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
Lower HRC values are more forgiving to abuse though, so if you're a throw it in the sink when you're done and leave it there till you put it in the dishwasher and forget about it kinda person, stick to the lower HRC stuff, ideally high stain resistance steels too.
All that said, the Victorinox is a very good blade for its price range, consider it when it goes on sale, aim for $35 for the 8.5 inch chef's knife.
the dexter 8” narrow blade is good too. I don’t like the high carbon as much because they are a pain to sharpen quickly (when we filet we use an accu sharp, whetstone a couple times a year) ... the blade has to have a lot of flex.
Professional / chef grade knives should learn a thing or two from the professional fish cleaners: the pros use dexters. my go knives are not my sabatiers: they are dexters. Dexter santuko, dexter boning, 10” scimitar, and my filets.
Great value for $50 for the basic 3 knives you need: chef, boning, paring, and includes a bread knife, which is handy but not necessary.