Canal Street - Moore Maker Trapper TLC

[herbva]

I bought this trapper made by Canal Street for Moore Maker a couple of weeks ago from Steve for a very reasonable price. I planned to disassemble it and give it a total restoration with new smooth bone scales, but I decided to try a good cleaning and some "TLC" first. (I still may go back and rehandle it in smooth bone, maybe hunter green.) The first 4 pics are before and the next 4 after. I have never owned a Canal Street knife before and am very impressed with the quality. Anyway, I removed most of the "flea bites" and scratches from the blades and the old finish from the wood scales. Phil very kindly sent me a new MM shield (thank you again Phil !) and I just gave the bare wood a good coat of wax. The new shield was just a tad too large and sat up a bit too "proud", so I did a bit of excavating and it now sits flush with the scales just the way I like it. Still not sure if I will ditch the old, beat up wood scales, but I am very happy with the knife!

[ea42]

Great job Herb, it looks fantastic! Those handles are mesquite from Wayland Moore's own ranch so there's a bit of history there for sure. Much more than some random cow's shin.

Eric

[Reverand]

I don't think that you could go wrong either way. But, then again, there is a lot of wisdom In knowing when to stop improving something. That looks mighty nice now!

[cudgee]

You have to keep that wood, it just oozes character, looks sensational, and now that you know it's provenance it would be criminal to replace it.

[glennbad]

Wow, that turned out great!

[cudgee]

To clean the wood, did you just sand them back then wax? However you did it, you have done a great job.

[herbva]

To clean the wood, did you just sand them back then wax? However you did it, you have done a great job.

Thanks Cudgee. I had a hunch that might be mesquite. Yes, I sanded it with very fine sandpaper, gave it a good, hard rub with rubbing alcohol and then hit it with a coat of Butcher's wax. Now that I know what it is for sure, I will definitely leave it alone. Thanks for the good advice!

[philco]

Herb you've done an amazing job in transforming that ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.

It looks better than I ever imagined it could.

[cudgee]

To clean the wood, did you just sand them back then wax? However you did it, you have done a great job.

Thanks Cudgee. I had a hunch that might be mesquite. Yes, I sanded it with very fine sandpaper, gave it a good, hard rub with rubbing alcohol and then hit it with a coat of Butcher's wax. Now that I know what it is for sure, I will definitely leave it alone. Thanks for the good advice!

My pleasure my friend, you have a beautiful knife there, and with Eric's input now know it's origin. I just love that wood and what you have done to it.

[Meridian_Mike]

Nice work Herb!

That is a good looking knife as it sits now for sure!
Great job of working out the nips in the blades and the wood looks vibrant and clean!

WELL DONE!!

[1967redrider]

Excellent work, Herb!!! I love that knife just the way it is, and you're right about the quality of Canal Street knives, they're high on my list.

Let me know if you're thinking about getting rid of that one.

[dlr110]

Absolutely fantastic job Herb. I would probably keep the wood handles, but I just like all the different
types of woods.

[herbva]

Excellent work, Herb!!! I love that knife just the way it is, and you're right about the quality of Canal Street knives, they're high on my list.

Let me know if you're thinking about getting rid of that one.

Well, every man has his price. John, you need to see it in person soon.

[Suredan]

That is really a nice clean up. Please educate me; how can you tell a Moore Maker knife was made by Canal Street?

[cody6268]

Nice job! I The wood turned out great. almost considered buying it as a user, but my knife redo skills aren't good enough. I thought I could probably never get those chips out without making a mess out of the blades and taking away too much metal.


I treat my Bear and Utica MMs no better than my Case, Schrade, and Camillus users (which aren't abused, but not babied either). But, I have one 2001 dated Queen-made 4 3/8" (5304) Stockman that I found used for $40; and that knife was $125 new back in 2001. That is probably the best modern knife I own. While it had a tiny chip in the bone; and had been heavily used; I could tell it had been cared for and properly maintained. A Canal Street I'd expect was that much if not more. Basically, expensive. Yet, to see that kind of abuse?!! Geez. Even my Rough Ryders aren't treated that rough, and they're my beaters. I will do stuff with those that my American and German stuff never touches. I've never severely damaged a Mora, and I use those rougher than any other knife I own.

[treefarmer]

There is a lot of satisfaction in cleaning up a neglected old knife.
You did a wonderful job, handle looks great with a proper shield in place and the ding in the spay has disappeared.
Very nice!
Treefarmer

[herbva]

That is really a nice clean up. Please educate me; how can you tell a Moore Maker knife was made by Canal Street?

As I mentioned, I bought the knife from Steve Pfeiffer, and he told me it was made by Canal. I know that Moore Maker has used a variety of contractors to make their knives. Based on the quality of this knife, and the mesquite wood, I makes complete sense to me that it is a Canal Street. Other than that, I don't know if there is a more definitive way to tell. It is stamped 2009 on the spay, so maybe that is when Canal was making knives for Moore?

[herbva]

Nice job! I The wood turned out great. almost considered buying it as a user, but my knife redo skills aren't good enough. I thought I could probably never get those chips out without making a mess out of the blades and taking away too much metal.


I treat my Bear and Utica MMs no better than my Case, Schrade, and Camillus users (which aren't abused, but not babied either). But, I have one 2001 dated Queen-made 4 3/8" (5304) Stockman that I found used for $40; and that knife was $125 new back in 2001. That is probably the best modern knife I own. While it had a tiny chip in the bone; and had been heavily used; I could tell it had been cared for and properly maintained. A Canal Street I'd expect was that much if not more. Basically, expensive. Yet, to see that kind of abuse?!! Geez. Even my Rough Ryders aren't treated that rough, and they're my beaters. I will do stuff with those that my American and German stuff never touches. I've never severely damaged a Mora, and I use those rougher than any other knife I own.

If you expand the pictures and look carefully, you can see that I couldn't quite get all of the flea bites (chips) and scratches out of the blades. I try to stop when any more metal removed would significantly alter the lines of the blade or make it look molested. It's a balancing act and most of the time the best I try to do is "tone down" the chips, coarse grinder marks, deep scratches or other damage. I'm with you, it is hard to believe that someone would mistreat a knife like this that badly. But, I see it all the time.

[Meridian_Mike]

That is really a nice clean up. Please educate me; how can you tell a Moore Maker knife was made by Canal Street?

Hmmmm....

That is a good question.

I hope somebody chimes in on that.... I have a couple of the MMs and I would like to know who made them too.

[dlr110]

If you want to know who made your Moore Maker, just call them at (806) 347-2848. If you give them all the information on the knife they can look it up in their records and tell you. I've done it a couple of times.

[1967redrider]

Excellent work, Herb!!! I love that knife just the way it is, and you're right about the quality of Canal Street knives, they're high on my list.

Let me know if you're thinking about getting rid of that one.

Well, every man has his price. John, you need to see it in person soon.

Can't wait to see it in person, Herb!

[philco]

That is really a nice clean up. Please educate me; how can you tell a Moore Maker knife was made by Canal Street?

Hmmmm....

That is a good question.

I hope somebody chimes in on that.... I have a couple of the MMs and I would like to know who made them too.

Being a Canal Street collector, I'm very familiar with most, if not all, of the standard Canal Street patterns. I'm also well aware that Canal Street made knives for Moore Makers. This knife is a twin to the Canal Street Full Moon Trapper as far as frame and blade shape go. In addition to all that, I acquired a small assortment of shields that came from the Canal Street factory when it closed. Among them were a couple of the Moore Maker shields, one of which now graces Herbs refurbished knife.