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
On to the positive notes, the weight and general construction of this cleaver is very nice. Unsurprisingly, this blade is much heavier than your average chef's knife and it "seeks" the face of the cutting board, punching easily through crisp or starchy vegetables. The blade is beveled on both sides so while it's not as sharp as I would like it will be easy to sharpen and hone using my existing equipment. I'm not sure if this is consistent with traditional cleavers (one beveled edge vs. two) but it fits my needs.
The edge of the blade has a slight bow in the middle that facilitates a slight rocking motion in addition to the "piston" chopping motion expected from a cleaver. This feature is complimented by a comfortable wooden handle that provides a semi-ergonomic grip and encourages your hand to "wrap" rather than "pinch" the handle. I'm still learning proper cleaver-form and trying to un-learn habits from my chef's knife but this tool makes it easy to get started.
If I'm honest, the "look and feel" of this knife was a primary factor in my purchase; it's beautiful. I was searching for the aesthetic of a traditional Chinese cleaver with build-quality from a brand I was familiar with and that is exactly what I got. If I could have afforded a Shun or another up-market Asian brand I would have bought it for the sake of authenticity but this thoroughbred work-horse will do just fine for many, many years to come.