Kropp straight razors, renowned for their quality, were a brand name owned by Osborne, Garret & Co Ltd, a London hairdressers's sundriesman, in case you wonder what that was, compare that to wholesalers we have today who would specialize in certain products, reselling and distributing to smaller shops, hairdressers and barbers. While stamped "KROPP" and "Real German Hollow Ground", they were not actually a German company. Instead, they were primarily manufactured in Sheffield, England, with some early models having blades ground in Hamburg, Germany. The Hamburg connection was due to faster and cheaper grinding processes there during a specific period, but the Kropp brand was firmly established by an English company.
My luck with the Kropps has been pretty bad, I got quite a few in a dodgy condition or with bad geometry, so much so that I dumped most of them as the bevels were just to nasty in the end, so when this one came my way I was not very keen to have a go at it.
This one is the most unique and best shaving Kropp I have had, it was really a pleasure to hone up and the shave was excellent, and my face thanked me big time! Withou a doubt the best shave I have had with any razors in this brand.
The razor sharpened up very nicely on stones and ended up with quite a thin, even bevel, a sure sign that the razor has not seen plenty of use, and the condition of the scales confirms this. It gave decent audible feedback in the shave and put a smile on my dail, the Kropp curse has been broken again! The razor is clean and all rust has been removed, but some minor blotches and spots remain. The top and bottom jimps offers lots of bite on the thumb, and you need that for this big bubba, yes also the biggest Kropp I have seen to date. The blade is 22 mm high, or around 7/8ths, the blade is has a 75 mm working edge, and weighs 62 grams. The razor is in a great original condition, and comes with its original coffin that is in a medium condition. A great razor to own for the collector as well as the user.
This razor is shave ready and can be used as is without stropping it, stropping should be executed after first use.