Keen Kutter: Is This Real or A Reproduction?

timof5stars

I have a lock I believe to be a Keen Kutter / Santa Fe that I’d like to put up for sale. However, I’ve learned (the hard way, unfortunately) that the world is awash in Keen Kutter reproductions / imitations / fakes, etc. I’ve also learned that some these “not original” locks can be very hard to tell from the original. I do not imagine myself to be “unfoolable”. The last thing in the world I want to do is add to the problem by posting a lock for sale that is not what I claim / suggest it to be. So, before I put this up for auction and potentially look foolish, I’d like your opinion on the lock in the pictures below. Real or not? I understand that these would be your personal opinions based on very limited information and that you are not guaranteeing anything.

Physical attributes: The lock measures 2 inches wide by 3.650 high (bottom of tip to top of shackle) by 0.550 inches thick. The shackle is an oval shape; narrowest dimension is approx. 0.235 inches by approx. 0.300 inches in the thickest. The keyway, when aligned is 0.500 inches high by 0.150 inches wide. The lock weighs 5.5 ounces (158 grams)
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Thank you!

Tim

timof5stars

Oh, one more physical attribute. This is the only lock I own that opens by rotating the key counter-clockwise.

Scott Klemm

I have 2 Keen Kutter padlocks. At first glance your lock looked authentic, but when I began to carefully compare it with mine, I saw some differences. Among the obvious is the rivet on the reverse side at the top right. An authentic Keen Kutter doesn’t have a rivet in that location. Also I noticed that the horizontal lines of the "E"s in Keen Kutter are straight. They should turn upward. One of your pictures shows the top of the shackle being flat. It should be more tapered creating a ridge. I hope this helps, and I most definitely want to congratulate you on your honesty of not wanting to sell a reproduction as the real thing!!! You have earned my respect.

timof5stars

Scott,

A sincere thank you for taking the time to look over my lock photos and identify the differences between my lock and an authentic Keen Kutter (KK). You saved me from making a mistake even bigger than the one I made when I purchased this lock - I greatly appreciate that. That was my whole reason for posting pictures of it here before posting it for sale - i.e. I was pretty sure that IF it was a reproduction, then someone here would be able to tell me - consequently I’ll not be offering this for sale as anything other than the reproduction it is.

At least this KK makes an attempt to look real. My first one left me suspicious from the first time I held it. It looked and felt cheesy - not like something that had been manufactured to provide decades of reliable service. I was pretty easily able to verify it was a repro when I came across a reference stating that a post in the keyway was a dead give-away since authentic KKs never used a post and barrel key configuration. My first “KK” did indeed open with a barrel key that fit over the post that wasn’t supposed to be there.

I guess what bothers me is that both of my “KKs” where sold as the real deal. Even if I assume that the seller believed they held an authentic KK - i.e. that they did not deliberately mislead me by claiming it was real, just the most superficial of efforts would have told them otherwise. I would not have been bothered if they said “potentially authentic” and then provided enough images for me to do my own research (I will frequently do this with keys provided with locks I sell - if the key fits well and sports the same brand name as the lock I will say something like “possibly original key but I cannot certify this. See included key close-ups to decide for yourself”

Oh well. This is the cost of a higher education. Thanks again Scott, I greatly appreciate the time you’ve given me here.

Adrian Weber

Sometimes it is not that easy to tell real from fake.

Here is a picture of a repro like yours:
http://www.backintimetradingpost.com/products/keen-kutter-santa-fe-brass-padlock-lock-with-keys.html

And here is a picture of the real deal:
http://restraintsblog.blogspot.de/2009/05/keen-kutter-brass-padlock-original.html

[upl-image-preview uuid=518f603b-c709-4f7b-9698-8c6b4a41319b url= alt=kk2.jpg thumbnail_url=https://cdn.antique-locks.com/2026-07-21/1784675939-6936-kk2-thumb.webp]

timof5stars

After I read your reply, I did a bit more searching and came acrossn "Dean’s Antique Safe & Padlock Page" and his page on the Keen Kutter reproductions .

Using the information you provided and information from Dean’s page, I put together this graphic illustrating the differences between my lock and an authentic one. It was a good exercise for me and I thought I would share if it might help someone else avoid my mistake.
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Adrian Weber

That is great man!!!

Your picture is very informative and will be a great help for collectors in the future 🙂
The picture on this other webpage will sadly not load. Both of them would have been great. Hopefully these pictures will not help the “fake producers”.

Thanks!

Retro00064

dicey wrote
[…]
The picture on this other webpage will sadly not load. Both of them would have been great. […]

I looked up the URL for that image on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, and it’s been archived: [url]http://web.archive.org/web/20051105051841/http://members.cox.net/drcwks/kkfakevsreal25.jpg

[/URL]

[unknown]

MacGyver101

Here’s a higher-resolution version of that same image, also from the Internet Archive: [LINK]

Adrian Weber

Thanks a lot mac!

timof5stars

Thanks, from me also, Mac. I had clicked on that link several time but hadn’t even thought of Internet Archive. Much more better! 🙁y):

timof5stars

Ya gotta love the fine print.

I went back and read the fine print at one of the seller’s site. The following statement is actually being used to defend their practice. It is a candidate for one of the stupidest CYAs I’ve ever read. Clearly, someone with mountain of intelligence spent weeks crafting it. Seriously, I cannot believe anyone would be dumb enough to actually post it in their store, but there it is:

[INDENT]“PER EBAY TRUST AND SAFETY POLICY, THIS IS A PADLOCK WHICH IS OVER 75 YEARS OLD OR A COPY THEREOF AND DOES NOT RESEMBLE ANY PADLOCKS USED AT PRESENT TIME.”
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There ya go, folks. The padlocks from this vendor are absolutely guaranteed to be either real or fake (and they just can’t be bothered figuring out which one they actually sent you due to the extremely high volumes the deal with), but in any event, ya can sleep well tonight knowing that this padlock does not have a long lost twin brother being used to secure an outhouse in Chuckalugee Falls, IA.

(sigh)

I think it is worth noting that people who lower themselves to such depths when they are selling will unfortunately also do so when they are buying…

Or a copy thereof?

Really?

Ya gotta love the fine print.

I should have told them I’d pay the bill with cold hard cash, or a picture thereof…