"Thistle" Brand?
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>I stopped by a junk shop I rarely visit today, and noticed, in a pile of woodies on the floor, a coffin smoother with a tapered iron and cap, but no wedge. The iron's mark is pretty faint under the grunge, but seems to say, "Thistle Brand." Is this (a) a great brand, (b) a horrid one, or (c) an unknown one?
After reading all the paeans to woodies here, I'm thinking, if the price is right (say, $15; and don't tell me about how you can pick them up for ten cents, Todd, it just ain't so out here), that it might be worth picking up as a future project plane (make wedge, tune up, fiddle with), but there seems no point unless the iron's likely to be a good 'un.