Hi Mike and Chipper
Thanks guys for your input. Glad to know that there are other people who look at things in the same level of detail as I do!
The question of dies could quite possibly be answered by the breakage of the item. Steel hardening was a little of a "black art" way back and, I'm told, that many of the steels were water hardening which could result in excessive brittleness.
It's amazing what you can learn from the old fellows if you listen to them....
The maker's mark question could also be one of "Where the heck did we put that? Oh, let's just make another one!"
