91AggieLawyer said:

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I meant is sanding necessary for a) the seasoning to stick well and b) for non-stick purposes once seasoned. The pan isn't pure smooth but it isn't exactly rough.

Oh, as far as easy off goes, get a homer bucket, put a trash bag over it inside out, put the pan on the top, spray away -- both sides, pull the bag up and set aside. Much easier than trying to get a sprayed pan into a closed bag.

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it helps with the nonstick but not required.

I have my grandmother's Dutch oven. No clue how old it is.

BradMtn346 said:

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I have my grandmother's Dutch oven. No clue how old it is.

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Post pics, especially of the bottom and any markings it may have.

91AggieLawyer said:

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I meant is sanding necessary for a) the seasoning to stick well and b) for non-stick purposes once seasoned. The pan isn't pure smooth but it isn't exactly rough.

Oh, as far as easy off goes, get a homer bucket, put a trash bag over it inside out, put the pan on the top, spray away -- both sides, pull the bag up and set aside. Much easier than trying to get a sprayed pan into a closed bag.

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Just yesterday I compared a 2010 ish Lodge skillet with a 1960s Lodge. Negligible difference.

I love this thread. Very informative. Got a few lodges I am about to start over and rework.

I have a dutch oven that my great grandfather actually was on the line when they cast it(foundry worker), and we have several modern pieces. I love them, but it's hard to keep them seasoned properly when you have an elderly family member in the house that either can't or wont remember not to scrub them

The seasoning on my 12" Lodge that I bought brand new in November has just about all flaked off. It's solid grey now on the inside. Not sure if it was something I did or the preseasoning just sucks. I'm going to sand it down completely smooth now and start over.

Also, I've kinda been bitten by the bug now. I'm now looking for some old, smaller skillets that I can clean up and start over with and add to my collection. My dad gave me a couple of large rusted pots a couple years ago, and I dug into the garage this evening so I could figure out what they were. Well no markings on the big pots that I could see, other than "12" on the lid.



And I didn't even realize I had the small skillet. I then got quite a surprise when I cleaned up the bottom. Gonna clean these up this weekend.

Looks like a 1053? Or maybe a 1055, depending on size reference compared to the others.

Sauce pot/chicken fryer looks like a BSR. Got any pics of the bottom of the pot and bottom of the handle?

Those are perfect candidates for the electrolysis tank. Once you pull them out of it and scrub them, if there is any stubborn old seasoning, spray them down with yellow Easy Off, throw them in a trash bag, and let them sit for a few days. Should get everything off.

Its a 1055H. No visible markings on the other 2, other than the 12 on the lid. Rust may be covering them up though. I scraped a little of it off but still didn't find anything.

Well after seeing this thread I finally decided to get my butt in gear restoring one of my grandmother's old skillets. I was wondering if any of you experts on this thread could identify it for me? It's got a G and the number eight on the back and that's it, no identifying marks on the front side.

After reading through the thread my first inclination was a Griswold since that's what a lot of y'all have if it's a piece thats been passed down through the family, but when I searched a little bit on the Internet I never found any examples of a Griswold that had a raised G like on ours.

not 75% sure, but that may be a BSR. Have one that is similar but has an SK and not a G down by the handle, and I'm pretty sure its a BSR

It's a 3-Notch Lodge.

My new 12" Lodge that the seasoning flaked off of in just 5-6 months.



Cleaned up, sanded down smooth and ready to be seasoned.

First pick looks like what happened to one of mine after cooking bacon. Seasoning was just gone. No idea how it happened and had never heard of that happening before either

I switched to flax seed oil on some of my new stuff and have had hell keeping the seasoning from flaring

Appreciate the help guys. As yall can see it needs a lot of help, we've knocked a little bit of the grease & rust off but have quite a bit more to go before sanding and then coating with oil. Looking forward to cooking with it and having it join my collection of two other skillets and a dutch oven.

I picked up a Lodge pan at Academy about a week ago. I sprayed the Yellow Easy Off all over it and put it in a trashbag for a couple of days. I rinsed it off outside rather than bringing it in, but then scrubbed it thoroughly with steel wool and washed it with a vinegar/water mix. I went ahead and did the crisco seasoning process earlier this week (heat to 200, cover with shortening and then wipe off, heat for 15m, wipe off again, up heat to 300, then to 400...) and did it again tonight. The pan has darkened to about where it was when I bought it. I plan to do the oven thing twice this weekend then cook some cheap bacon I bought -- probably 3 times. At that point, I'll start using it.

I wish I had taken a pic of the pan coming out of the easy off stage. Pretty much looked like the old, original finish Lodge pan I bought several years ago when it was new.

Be careful with a pan at 400. That thing is very hot and will take several hours to cool down.

As for seasoning a CI skillet... I did a side-by-side test with Crisco vs. lard about a year ago. Lard >>> Crisco.

NERD ALERT!

No, for real. Log's cast iron collection is for real. He's doing a Great job restoring several!

Just an update on my pan I bought around the end of April -- I finished the oven seasoning process about a week ago. I think I did the heat/Crisco/wipe off/more heat/etc. thing about 4, maybe 5, times. Earlier in the week, I cooked a pound of cheap bacon. Some of the bacon stuck to the pan and I was a little disappointed. But I cleaned the pan, heated it up a little, and put a light coat of oil on it.

This morning, I cooked a batch of friend potatoes with olive oil and butter as the fat. The potatoes came out great and nothing stuck to the pan. It is currently in the oven baking with a thin layer of Crisco. I'll continue to do that for 6 months after every use. The crisco is working so well, I'm changing my mind about frying bacon to season the pan.

I'm convinced of 2 mistakes I've made with cast iron that I think others might make:

-- During the initial seasoning process, do NOT put a pan that you have not wiped off thoroughly in the oven; too much oil is as bad or worse as not enough

-- Don't get your pan too hot when you're cooking; cook everything at medium and low, at least until you have the pan WELL seasoned

(semi-amateur)-Pro tip for cooking in CI.

Get the pan warm over medium heat (6-7 on an electric stove), then drop in a good dollop of butter. BUTTER. Get that pan good and lubed up, then give it the bacon (or whatever else rustles your jimmies).

Once you are done giving the CI the what-for, let it cool down to a comfortably hot level (i.e. you can pick it up by the handle), wash it out with very hot water, and use one of the blue non-abrasive pads/sponges to loosen any stubborn food residue (which there should be little of), then dry it out good. Coat the cooking surface with a light surface of oil and you are GTG until the next time you cook with it. Done.

Any opinions on Finex? Found a really nice grill pan last weekend but couldn't bring myself to drop two and a half bones on something Lodge makes in a similar config for $50

EagleFordEarl said:

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Any opinions on Finex? Found a really nice grill pan last weekend but couldn't bring myself to drop two and a half bones on something Lodge makes in a similar config for $50

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If you've got the money, feel free. I've never used one, but I've heard good things about them.

Otherwise, find a vintage pan of the size you want at a garage sale/flea market, and refinish it yourself, or have someone you know that knows what they are doing do it for you, and you'll be ahead of the curve. The main pan I use is a vintage size 8 Wagner Sidney -O- 1058 pan (Wagners of that era used a 105X code for their 2-9 pans and a 106X code for their 10-14 size pans) that is glass slick that was originally super crusty and rusty when I got it at a roadside junk shop. Looks and acts brand new once I got it cleaned up.

Quote:

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Get the pan warm over medium heat

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IMO this is the biggest key to cooking with CI. I've used everything from butter to safflower oil as a lubricating substance when cooking and the only time I've ever had issues was when I didnt warm the pan up before adding the oil/butter.

so to recap
1) pre-heat
2)????
3) profit

Ran across these yesterday. Nope. I'll stick with my refurbed flea market/garage sale/Goodwill finds.

These things are as beefy as a modern Lodge, have a fancy logo on the bottom, and have a milled down cooking surface. Otherwise they are basically a modern Lodge. Milling the surface doesn't impart $100+ to the value. Give me a Wagner Ware Sidney -O- 1058, BSR No. 8, or vintage Lodge No. 8 any day. I'd take a Griswold as well, if people weren't so insanely proud of them at the moment.

Log said:

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(semi-amateur)-Pro tip for cooking in CI.

Get the pan warm over medium heat (6-7 on an electric stove), then drop in a good dollop of butter. BUTTER. Get that pan good and lubed up, then give it the bacon (or whatever else rustles your jimmies).

Once you are done giving the CI the what-for, let it cool down to a comfortably hot level (i.e. you can pick it up by the handle), wash it out with very hot water, and use one of the blue non-abrasive pads/sponges to loosen any stubborn food residue (which there should be little of), then dry it out good. Done.

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After washing and drying I'll put it back on the stove on low heat to make sure it's dry. I've also seen people whipe it down with oil and then whipe off as much of the oil as possible after each use.... Anyone do this or see the point?

htxag09 said:

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Log said:

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(semi-amateur)-Pro tip for cooking in CI.

Get the pan warm over medium heat (6-7 on an electric stove), then drop in a good dollop of butter. BUTTER. Get that pan good and lubed up, then give it the bacon (or whatever else rustles your jimmies).

Once you are done giving the CI the what-for, let it cool down to a comfortably hot level (i.e. you can pick it up by the handle), wash it out with very hot water, and use one of the blue non-abrasive pads/sponges to loosen any stubborn food residue (which there should be little of), then dry it out good. Done.

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After washing and drying I'll put it back on the stove on low heat to make sure it's dry. I've also seen people whipe it down with oil and then whipe off as much of the oil as possible after each use.... Anyone do this or see the point?

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I'll occassionally wipe it down after a hot dry. Had a pan that wouldnt let anything go, so tried oiling after washing and it helped a lot. Not sure if its a placebo effect or actually helps, but it did help with that pan until it got smart.

I've refurbished and sold a few pieces in the last couple of years. Wife picked up a 1056c for me a couple weeks ago at San estate sale for $3.

That picture is after electrolysis or before? Please post a pic of your setup, thanks.

Before. It's still in the tank as we speak. I'll post after pics tomorrow.

It's missing its handle. I have a blacksmith friend that is going to make me a new one, but we haven't decided on exactly what it will look like yet.

Very nice. Get some of those paint scraping wire brushes (they look like a toothbrush but with steel bristles) from HD or Lowes to scrub the pots down after you take them out of the tank. They really do a good job of getting the rust and junk off the pots. And don't be afraid to do several cycles in the tank if some of the rust and crud is really stubborn.

I want to see an update