I have a beat up old knuckler I picked up on a recent trip. Its missing the front ring that normally has the focal length and name, but I think it is a Series II. I could just experiment with it to see what it does, but I'm out of fixer

So, a few questions:

- I'm not sure which direction to turn the ring for soft focus. Turning one direction moves the front element closer to the rear, while the other direction moves it away from the rear element. I cannot see the softness in the ground glass. Should I be able to? (I have not used a loupe yet)

- Turned all the way in one direction the focal length is about 9", while the other way its 11 1/2". Is that normal, or is something put together wrong?

- is the softness dependent or independent of aperture? I mean, if I stop it down with the softness on maximum, will it be sharp, or still diffused?

Thanks for your help