Royal Keen Kutter Straight Razor

[jarinmarocco]

Hi,

I'm new to B&B and straight razor shaving. I went to an antique mall last week and came across a booth of antique tools and straight razors. I found a Royal Keen Kutter made by E.C Simmons. It has on it, K 419. Based on my limited knowledge of blade and straight razor quality, I think it's in pretty good shape. There is some black spotting on the spine but everything else seems to be good. I tried to shave with it, there was sign at the booth that said most razors are shave ready, but it was pulling more than shaving. The edge looks seamless but there are a few tiny nicks in it. I'm wondering what is the best route to sharpen it?
Additionally, I'm looking into getting maintenance supplies such as a strop but I'm a bit confused as to what I will need. On eBay, I found leather strops made by B&B barber( I wondered if there's an association with badger and blade). For starting out would this strop be fine? Also, when opening and closing the blade it seems to be a bit stiff but smooth. Do I need to oil the connection between the blade and scales? It may not need it now but is this something that should be done regularly?

Thank you ahead of time for answering my questions.

 

[johnmrson]

Firstly welcome to the forum. That looks like a nice razor you've picked up. I doubt the razor is shave ready. If you can see small nicks in the blade then it definitely isn't. Find yourself a honemeister and get it properly honed so it is shave ready. There is a listing of them in the Wikil. As far as I'm aware there is no association between Badger and Blade and the B&B Barber items on ebay. The strop would be an OK starter strop though. You should always start with a cheap strop because you're going to take a few nicks out of it as a beginner. Once you
ve got the hang of it, you can then move onto a better quality strop.

 

[Luc]

Welcome to B&B!

Honemeister list: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Honemeister

 

[dancraig]

My Keen Kutter Royal.

 

[natchez]

Welcome to the OP and a nice vintage starter blade it indeed is. As noted above, get it honed, an inexpensive strop and have some fun!

About starting to strop I posted this yesterday: Here is my two cents on how I would start- if you live anywhere near a leather store (like Tandy), go in and buy a 2 1/2" wide x 48-50" long strap. Cut it in half with a box cutter, there should already be a hole in the top from where they hung it on the peg in the store. Take a shoelace put it through the hole and tie it to either your towel bar or doorknob and go to it. You should be able to get two strops from the one strap. You will have to punch a hole in the second piece when you want to use it. It won't be fancy, but it works. I think the retail on a 2 1/2" strap is about $25. If you are willing to go down to 2" wide, the retail is $17.

You can use your extra lather to condition the leather- waste not, want not.

If you learn on the first piece without nicking it up beyond repair, you can always use it as a travel strop.

If you are like me and nick up the first one to the point you do not want to fix it, just use the second piece.

After you have mastered stropping, then invest the money in a nice strop.

 

[jarinmarocco]

natchez,

Do you just take the extra lather and rub it into the leather?

dancraig,

Do you have any idea on how old the razor is?

Thanks for the responses. I think I will go with the strop on ebay. There is an automobile leather place near me but I don't know about any leather stores. I will have to look into that.

 

[dancraig]

natchez,

Do you just take the extra lather and rub it into the leather?

dancraig,

Do you have any idea on how old the razor is?

Thanks for the responses. I think I will go with the strop on ebay. There is an automobile leather place near me but I don't know about any leather stores. I will have to look into that.

SIMMONS HARDWARE CO
St. Louis, Missouri
Trademark: "KEEN KUTTER"
ca. 1868 - 1960

I think the "Royal" razors have bakelite scales, which would date them around the 1930's.