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
Initial quality check shows a perfectly centered blade, nice quality fit and finish, and great action right out of the box. The detent is spot on. It is what you would expect from a WE made knife. Check out the quality on their budget line, the Civivi’s, and you will be amazed. The ergonomics are excellent. It is comfortable in the hand in either a grip back on the handle or choked up using the finger choil. I like the jimping as it gives you nice control but is not overly aggressive. I am really pleased with the gold/bronze color with the blueish gray clip and back spacer. The pictures don’t do it justice. The color looks like it will not show snail trails as much as your typical gray titanium finish. But time will tell. I like the blade shape. I only have one other cleaver style blade and it is much bigger and heavier. The blade slices paper right out of the box. It seems pretty thin behind the edge. The logos on the blade are not obtrusive. The Ferrum Forge logo looks cool. S35V is a great steal. The only negatives is the clip might be a bit of a hot spot. I need to use it more first. The lanyard hole and back spacer jimping is sharp on the exposed lanyard. You can sometimes feel it when opening the knife. Overall it is like the Crux. It is one heck of a nice knife for the price. I don’t think you can beat the package of the design, the materials and the high quality manufacturing at this price point. I love the Crux and the Buc impresses me as another winner.