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
We got to handle some samples from the production run of the copper and brass RUK that are about to ship and in general they are exactly what we were shooting for.
For those of you who ordered copper, I want to prepare you for a reality of that special material and hopefully head off any questions: The copper RUKs need a short break-in period. This won't take very long - we are seeing about 200-300 open/close cycles before the wear paths smooth out and feel as buttery smooth as the brass versions.
This is because copper is the softest material that passed our initial test and we had to account for some dimensional changes due to wear. So, out of the box if you press directly down on the top of the button (toward the back scale), you can flex the material enough to get some galling, but if you keep at it (I broke one in while on a 30-minute conference call with Jonas and Mike), it will smooth out and stay that way.
Also, there will be a temptation to put lubricant in there, but don't do it! The RUK is designed to be carried in a bag or pocket, where lubricant will only serve to collect grit and gum up the internal mechanisms. Let the copper wear in correctly to account for the material deflection. That way the knife sorts itself out and won't need any further attention. Thank you and carry on, Elliot
Be careful, these little buggers are addictive and if you are anything like me, you are definitely going to annoy your coworkers with the constant clicking. Chris has banned me from touching a RUK when he is in the office with me unless it is to open mail and packages, which now I only do when he is in the office just so he can enjoy satisfying snap of the RUK retracting. I'm a cool older brother like that.