Cast iron love

[Grendel]

My wife and I have mostly "no name cast iron" mostly that was either a hand me down from my wife's mother or pieces we've picked up from trash piles, yard sales and flea markets. Any solid Cast Iron utensils are usable with some care and prepping. Never understood why people throw away cast iron.

[freedom]

griddle with the griswold "slant" logo means it's around 1906-1916... paid $5 for it...

[Bonjwa]

This looks amazing...

[ATBen]

1 pan shepherds pie! Chili too

[freedom]

good stuff first...



ugly cousins last...

[Chuck E Ducky]

I got a Lodge about 6 months ago. I’m in love.

[freedom]

nice toes...

[Carp]

Ever cleaned up and re-cured something as large as a cauldron? Probably 2-2 1/2' in Dia. 1-1/2' deep. I figured something like an outdoor fire and cider blocks. Cheaper than good red brick or actual fire slab bricks, since it would probably be, just a one time use ..kind of thing...Hmm?

[freedom]

no, but oddly i just saw one of those just a few days ago. lye bath would be easy, just need a large enough "bath"...
fire and cinderblocks could work, but i've never done it that way. how much rust?

[Carp]

It's been a couple of years, since I've looked at it last. But, it is been stored in an enclosed building(non-climate control)

[freedom]

i just got three pans this morning: $20 total. one is a #9 Wapak Arc logo: Circa 1903-1910

pics when they get out of the lye bath. I also setup a cheap electrolysis bath for the rusty pans, too.

EDIT: it gets better: the Wapak has a "ghost" mark, so it's gonna be worth more...

[Dragunov151]

I have the modern day lodge cast iron pans and use them everyday.I live in pennsylvania so I see tons of cast iron stuff all over the place.There is 2 major old iron furnaces near me.One is called Cornwall iron furnace and another is Hopwell furnace.They both made Cannons and munitions for the Revolutionary war.After the war they got into making cast iron pans and all kinds of stuff.Would be neat to find some cast iron pans from those 2 places.

[Carp]

freedom got any info/date of mfg on these? If you don't mind sharing...
Where do you look up your info? I've got an older "large cauldron w/ separate iron 3-4 leg stand and an old pouring ladle that needs recured. The ladle was probably used for pouring lead fishing weights.... The man that I inherited them from, ladle and cauldron, was a state fishing record holder at one point...🤔




The ladle is pretty rusty and I can't see any identifying marks yet. I have to get some pictures of the cauldron, if you want to see it. The cauldron has been sitting in one of my buildings for 30-40 yrs. It's usually only drug out during Halloween time and some dried ice added for effect...

This ones not mine, it was/is grannies... it came from my great grandmother originally.

[Flounder]

it was a spa day for my favorite piece of cookware.

[Knuckle Dragger]

Just got back from Lodge factory store here in South Pittsburgh. The factory seconds are a great deal for new iron. They tossed in that American made bottle opener to lure me back.

[Axel]

Dad's getting rid of the trailer he used for a hunting cabin and gave me a choice of some extra cast iron he kept there
Griswold #8 - the cross logo and ERIE mark is about gone but the cooking surface is glassy smooth and darn near perfect

[glaman5266]

This is probably a bit heretical, but we use Le Creuset enamel-lined cast iron cookware. Heats & cooks the way we like and we can put them in the dishwasher. We really like them. We have some Lodge pans as well, but those don't see much use.

[Knuckle Dragger]

How dare you... Those are very nice cooking pieces and well made. They’re on my kitchen list for enameled iron.

[BLachance75]

I got a Lodge 12” skillet and 10.5” round griddle for Christmas. Over the weekend I sanded them down a little to get rid of the high spots and reseasoned them. These are my first 2 cast iron pans.

Tonight we had omelettes for dinner so I used the skillet to make potatoes. I cooked a little bacon in the skillet first to use in the omelettes then cooked the potatoes. No sticking at all.

[Grendel]

Congratulations, potatoes can be the bane of cast iron at times

[BLachance75]

Might’ve been beginners luck with the potatoes. Other than the bacon pet I did them the same way I would’ve done if I used a regular pan. I par cook the potatoes in the microwave then dice them and throw them in a hot pan with a little oil and butter.

[Tracker]

so, whats the opinion on carbon steel?