WHO WE ARE
Our Core Ethos
And we get it straight from the guy who founded the company…
Meet Greg Medford
Greg Medford is a native Arizonian and hard-core American Patriot. He is dedicated to hand-crafting and small-scale manufacturing as part of the small factory…
Industrial Rebirth of America.
Medford Knife & Tool is proudly, loudly, and unapologetically pro-American. Greg Medford lives what he preaches—in life & on the factory floor, not a soapbox.
We build our knives her in Arizona, the United states; we hire American workers, and we refuse to outsource our ingenuity or our soul to save a buck.
If that rubs you the wrong way, our brand might not be for you.
We acknowledge our Anti-BS approach, stand-up attitude, and fearless stance may jar soft, weak, or brainwashed Americans and push them away. It’s a price we are willing to pay.
It’s not reckless, it is because we care about the men who built and continue to make this nation each day and we believe Integrity never goes out of style.
This isn’t a lifestyle brand. It’s a way of life.
So if you’re ready—welcome to the club.
Greg served in the US Marines as an 0311 and served with 1 st Bn 25 th Marines Alpha Co. (New England’s Own) and deployed as augmentary force with the 5th Marines for Desert
Shield/Storm. That 7 month deployment left an indelible mark and memory of what knives are often asked to do.
In 2010 the company was founded and quickly staffed mostly by veterans of the GWOT from all ranks, fields and branches. This spirit of practicality and a sense of responsibility to the end-user of our knives was understood intuitively and remains to this day a core drive in everycraftsman on the team.
PILOT
After his military service and graduation from Gettysburg College, Greg came back West to his birthplace and settled in Arizona to be married and raise a family. For about 10 years Greg was a regional leader in the Warbird movement and flew as an airshow performer in one of his radial engine Warbirds he personally restored and maintained.
The attention to detail, practicality, elegance, simplicity and ultimate reliability that was required to survive the rather dangerous world of stunt flying is translated into every detail of design and build of Medford Knives. Every line, arch, screw or mechanism is scrutinized with the same level of detail he has used for years building and restoring mostly military aircraft.
FATHER
Knife making is a passion and a business of teaching. Without more makers, there is no knife-future.
When not working on the company you can find Greg working on the craft with the team and when not doing that… he’s being a dad. With one in college and the other at home still, there’s man-skills to teach and advice to be given.
When he gets away from the office you can find him out in the wilds on horseback or on the backroads of the Great American West in his Power Wagon taking in the majesty of this greatland we call America. Long weekends doing chores on a ranch in Utah is his latest adventure.
Greg has ridden everything and anything with 2 wheels. From dirt to track and sport to cruise, you can always find a few bikes in his garage that he burns off the stress of life on the winding roads of Arizona…
Every adventure is a knife inspiration. Sharks head-butting the boat he’s in, landing off-field some remote place, or working on the ranch up North…everything is a place to use a knife or inspire a new idea.
Greg LOVES America but is a hard critic too. Legions of MKTooligans follow his weekly rants and podcast. Tune in for chats from the heart that feature famous, infamous, political, social and business guests as well as personal friends.
KNIFEMAKER
Greg spent a lifetime USING knives and tools in every passion he dove into. He restored war trophy Katanas and Wakasashis for many years and always had a knife near.
His love for knives exploded on 2009 when he started searching for a very particular knife and decided to just make it. Every hobby, experience, aircraft part, home building task and do-it-yourself project he had done ALL came to bear and he found an outlet for his exploding creativity in knives. Finally his desire to share was fed by this craft and the rest is history…
The Praetorian Folder
The Phoenix, Arizona factory (or Shacktory) you see today was born out of those late-night sessions in his garage and a relentless drive to bring something real, raw, and unapologetic for both military and civilian use.
“These knives will be here hundreds if not thousands of years after we have all gone… If aliens or some soft-handed future dwellers find them, I want them to gaze in wonder at the rugged creativity of them and the men who carried them…” Greg Medford
In just a few years, he rounded up ex-military, aerospace guys, and friends together to uncompromisingly tackle the great challenge of brutally honest knifemaking.
