Hello all, long time lurker first time poster. I'm just dipping my toes into hand tools and being a tightwad I decided to start cheap, so I picked up this jack plane for $20 on Kijiji. It's complete (minus a mis-sized screw in the front of the handle) and in reasonably good condition despite the handle being broken in a couple places (the current repair is ugly but sturdy).
Just for fun I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight into the origin of this particular plane. The middle aged guy I bought it from said it was his grandfathers and, judging by the length of the extra iron that came with it, it seems to have had a long service life already. I can't find any markings on it besides "Made in USA" cast into the base and the numbers "397" on the underside of the lever cap.
Any insight would be appreciated!
-Nate
IMG_1977.jpgIMG_1978.jpgIMG_1980.jpgIMG_1969.jpg