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
Military tactical would have an easy to maintain steel, where toughness is more important than hardness. I'd expect an edge of 25-30 deg for strength rather than cutting prowess. I'd expect the blade to come to a fine point with a swedge to increase penetration. Possibly even a sharp false edge part way along the swedge for even more penetration power. I would expect a tactical knife to be slightly overbuilt, but not so much that it becomes clumsy. I would expect that the COG of a military knife to be somewhere in the handle as to suggest thrusting instead of slashing. And I wouldn't be surprised to see a partially serrated edge.
A tactical police/rescue knife, I would expect similar functions, but possibly a harder steel since you are unlikely to use the knife for actual fighting. I would expect the tactical police knife to not have a sharp point for stabbing, but a slightly stronger point, like a reverse tanto etc. I wouldn't be surprised to see a belt cutter (gut hook) and a glass breaker on the knife. A partially serrated edge may well be helpful here as well. I'd expect it to be over built to withstand years of hard use.
Id expect all tactical folders to be operated with gloves on. A tactical blade should have a reasonably grippy texture to it so it isn't slippery even when wet. A fixed tactical blade should come with molle compatible sheath (or similar) attachment options.
If your tactical knife comes with a compass, hydrodipped patterns, super advanced and expensive steel that you need a jig sharpener system to maintain, slick carbon fibre scales and a blade the size of a machete with a style that would impress your local Nazgul or Klingon, it is probably not a tactical knife. It is probably a tacticool safe queen for the mantelpiece.