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
This has a a tip profile that is also basically a reverse tanto, but it looks like it maintains the spine thickness and has a stylistic swedge, it's got belly to the cutting edge, I think modified sheepsfoot is an appropriate term for it.
Relatively flat cutting edge + acute point = wharncliffe
Relatively flat cutting edge + non-sharp point = sheepsfoot
Relatively flat cutting edge + 90deg angle = chisel
There's definitely some taper on the spine down to the point though.....if i HAD to call it something (like it's up to me lol), "modified wharncliff" seems to be the name i see lately on wharncliffe with curved bellies
In fact, I bet they conspicuously tried to avoid calling it a reverse tanto because of the Benchmade association with that style of blade. Tantos can have belly and are better versions of themselves when they do, and the reverse tanto designs basically all have the same kind of modest sweeping belly that the Buc has.
Sheepsfoots don't need belly to make their definition, they can be flat like a Wharncliffe or have tons of belly, it's more about the angle of the dangle as the spine drops down conspicuously further than a drop point. They can have a little bit of point to them, they should have a small and obtuse point even, but I think the defining feature of the sheepsfoot (or modified) is that the tip is well below the position of a drop-point's tip in relation to the pivot. And the steeper the drop of the spine, combined with limited distal taper, is a key factor in rating how close to a traditional sheepsfoot it is versus a more modern modified sheepsfoot.
Look at the sheepsfoot Guardian 3 vs the Giant Mouse 1 vs the Factor Iconic, they're all derived from the same classic sheepsfoot blade profile, but the GM1 has a slightly higher point than the G3 and it's kind of a mix of drop-point and classic sheepsfoot.
The Iconic is definitely based off the GM1, but it has a still-higher point that is probably best described as a broad-bladed drop point that has some functional similarity to a sheepsfoot due to its tall blade and somewhat steep curvature as the spine drops to meet the edge.
It's all a little semantic, but I don't think it's pedantic for enthusiasts to hash out the design language of these different blade profiles.
After all, how else would we convince ourselves that we're buying something new for the collection when we pick up our umpteenth version of the inescapable drop-point or other profile?