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
Alright, lets just start by getting this out of the way, traditional knives are not for everyone. They are often most thought of as the knives our grandfathers carried. Older knives that often take two hands to open and are rarely made out of steels outside of 1095 carbon steel, unlabeled stainless (usually in the 420-440 range) and other more 'budget steels' such as Case's crome vanadium used on its more 'premium' versions.
Often, instead of the modern 'wonder materials' such as g10's, carbon fibers, and titanium, their handles are made of bone, old woods, brass, and nickle silver. Instead of modern frame, piston, triad, or even liner locks, they rely on good ol' spring tension to keep the knife in place. In almost every way, these knives are, to put it bluntly, relics of the old ways.
But like many 'old things' they don't stay old forever. Not just in materials such as brass making a comeback but older crafts, brewing your own beer (craft beer craze comes to mind), as well as the desire for a more charming simpler time. Things that remind us to slow down, but don't slow us down in our day to day lives.
Things like these old knives have been making a comeback. In the edc communities, many are starting to re-evaluate and appreciate some of the older knives. While they will never be a good choice for a defensive or tactical knife, for an everyday tool knife, you may find yourself hard pressed to find a more eager companion. Often with multiple blades, specialized for specific tasks, these pocket tools always manage to find a creative use in the right hands.
And these blades aren't just stuck in the past. Case has been making knives pretty much non stop since the great wars, but more recent companies have sprung up, Great Eastern Cutlery, Northwoods, all taking classic designs and making them new again. Some even use modern materials in their construction, not only in synthetics, even g10 and micarta for scales, but even with blade steels. Case themselves are even offering blades in 154cm steel.