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 are very excited about this knife for a lot of reasons…
Our goal in making this knife was to produce a US-made, affordable workhorse knife that featured the same revered locking mechanism that Bill McHenry and Jason Williams created. This type of lock, which was patented and used only in Benchmade(™) and HK(™) knives for 20 years, has been time-tested by knife enthusiasts and others who have subjected them to all kinds of abuse on jobsites and on outdoor adventures for the 22 years it has been on the market.
The HK Axis (™) was consistently one of the most popular knives on Massdrop. Members consistently purchased hundreds of the full-size and mini versions (combined) every month, until it was discontinued late in 2016. Since then, I’ve been on a quest put a knife like this back in the hands of our members. At first, I tried to bring it back. When I learned that wasn’t possible, I set out to make something new and better and still affordable. I didn’t know how that would be possible at first, but then I met some willing partners who were just as excited about this idea.
First, we needed a US manufacturer who was willing to take on the project and able to execute the precision engineering and machining required to make a knife like this work - and not just work, but work well and reliably with every open and slice. Shane and Josiah at Millit Knives were fantastic partners on this project. They and their team of expert machinists spent many late nights at the shop milling stop pins, bending pocket clips, fitting springs, grinding blades, etc. Also they have the coolest shop dog I’ve met - but if you visit, be ready to throw the ball...a lot.
When we first approached Millit about the concept, we didn’t yet have a designer in mind. But, lucky for us, they were already collaborating with TJ on their Torrent model and had a good working relationship. It’s possible to make knives with designers and manufacturers who live in different countries and may not even speak the same language, but it sure is nice when they live miles away from each other and already share the same love for their work and speak the same design language. When Shane recommended TJ for the design, it was a no-brainer. That’s when things really got started.
TJ Schwarz is truly a pleasure to work with. He’s won awards for design innovation from a very young age, and been selected to design other knives by companies like Millit and CRKT. It was a privilege to have him as a partner, from the first sketch to the 3D-printed modeling, all the way through prototyping and filming his interview. Despite being incredibly talented, he’s also quite humble. During design revisions, he stuck to his design principles but listened with an open mind - we talked a lot about handle curvature and ergonomics, and how that affected the placement of the thumb stud. Ultimately, we had the prototype 3D-printed so we could evaluate it, which led to the slight lengthening of the inner curve to give pinky fingers, especially for those with larger hands, fit comfortably and grip firmly. I learned a lot, and we had fun spending time with him in Idaho to film the video you see on the page.
By joining this drop, you will also get to meet TJ and have a chance to ask him questions during a live Q&A that we’ll host in Apri. Also, TJ is going to hand-sign up to 1000 prints of his sketch of the Perpetua that we’ll mail to everyone while the production is underway.
Community members also contributed to this knife’s refinement. We reached out to get feedback and, based on the comments, we made the following adjustments to the prototypes:
1) Increase the clearance between thumb stud and scale for easier opening 2) Soften the cuts on the jimping for a more comfortable thumb rest area 3) Increase blade length to maximum allowed within the handle
These were great suggestions. We appreciate this feedback, as well as TJ’s willingness to make the changes and Millit’s ability to execute them. THIS. This right here is what we are all about. Taking good stuff, making it better, asking the community how to make it great, finding awesome manufacturers to work with us and make them affordable. Sincere thanks and appreciation are due to everyone involved, and to you for making this possible!
Carry On -- Jonas
They seized it today February 16th, 2018
Only businesses with commercial firearms licences can still import them.
I have my own personal feeling about what that statute says and how it was written, but I will keep those to myself for now. We have not heard of any significant increase of shipments to members being seized since the passage of the new measure. If anyone has issues with customs on this knife, please let us know and we'll take care of you.
That's just a few. I'm speaking more on the reputation the Omega spring has rather than sustained metrics on their failure rate. I have worked with them on my 940-1, and I can tell you they do seem to be quite fragile. The spring wire is quite thin.
The Hogue Exemplar is the first production USA-made non-Benchmade produced AXIS lock which they call a "Pivot Lock" to avoid trademark disputes.
The Perpetua is sorely tempting me...all that’s holding me back from the drop is a very long list of knives I want.
It seems like a manufacturing issue, where some of them fail very early on and the rest have a long enough functional life that most people won't break them.
That being said, there are some instances where the Omega spring has been seen with a shiny wear mark on the large radius, where it was rubbing against the inside of the scale, causing a weak point. The spring pocket wasn't cut deep enough which led to this. If Millit makes the spring pocket deep enough, then this will eliminate the other cause for the Omega spring failure.
I noticed you said:
"TJ is going to hand-sign up to 1000 prints of his sketch of the Perpetua that we’ll mail to everyone while the production is underway."
Production is underway if Im not mistaken; any idea when those hand-signed prints will ship? One of those would certainly help with my, um...what's the word for it again? The thing where you wait for something instead of making a scene until you get what you want?
So, in my opinion...the issue is highly represented in the benchmade portion of my collection.