In terms of "production" or even "semi-cutom" slip joint knife companies, I'd rate Canal Street Cutlery "#2", right behind Great Eastern Cutlery. Typically, the fit and finish on Canal Street's knives is superlative. Things are well joined, polished and work well. That said, they just lack the build-quality that GEC's products exhibit. It's also too bad that CSC doesn't do half-stops. Even with these deficiencies, Canal Street Cutlery does a great job.

Shown here is Half Moon Pie Trapper (weird way to name blades; why not just "Single-Bladed Trapper" instead?) with White Tail stag handle scales. If you look closely, you'll see the interesting coloration of the scales. Additionally...and this is mostly impossible to see in this photo...the right-hand scale is super thick. Some people don't like it when companies do this...and feel that it disrupts the knife's balance and symmetry. Personally, I like it. In terms of usability, the wider scale just nestles "better" within the palm (for right-handed users). For the curious, here's how the scales measure up at their thickest point (not including the liners):

* Left-side scale: 5/32""
* Right-side scale: 1/4"

As a closing point, I've always liked the "touch of class" aspect that comes with Canal Street's knives:

* The coin-style shield is beautiful.
* The packaging gets an "A+". Love the logo art!
* The jeweler's pouch is another nice feature...kind of like the slip-joint world's version of Benchmade.
* I like the paperwork; the Warranty card is well done and the simple slip of paper with all the knife's respective specifications is very good to have. It tells us everything about the knife...from model to handle material to blade steel to serial number. All great stuff!