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Medford Knives Brings Out Praetorian Swift Auto

May 13, 2019

Medford Knife & Tool is releasing its first automatic knife, called the Praetorian Swift. This latest Medford is a top-down redesign of the Praetorian as an auto.

MKT built the Praetorian Swift as a button-operated automatic. Company Founder and designer Greg Medford frankly admits he a chose a dependable, but not overly strong, spring for the knife. By doing so he hopes to strike a balance between speed and control, so the Praetorian Swift remains in hand and doesn’t get too ornery during opening. “This is what I want out of an automatic knife,” Medford explains in the video accompanying the Swift’s reveal. “I want it to open up by pushing the button, and I don’t want it to fall out of my hands.”

Besides the obvious difference in opening method, the Praetorian Swift showcases a slimmed down, refined profile compared to its immediate stablemates. So handle is slimmer, and the blade width much reduced compared to the average Praetorian G model. “[The Praetorian] has an almost 2 inch-wide blade,” Medford tells viewers. “I wanted to do something a little narrower.” The rejigged dimensions put the Praetorian Swift nearer to other newer Medford designs that target EDC-friendly proportions, like Der Hund from SHOT Show.

The handle construction has been altered, with an integral backspacer built into one scale rather than consisting of its own, separate component. The preproduction prototype has yet to have a clip added to it but Medford says one will be added.

A secondary safety is made entirely from titanium and keeps the button from opening accidentally. As is the case with many button lock autos, it functions as a sliding tab. “It’s a really tough little mechanism, actually,” Medford notes in the video.

The Praetorian Swift appears to be slated for a wider release later this year.

Knife in Featured image: Medford Knife & Tool Praetorian Swift

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