In about 2007, my Mother-in-Law gave us several cast iron pieces that had been in the family for a few generations, but were just stored in boxes, unused. We weren't ready to learn how to use cast iron but we didn't want to get rid of them, so we just left them boxed up and moved them around the country for a decade. (Being in the military, we move every 2-3 years...so these have made a few cross-country trips!) But recently, I deciced to restore them and learn how to cook with cast iron! They weren't in terrible shape, but the seasoning needed some attention on all of them, and a few had some rust. I built an electrolysis tank for some of them, and others I just sanded a bit before a few seasoning cycles in the oven.
Since then I've started looking for old or interesting cast iron pieces when we drop by Goodwill or flea markets. Sometimes there are good finds; other times the places are a little too proud of their stuff.... I'm not going to become a collector or anything, but I'm having fun learning how to restore and use them so I'll keep going until I get bored. Most likely, the kids will end up with some usable sets of cast iron cookware when they're ready!
So I'll use this page to document some of the lessons I learn along the way, tips and tricks for cooking and maintenance, resources where I learn good info, etc. Hope others find this helpful!
Before the mid-1980s, cast iron cookware had cooking surfaces that were machined smooth, and many people enjoy cooking on these smooth surfaces much more than the mass-produced cookware with a textured finish (often sold as "pre-seasoned"). It's possible to buy modern cookware like Field or Finex with machined cooking surfaces but they're very expensive. So some folks (like me) enjoy the hunt of finding older cookware so we can use the nice smooth pans without paying $100+. I also enjoy the restoration process and knowing I'm using a piece of history.
But part of the fun is figuring out what we've found! In the list of my collection, I link to the pages I used to identify each pan. The community has more information about some pieces than others, and some sites are more complete than others--or more complete about certain brands. But there are a few authoritative sources if you'd like to dig deeper into this hobby!
We inherited this 10-1/2" cast iron skillet, and it had a little rust and a lot of carbon buildup. The seasoning was pretty damaged after several moves across the country and storing it in less-than-ideal conditions. I decided to strip it to bare metal and start from scratch.
The electrolysis tank took care of almost all of it pretty easily; probably spent two full days in the tank, and I took it out occasionally to scrape off the carbon that had loosened up. There were still some stubborn parts, so I used the quick-strip disk on the bigger spots and then the Dremel with a sanding barrel on some small parts. Since I didn't sand the whole thing, the parts were I used the Dremel were visible for a few rounds of seasoning and cooking but they didn't last long. Seasoning was three rounds with flaxseed oil in the oven at 500F, then I started using it.
One neat thing finding or inheriting old cast iron is that you often don't know what you have, and you get to figure it out. This can be a challenge because seasoning and carbon build-up can obscure factory markings, and some cookware was not marked at the factory. Still, cookware often has features to help identify it if you know what you're looking for.
Cast Iron Chaos on YouTube has an excellent video, Identifying Old Cast Iron Pans, that provides outstanding insight into the distinguishing features of different makes. There are also some internet forums dedicated to identifying cast iron piece, including the Cast Iron Cookware Identification Facebook group, the Cast Iron Collector, and the huge Cast Iron Cooking Facebook group with almost 300,000 members.
Birmingham Stove and Range (BSR) has a lot of unmarked cookware, and here's a great Cast Iron Chaos page with the history and identifying features specific to BSR cookware.
Inherited:
Wagner Ware Sidney -0- #7 (1935-1959), stylized logo, smooth bottom with 1056V at 6 o'clock. (Identification Link)
Unmarked Wagner #8 (pre-1960s), 10-1/2 inch skillet, maker's mark "A" at 6 o'clock and on handle. Two maker's marks is an indicator of unmarked Wagners.(Identification Link)
Southern Mystery Skillet (SMS) #7. 9-inch skillet with a raised "7" on handle. According to Cast Iron Collector, SMSs have inset, unbroken heat rings; raised size number on top of handle, reinforced attachment pads for the handle, small pour spouts. You can tell it's not a Vollrath because the rib under the handle doesn't run all the way to the hanging hole, Vollraths don't have a reinforced attachment pad, and they usually have sideways and underlined sizes on the bottom of the skillet. It's not a Griswold because they only did incised numbers on the handles; never raised.
Southern Mystery Skillet #7
BSR Cornbread Skillet, full-sized (9" with 8 sections), marked "CORN BREAD SKILLET" and "PAT. PENDING" on bottom. According to Cast Iron Chaos, the "PAT. PENDING" marking dates the the skillet to 1967-early 1970s. There's no agreement on the exact year in the 70s when the marking switched from PAT. PENDING to MADE IN USA.
Unmarked BSR #8G 10-inch skillet with heat ring, with #8 self-basting lid, cracked.
10-inch gate-marked pot, 7 inches deep, with gate-marked lid (cracked). No markings. According to The Pan Handler,"A gate mark appears as a raised scar or slash across the bottom of pans. Gate marked pans typically do not have the manufacturer's name on them. Gate marked pans are the oldest of the old cast iron cookware; almost certainly antique. The gate mark is a remnant of the casting process that was used in the 1800's. In around 1890, this casting process was mostly discontinued."
10-inch pot, 4 inches deep. Marked "5Q" and "MADE IN USA" (so 1960s or later)
10-inch pot, 3 inches deep, with 10-inch skillet as lid. Marked "JOHN C JOHNSON CO BIRMINGHAM"
Kettle with lid. Marked "SO.CO.OP F'DY CO ROME GA" around lid; "L" in center of lid, "7" on spout
Three-Notch Lodge #6 (1950s), bottom marked "6 SK" with molder's mark "D" (Identification Link)
Wagner Ware Sidney -0- #3 (1935-1959), stylized logo, smooth bottom with 1053 at 6 o'clock. (Identification Link) Paid $6.99.
Wagner Ware Sidney -0- #8 (1935-1959), stylized logo, smooth bottom with 1058P at 6 o'clock. (Identification Link) Paid $14.99.
Unmarked Wagner #6 (1960s or later), "9 INCH SKILLET," "MADE IN USA," and maker's mark "A" at 6 o'clock and on handle. (Identification Link) Paid $9.99.
I'm a little confused about the kettles, actually. Iron and water tend not to be a good mix, and you don't cook with fat in them so seasoning doesn't protect it the same way. I was thinking it would be good to set them on a woodstove (that I'll have one day) for the thermal mass and to act as a humidifier, but a couple articles said to boil the water and then dry it out completely so it doesn't rust.
The math doesn't add up here. There are quicker ways to boil water, and that use less energy, so if you're not supposed to use the thermal mass by leaving the water in the kettle...I'm missing the benefit.
"Tank" Logo Skillet (Made in Taiwan)
10-1/2" Tank Skillet
I found this 10-1/2" Taiwanese skillet with a tank logo in a Goodwill store for $9. I did a quick search online and couldn't find much about it, but apparently they're pretty rare and cast iron afficionados think they're a pretty interesting find...not like "collector" interesting, but still fun.
I'd like to find the history of these tank-logo skillets but it appears that although lots of people use Asian-made cast iron, it doesn't have the storied history of American brands like Wagner, Griswold, or Lodge...so nobody really keeps track of it. (At least not on English-speaking websites.) My guess is these were made for their military...but that's based on zero evidence. I just hope it was for their mechanized infantry or armor units, and they didn't make infantry Joes lug it around! Maybe they could use it as a mortar base plate!
This one needs some attention because it has light rust and the seasoning is damaged, but it'll definitely be useable. I'll try to restore it first without stripping it to bare metal in the electrolysis tank, but that may be where it ends up. Maybe I'll give it to one of the kids when they're ready to learn cast iron.
Lodge 10-1/4" Wilderness Sanded, One Seasoning Still Some Work to Do
I got us a "pre-seasoned" 10-1/4" Lodge skillet for Christmas. It was pre-seasoned in the sense that it had seasoning on it, but the process they use leaves a pretty rough surface so the seasoning will factory stick to it. Opinions on the internet vary for whether it's best to use it as-is and just add to the seasoning until it's smooth, or to sand it down with an orbital sander to smooth the pan out, and then start the seasoning from scratch. I decided to test it by sanding this one, and leaving the Lodge 12" pan with the factory seasaoning. I'll report back when I get enough information to compare.
I used an Avanti quick-strip disk in my drill to grind off the big protrusions, then smoothed it out with a drill sanding disk down to 180 grit. Would have gone finer but that's all Home Depot had that fit the mount, and I wanted to get it done when I had time. The surface came out much, much smoother than when I purchased it.
And that's why opinions vary on whether sanding is beneficial. Some people say that the smoother surface makes it more difficult for the seasoning to stick to the cooking surface, so it takes longer for the seasoning to build up into a good non-stick surface. Non-sanders (hehe) say it's this build-up over whatever surface is there that enables the seasoning to become non-stick, so sanding actually delays the process. I hope to get my own insight into it with this comparison.
All that said, here's a video of me frying an egg on a completely unseasoned skillet. As James Metz (admin of the Cast Iron Cooking group with almost 300k members) says, the non-stick properties are in the cook, not in the pan...just get the heat and oil right, and the seasoning is only there to prevent rust.
I know there's a lot more out there, from information I missed about these options to completely new methods I haven't found yet. Please shoot me an email and I'll see about adding them! Thanks!
