E.C. Simmons Keen Kutter Junior
‘Keen Kutter’ was a trade name owned and used by the Simmons Hardware Company of St. Louis Missouri. Starting in 1866, the Keen Kutter logo was used on their best tools.
In 1940, Shapleigh Hardware Company bought out Simmons; they acquired the Keen Kutter trademark, but replaced E.C. Simmons at the top of the logo with Shapleigh’s.
This Keen Kutter Junior barber hone has the E.C. Simmons in the logo, but the price tag, which is assumed to be original, is stamped Shapleigh’s. So - my fair guess dates this hone to sometime right around 1940.
The Keen Kutter Junior is a bit smaller than most barber hones, and it comes in its original metal tin; presumably this was intended to be a ‘travel’ hone.
This was lapped flat and the edges were chamfered. During that process I noticed that it’s not brittle like many of these types of hones. It one way it seems ‘softer’ than, say – a Swaty, but it really isn’t soft and lapping it took some effort. The material that slurried off feels silky smooth, this is a finer-than-average barber hone.
Like most b-hones, it’s fast; 4-8 strokes gets the edge back easily. The cutting action is aggressive but its more subdued than I expected; it’s also notably finer than the garden-variety offerings of this type.
Approx. Dimensions: 3.9 x 1.9 x 0.4” / 99 x 48 x 10 mm
Weight: 4.8 oz / 137 g
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