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
I love this knife, and I don't really have anything bad to say about it. It's my go to knife for during dinner service. It's shorter length compared to the 240 mm I use during prep means it's not getting in my way during service. And as long as you maintain it properly it will stay razor sharp for quite awhile.
While I do love these knives they may not be for everyone and there are a few things you should know before purchasing.
First they are not symmetrically ground, meaning the two sides of the knife are sharpened at different angles. This allows the knife to slice things thinner, but left handed users will notice the knife steering because it's designed for righties. (Korin has a great sharpening YouTube channel that covers all types of knives including asymmetrical grinds).
Second they are designed to be used with a proper pinch grip. Meaning you hold the knife by pinching the blade with your thumb and pointer finger then just loosely wrap you remaining fingers around the handle. People complaining about the handles being to short are likely using a hammer grip which gives you less control over the knife and should never be used anyway.
Third these are Japanese steel and are significantly harder than European knives. DO NOT USE A HONING STEEL ON THESE KNIVES. They are used to realign the microscopic teeth on softer steel knives between sharpening. This steel is more brittle and a honing steel will just damage them. Maintain your edge preferably with a few passes over a high grit stone, but ceramic or diamond sharpening rods work as well (I use a ceramic rod at work because I can't break out the stones during service).
Finally the blade shape is not very conductive to rock chopping. It's designed for push/pull cutting. Also it'd not a very tall knife so users with larger hands may find their knuckles hitting the board.
If those few caveats don't bother you then this is a great knife and I highly recommend it.
I have to question one thing though.... I know many Japanese kitchen knives should not be used with a traditional steel due to their hardness, but... Does Aus-8 at 57-58 rockwell really fit that category?
It doesn't matter to me all that much, I own a ceramic rod, not a steel (since most of mine are above 60hrc), I'm just purely curious. Where does the cutoff for steeling lie?