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
But, I love the shape of the handle, and the fact that it encourages pinch grips and isn't geared towards the masses who want "ergonomic" handles (with full on air quotes because even though it feels nice in your hand that way, using with that sort of a handle grip isn't really ergonomic in the way your blade, hand, wrist, and arm work)
Haven't had a chance to play with these types of steel yet, but at this price I'll give it a try :)
Saw the thickest spine thickness listed, but what about a some measurement near the tip to describe the distal taper? And blade thickness a mm or so behind the edge? Or at least a straight on choil shot? Lastly, also wondering if actual pictures of the production piece will be replacing the preliminary design pics once the drop goes live?
P.S. The response I often see to the "what should I get" question is - a good chef knife (as big as your cutting board can accommodate, spend most of your budget here), a decent petty knife for smaller tasks, and a good bread knife for the harder stuff (crusty bread, melon rinds, hard squash, etc) If this knife turns out to be a hit it'd be great to be able to get a matching petty knife to go with it next!
The blade stays pretty thick along the spine until it gets close to the tip (photo below). Forgive the standard-metric crossover here, but I think it's the best way to give meaningful measurements along the spine:
0" @ 2.3mm // 1" @ 2.2mm // 2" @ 2.1mm // 3" @ 2.05mm // 4" @ 2.0mm // 5" @ 1.85mm // 6" @ 1.75mm // 7" @ 1.45mm
Sorry for your loss, I know it's been a while, but still that's a life changer for sure. Glad to hear your boys are into this though! Mine is turning 15, and lives with his mom, but I'm working towards getting him to understand the importance of quality tools and building skills with them in the times that he's with me (whether those tools be knives in he kitchen or tools in the wood shop/garage). If impressing the ladies is what provides that motivation, nothing wrong with that! ;)