There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
The handle: (+/-) I love the looks of the handle on this one, but it's too smooth and a little too thin. An uncommon complaint, i know. It feels good in the pocket, but doesn't give me a secure feeling in the hand. If it were thicker, like the models with exposed liners, and had some texture similar to the Warwolf, it would be a great handle. (+) Do like that it is has a nice deep carry clip. Another review mentioned the single screw and the concern about that loosening up and changing angles and whatnot, but it is recessed into a cutout that will keep it straight, and locktite is cheap. (-) The inside edges of the G10 need to be chamfered. It's rather sharp on the fingertip when you slide down off the flipper (-) Same goes for the lanyard hole, very sharp edges. I don't use lanyards, so didn't bother me that much, but I can see this cutting into a lanyard for those who do use them (-) The jimping on the lockbar needs chamferring too, it's way too sharp on the corners. (-) Be VERY careful with these screws. They were softer than any other hardware I've seen in other Bestechs. I stripped 2 of them the first time I tore it down :-/
The blade: (+) Out of the box has perfect centering, even grinds, shaving sharp. (+) Has a nice small flipper, but works well. (-) The spine is extremely sharp, especially at the points of the cutout groove (-) Jimping for the thumb is useless. Very shallow and the edges were eased on that part of the spine, then polished... Thumb just slides over them.
The action: This is where my biggest complaint comes into play. Many areas (mine included) have laws against gravity assisted opening knives. I've adjusted this lockbar tension way beyond what it should be, overtightened the pivot, verified that the detent ball is fully seating in the hole......nothing I do makes it so that this blade can't be opened with a flick of the wrist or whip of the arm. That said, if this ISN'T something you need to be concerned about, the action on this is very good. Flips open fast, drops shut very smoothly.
The internals: (-) The metal used on the hidden liners is a cheap stamped steel. Doesn't feel as strong as their exposed liners on any of their other knives. I have my suspicions about this being related to the above issue in the action section, as the Kendo has the same problem.....but my other Bestechs have the best combination of detent and smooth action of anything I own. (-) We're back to the plastic molded bodies for the bearings again. Not a big deal, but I prefer their metal caged ones. (+) D shaped pivot with matching cutout to keep custom pivot properly aligned (+) nice tight tolerances for the pins and standoffs (and I do like the looks of the standoffs on this one, rather than using a backspacer)
Disassembled :
All in all, it's an okay knife that just needs a little more attention on the fit and finish...and, for me at least, needs to have the detent strength addressed. Still, I'd happily recommend it to anyone who doesn't have to worry about gravity assist laws and doesn't mind spending 10 minutes with some sandpaper to address the edges.
I'm gonna buy it for my EDC which is very light duty so this will undoubtedly shine in that role. Appreciate your thorough review, I just feel your perspective was a bit off...
As I said, it's a good enough knife, especially given the competition from other brands in this price range.....but as compared to other Bestechs, it's just not top of the list for me.
Do get it, but also do yourself a favor and grab a Warwolf, Thorn, or Beluga and compare the fit and finish, you'll see where I'm coming from :)