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
In March 2014, Jon Walker from Alpha Knife Supply suggested I try making a top. After I made a couple, I thought I would just make a few more for friends and that would be the end of it. But I discovered the Pocket Top Talk Group on Facebook. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, when custom tops were starting to take off – over 3 years and 250 tops later I’m still making them and enjoying every hour I get to spend in the shop.
Last year, I was planning a get together of a few top and knifemaker friends the evening before Blade Show. We had a some collectors express interest in joining and before I knew it the group had outgrown any restaurant we could reasonably book. So I contacted the Marriott Northwest Galleria and booked a small banquet room and that was the inception of TopCon.
Last year’s TopCon was about 40 people including makers Josh Dawson, Rich Stadler, Brian Fellhoelter, Gavin Sexton, Tom Griffin, Steve Aiena, Jon Walker and Kerry Weeks.
This year we’re doing it again! Beyond a great line-up of makers I’ve brought on some additional sponsors beyond Alpha Knife Supply and Kerry Weeks who will for the second year provide prizing and the spin station/trophy for the Makers Challenge. Massdrop has signed on as the Platinum Sponsor and will be providing a generous supply of door prizes as well as something nice for all the attendees. Dean Chou of All Things Spinning will be providing his K9 glass for the spinning competition. Dexter King will be making the spin station for a new division in the spinning competition – the collector division. And just like last year, Jeff Goad will stream the event live on Pocket Top Talk.
If you will be attending Blade Show and are interested in attending TopCon the evening of June 1, registration is open: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/topcon-2017-tickets-32644973996
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mitchlumMachined/