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
Blade steel on a tactical knife should account for conditions not exactly conducive to frequent cleanings and heavy maintenance. The aforementioned coatings help with that, but in the steel itself you're looking at rust resistance as a higher factor than edge retention. You're also looking for a softer steel that will take an edge more easily (something you can run through a field sharpener). D2 and VG-10 are great for Tac knives for this reason.
On something that will have dirt, grime, and potentially blood and viscera on it, you absolutely want to a pair of PB washers. Bearings won't hold a decent action with too much crap in the pivot. I'm personally not a fan of assists but if you are, you can skimp on the washers (teflon will work fine).
Opening mechanisms can vary and are primarily at the users preference. An exception to this would be something like the Emerson Wave. It's designed to hook on the pocket as you're pulling it out, causing it to instantly deploy on the draw. I've personally found little use for it myself, a nice flipper tab is just as useful.
Others have mentioned the angle on the edge can be a bit more wide as it's not about slicing cleanly for long distances. The types of cutting tasks associated to Tac knives do not translate well to light use EDC (my use is light in that I use it primarily for opening boxes and letters). Tac knives are designed typically around cutting cord, being used as offensive/defensive weapons, or for quick cuts in rescue situations (such as cutting seat belts). Tac knives are one of the few places where a serrated edge can actually be useful.
The blade shape should come to a point. You wouldn't expect to find a Tac knife with a sheepsfoot. Typically they fall into standard drop point or spear point. Swedges are nice. No one needs a fuller or speed holes. As mentioned with the overbuilt quality, most have thicker blade-stock than would be found on the average EDC knife.
I personally think adding tools to a knife (with the exception of a tasteful glass breaker) is pointless. Lets let multitools be multitools and knives be knives.
As far as grip, textured G-10 is fine for the job. It's easy to clean, durable, and (if the texture is done right) extremely grippy. Keep in mind you might be using gloves when handling a Tac knife so make sure the ergonomics work for you with and without gloved hands.
In Summation: - Coated Blades (for rust resistance) - VG-10 or D2 - PB washers (Teflon are alright with an assist on the action) - Any opening mechanism - Wider angle on the blade edge - Drop or Spear point - Thicker blade-stock