Interesting.... I use these irons, and am actually a big fan of them.. I've had 3 (on my third one) over several years.. #3 iron still works fine, and is about 4yrs old..if that.. #2 iron is still shoved in its box that I haven't thrown away yet... just because really it still has a very decent shoe... So... I'm going to give that one another look and see if in fact it might have suffered the same fate as yours.. I might be able to pull of a quick fix on it... hmm... Nice post.. thanks for sharing..

PS..#1 iron actually lasted well over 15yrs.. and it went into the trash a long time ago, #2 iron lasted probably about half that time.. I still think they're better then most on the market... and that has alot to do with temp stability and shoe design. I hope #3 lasts for a while... I hate getting out the wife's clothes iron.. it reminds of me of how far I've come in the hobby though... as its sooo bulky and challenging......... ha...

The clothes iron will still do a mean covering job though.. Its not totally about the tools.. but they help.