a folder should never be used where thick steel is required to do a job. It's dangerous and stupid. A thick blade doesn't make for a better lock but it instead creates the dangerous impression that the knife can take abuse. To me this is irresponsible marketing. A folder can never replace a fixed-blade for the tougher jobs.
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Have a praetorian and love it, is it a slicer? Not by any means, but it performs well enough for most tasks. I use it for electrical work quite a bit and it holds an edge pretty well for being D2. Is the price high? Maybe, but the fit and finish is nice on mine and i do really like it. The man himself? I met him at blade this year, and while he seems like a tool online and in his videos, hes actually quite humble and caring. I spent probably 20 minutes picking out a blade from him and he helped me every step of the way. Spent much of the weekend watching him give away knives, talk with kids, and emphasize that kids are the future of this hobby. He gave away at least 5 praetorians at the show that I saw and that speaks volumes to me. Say what you will about him, his knives from an internet perspective, but until you have met him, you cant possibly know him.
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^ now it does. 
OK, now onto the really important question! I will preface this by saying that Medford is certainly not the only knife that could be used, or even the best. I was just noting that I do like it for some purposes. For the record, because BB called me out in a PM - I find that really inappropriate. I actually had to go do chores, am on my way back out, and don't enjoy silly internet debates. I have been a BF member for a long time and find this to be a good community with plenty of knowledgeable folks who I have learned a lot from. But I have also seen some of these discussions quickly degrade into religious wars, which is where I back out. I'm happy to answer questions when I have something useful to say, but I don't know why you would care about my opinion otherwise, and honestly I do not care about yours (that is a general statement, not aimed at BluesB) when it is not based on actual information.
So here goes.
For me, knives are tools. I enjoy nice tools, but in the end they have to do the job. One of my all time favorite cutting tools is a spyderco PM2 with carbon fiber scales and S90V blade. I really like the CF scales, but honestly G10 would be fine. I like that knife because of the blade shape, grind and steel (all the things that make it an excellent cutter that never needs sharpening
).Tools should match the task, of course, and I don't know about you, but I own and use a wide variety of tools that excel at different jobs and suck at others (hammer, saw, screwdrivers with way too many types of tips, you know what I mean).
Same is true for knives. I own way more than one person really needs, though, because I like to try out different designs. My EDC rotation is pretty small though, because if I am going to actually carry something, I better have a use for it. The rest live in a closet or get occasional use when the need arises.
For working around the property (dog farm), house, and field work (I am a wildlife biologist) typically includes a Military (used to be PM2, but I got addicted to the slightly longer blade) and since I tried it out, a Medford 187 DPT (the T means tanto grind tip). I also carry at least one fixed blade (4" or so) when I have backpack, and a larger blade (an old swamprat battlerat) and machete in my truck.
In many instances, I only have folders with me (no pack and at some distance from vehicle or buildings). I work in remote areas frequently and find that folders are more convenient to carry a lot of times, because you get a more compact package for the same blade length. Anyway, you may prefer a different mode.
BB wanted to know what I use my Medford 187 DPT for (the model I actually carry and use). That is really the only interesting question in this thread - what do you use your knife for.
Dog kennel and general construction and maintenance.
Fencing and fence repair.
Dog sledding and camping.
I want a tool that will always be on me that can handle application of pressure up to the tip, cut webbing and rope efficiently, cut horse stall mats, split wood (NOT cut down trees), carve out wooden fence posts for fitting hardware (hinges and hasps, etc), etc.
Again, there are plenty of alternatives, but I find that the Medf is a good solution for me. It has a very robust tip, first and foremost.
I do a lot of tip work and I have broken tips of other knives (original PM2 for example). I am sort of obsessed with steel toughness because of that, but as we all know, steel is only part of the equation. Get a good HT and a thick blade and it is not going to break. The only question is does it still function as a knife
What else?
Split wood to shape, which often means driving in the edge and twisting.
Gouging and twisting tip into wood.
Scraping to clean or flatten wooden surfaces. This is something that I specifically don't do with my mili because it is too slicey - the edge digs in rather than runs along the surface.
Cutting horse stall mats - they are rubber reinforced with fiber. About 3/4" thick, usually dirty. They actually slice ok once you have scored a cut and can bend the rubber where you want to make the cut, but it is easier to do this with a thin-bladed Mili or PM2 if you score it first something with a thicker edge that won't slice in too deep and bind.
cut webbing and rope. The mili or PM2s definitely excel at this, but the Medford does it fine too, as long as I maintain the edge. Only knock there is S90V (PM2) or Cruwear (mili) stays sharper longer (noticably more wear resistant) than the Medford's D2.
Breaking thick ice on water buckets in winter? That is definitely a job I do NOT do with my spydercos. No problem for the thick tip on the Medford. Any pointy and robust piece of metal will work, and in the dog barn I might have such an object. But I always have a knife. So that often dictates what gets the work.
Those are just off the top of my head - things I do routinely.
Do I specifically need a medford for all that? No. Can the medford do all that? Yes. Do I worry about it breaking doing any of that? NO! That is why I wanted to find a folder like this. Does a wide range of jobs, useful a lot, does not need to be the best at any one thing. There are probably other knives out there that could do as well, but this was about Medford and I can only speak to tools I actually use.
Sorry for the long post. But wanted to give a more fully formed response, fwiw.
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