Someone re-handled this thing with something that wasn’t up to the task of being pounded on.  This catalog page from 1923 shows the two ways the handle would’ve looked.

Spear & Jackson was founded in 1830 by John Spear and Sam Jackson in Sheffield, England. They’re still around, bought and sold, as you would image, and still make some woodworking tools. I’m not sure where in the world they’re made, there’s no mention on their website and I’ve never seen anything new in person. Paul Sellers has a low opinion of the planes they sell now. The old stuff I’ve owned made by them has all been top-notch.