cast iron cookware

[SmileDocHill]

To each his own, but it is completely unnecessary to sand them smooth. A few layers of good seasoning and they will be just as non stick as the vintage stuff with proper cooking methods.

I agree with you but this had what looked like welding splatter chunks of metal on the inside that protruded sharply about 1mm in many places. It was impossible to use a spatula. My thought was that the pieces could break off at some point in the future and break a tooth and/or result in an exposed portion of metal that wasn't cured.
That and I just like to tinker. :-)

 

[HamsterStyle]

I agree with you but this had what looked like welding splatter chunks of metal on the inside that protruded sharply about 1mm in many places. It was impossible to use a spatula. My thought was that the pieces could break off at some point in the future and break a tooth and/or result in an exposed portion of metal that wasn't cured.
That and I just like to tinker. :-)

Fair enough. And yeah, id much rather tinker than eat chunks of metal. Lol

 

[Butch627]

I was cleaning out the garage and came upon my grandmothers 9 inch cast iron fry pan. The only marking on it is the number 9. The bottom is very scarred up, maybe eroded is a better term. My grandmother died in the mid 1960's. In our family as far back as I can remember the pan has been treated like any other meaning cleaned with regular dish soap and then in later years in the dishwasher. It has easily been 20 years since it was used at all.

I am wondering the cause of the erosion on the bottom? I am not really a foodie and have no plans on using it regularly but am wondering what I should do to preserve it and if I should season it? Is there any benefit to seasoning it if it is to be stored long term? If I was to season it then what would be the best seasoning for long term storage?

 

[Thor]

Season them. Plenty of information already on this thread and other places on the site (and many others). Neat find. Seasoning will help to keep them from rusting or 'eroding' further. If they were not seasoned (and washed to within an inch of their lives) that is probably what happened to them...rust.

The number is related to size but they relate to the size hole they would fit into on the old wood stoves. I think a #9 is about 9.5" at the bottom and 11 3/8 at the top. I like mine, have fun with them.

 

[guns and groceries]

I would bet the bottom has some serious sulphur pitting. Rust looks like rust and sulphur pitting looks more like holy crap what happened to my pan. Years of use on a coal stove might be the culprit.

 

[Clay]

So the other day I got a Griswold made 12" skillet. It's unmarked other than "12" and "1064" on the bottom, which means it's an Iron Mountain skilled made by Griswold. Anyway, it's in decent shape, and really just needs cleaned up and maybe a good seasoning on it. So what's the best way to clean up the skillet? I don't think it needs lye or electrolysis, but maybe I'm wrong. I've read about using course salt, and in the past I've used a wire wheel with good results. So what do you guys use for just a good cleaning?

 

[Butch627]

I would bet the bottom has some serious sulphur pitting. Rust looks like rust and sulphur pitting looks more like holy crap what happened to my pan. Years of use on a coal stove might be the culprit.

Thanks a million it is not rust and your description is very accurate. That fills in some family history that I would never have guessed at otherwise. My dad grew up in Chicago and I never would have guessed that they cooked on a coal fired stove.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

So the other day I got a Griswold made 12" skillet. It's unmarked other than "12" and "1064" on the bottom, which means it's an Iron Mountain skilled made by Griswold. Anyway, it's in decent shape, and really just needs cleaned up and maybe a good seasoning on it. So what's the best way to clean up the skillet? I don't think it needs lye or electrolysis, but maybe I'm wrong. I've read about using course salt, and in the past I've used a wire wheel with good results. So what do you guys use for just a good cleaning?

Depends on how bad it is. I've used steel wool or SOS pads to clean ones that are mildly rough. Then season and use.

 

[mom45]

Thanks a million it is not rust and your description is very accurate. That fills in some family history that I would never have guessed at otherwise. My dad grew up in Chicago and I never would have guessed that they cooked on a coal fired stove.

I was born in Chicago. We moved out when I was five, but I still remember playing in the coal shed behind our house so I believe that was a very common method of heating and cooking.

 

[JAL]

I was born in Chicago. We moved out when I was five, but I still remember playing in the coal shed behind our house so I believe that was a very common method of heating and cooking.

It was, at least, for heating. Hence, the coal bin in a cellar and the exterior door(s) to access the cellar. Old wood clapboard barracks buildings on US Army installations built for WWI and WWII still have places (concrete pads) for coal storage between the barracks buildings for their coal fired furnaces. Cooking? The U.S. trailed the UK by a few years. After the Civil War, cooking moved from wood to coal stoves, but by 1900 in the large cities like Chicago, NYC, etc., electricity was displacing gas street lighting (gas was being made from coal) and they turned to providing gas for gas stoves. In the major cities, the changeover was nearly complete by about 1920. Obviously, old homes and those in rural areas still used other means for cooking, including stone and brick hearths. I've seen the stone hearths used in the early to mid-1880's that were built before the Civil War. They had a number of features built in for cooking, baking and heating that one does not find in a modern fireplace.

John

 

[Thor]

So the other day I got a Griswold made 12" skillet. It's unmarked other than "12" and "1064" on the bottom, which means it's an Iron Mountain skilled made by Griswold. Anyway, it's in decent shape, and really just needs cleaned up and maybe a good seasoning on it. So what's the best way to clean up the skillet? I don't think it needs lye or electrolysis, but maybe I'm wrong. I've read about using course salt, and in the past I've used a wire wheel with good results. So what do you guys use for just a good cleaning?

Spray it with an oven cleaner and let it set in a plastic garbage bag overnight...or even just for a couple of hours, then rinse it off and see if it needs more; if so repeat then season. I wouldn't use a wire wheel on a Griswold... Good luck!

 

[Fargo]

So the other day I got a Griswold made 12" skillet. It's unmarked other than "12" and "1064" on the bottom, which means it's an Iron Mountain skilled made by Griswold. Anyway, it's in decent shape, and really just needs cleaned up and maybe a good seasoning on it. So what's the best way to clean up the skillet? I don't think it needs lye or electrolysis, but maybe I'm wrong. I've read about using course salt, and in the past I've used a wire wheel with good results. So what do you guys use for just a good cleaning?

Whatever you do, don't wire wheel it. It will destroy any collector value it has and the residue from the wire often damages the surface and makes seasoning it more difficult.

I wouldn't use anything harsher than steel wool, I normally use electrolysis or the oven cleaner in a bag to clean mine up.

 

[nate77]

Figured INGO cast iron fanatics would appreciate this deal.

$7.00 for a Lodge 10" skillet seems pretty good.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...96c612b6eb2019a40INT&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

[lonehoosier]

WOW! I already have two but if it was 12" I'd be all over it.

 

[Thor]

Must have been 'too good to be true' as it's already gone...

 

[lonehoosier]

That was quick.

 

[spencer rifle]

Don't really like Lodge as much when it has a "pebbled" surface. Smooth surfaces are much easier to clean.

 

[nate77]

Must have been 'too good to be true' as it's already gone...

Sorry, I saw it on slick deals, and thought of this thread. I did't buy one either, I already have enough cast iron.

 

[Thor]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat...if the right pan for the right deal comes along maybe. I just looked cause...well...I didn't need it but...

 

[Vamptepes]

Lodge L9OG3 Cast Iron Round Griddle, Pre-Seasoned, 10.5-inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1xbtAbPFSGBMT

11 for this deal. Also if you use Amazon I suggest using camelcamelcamel. Input the Amazon page link and it will give you pricing history for the listing.