I bought this scraper figuring it was just a junker: but somehow it's turned into a bit of a mystery...

it was a real ball 'o rust...but with a body like an early Stanley 12...when I cleaned the rust off there was no hint of any japanning ever applied...thought someone had put it together from incorrect parts..

but then I took the handle off...screws and screw holes are a LOT smaller than the Stanley version...and the adjusting rod is about a half inch longer than the Stanley...those locking nuts are like nothing I've seen before either...

then I noticed the off center pin holes for the blade adjustment...could it be a factory defect?...but that doesn't explain the smaller screw holes...or the extra long rod....

and the complete absence of any casting marks...

I've got Sargents, Millers Falls, Ohio Tools and Stanley Number 12 style scrapers and I've not seen one that matches this one....could it be a model shop prototype?