3 notch Lodge. I'm out of practice on being able to date one.

I think the 3 notch pans started in the 50s-60s.

I was thinking Lodge due to the three notches but couldn.t figure out the J S....jr. skillet?

I think the J might be the production run.

50-60's era 3-notch Lodge. Should pretty smooth, a great user. 6's aren't as common. 3, 5, 8, and 10 are easy, but the rest of the sizes aren't as easy to find. JS is the mold mark. They would use markings like this to differentiate between molds and know when to discard/start over once molds started degrading and/or a bad run hit the shelves. Think of it as a Lot Number.

DO NOT WIRE WHEEL IT. Read my instructions earlier in this thread.

Thank you all for the information. Im ready to do the 3 stage seasoning process with Crisco.

This #10 among other unidentifieds showed up at my great-grandparent's. Earliest known vintage would be 1955, but possibly to 1900.

Awesome! French fries to go with a pan steak

Can one of you CI guys tell me what I have, what it might be worth. I bought it because i thought it looked neat. Thanks in advance.
I have throughly enjoyed this page. Thanks for all the input.

I know a few of the indicators for unmarked stuff, but don't know much on the hammered finish stuff. The rough grind on the sides of the handle make me think it's probably not one of the big name manufacturers, and it's probably not that old.

My free assessment is worth what you paid for it, though.

It does look cool, and you should definitely use it.

Thanks. I appreciate the input. It is stamped with a "0" on the bottom. It is so small, I figured it was an ash tray.

It's an ash tray. They were made a souvenirs/novelty items. Is that a diamond above the 0?

Does that #10 even have pour spouts? It looks like it may have a really tiny one on the one side, which is sort of weird.

Not a diamond, but a "V", I assume. Thanks for the info.

It has a notch/indention but it's only on the inside of the pan, the outer surface is continuous. I'm not sure what the right way to describe that is

Anybody in cypress want a Bsr 11" breakfast griddle and some other skillet? https://houston.craigslist.org/hsh/d/houston-set-of-one-breakfast-griddle/7338762393.html
(Edit: not mine)

Happy 2022 for this awesome thread.

Can I get some advice? My parents gave some cast iron pans from our family and a few my mom found at estate sales.

They were sitting in my garage so I thought it would be a good time to clean them up and season them. I didn't think we needed to strip completely down. Now I'm getting a splotchy appearance on them. Should I start over with Easy off and try again? Thanks!

Yeah, too much oil. Coat it oil, then wipe it down really well. Then wipe some more. You want it to appear like you've wiped it all off completely. But there will actually still be a tiny film of oil left on. That little bit of residue left on it is what will polymerize and create the seasoning.

I'm no expert, but I think so. I believe that is from too much oil. You want to wipe on a tiny amount and then wipe off all excess.

Thanks all ! So what do I do now? Easy off it and start again I'm thinking?

I would not strip that all off again with easy off, I don't think it's necessary. I would use a green scotch brite pad or really find steel wool and just rub down the pan a bit, rinse it with water and dry it, and then put some oil on it and season it again.

Again, try to wipe ALL of the oil off before seasoning it (you won't be able to wipe it all off), and then into the over. I like grape seed oil and crisco for seasoning. Some disagree but I have had good luck with crisco.

Those of y'all that sand after easy-off, are u sanding only the inside floor and walls of the pan?

Easy-off worked on a lodge last night and down to metal color, but still a little rough to the touch on floor of pan.

I only do the cooking surface, and try not to go crazy too smooth or getting seasoning to take can be a PITA.

Agreed, too smooth and you'll have a hard time getting it seasoned.

Curious if any of y'all that regularly cook on cast iron have high iron levels in your blood.

I recently had blood work done and my iron levels were slightly elevated. The nurse asked if I cook with cast iron, which I found odd. She said that iron can leach into your food from a cast iron pan.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

I'm not sure for me. I almost exclusively cook in my 10 inch Wagner for breakfast and dinner. I've heard that can happen.

Just saw this thread for the first time, very cool. I actually just got done re-finishing a couple of cast iron skillets over the past week. One is an old skillet I inherited that we've been using at the lake house but the seasoning has worn off due to metal spatulas, acids and a lot of dish soap and scrubbing. The other is a few years old Lodge that's been a pita to cook on with a terrible finish since day one. I stripped both of them down with easy-off then sanded with 80, 160, 230 grit sandpaper on the cooking surface and lightly on the sides. After sanding and a thorough cleaning with vinegar I applied then wiped off down to as thin a layer of flax seed oil as possible and after about 10 layers baked to 480 they are both smooth as a baby's butt and ready to go.

I've also tossed out all of the steel spatulas and bought a full set of silicone kitchen utensils for the lake house and will be re-educating everyone on proper use and care...

Thanks. Good info.

Gonna sand and start re-coat manana

Stop. Now. Do not sand.

I'll write up more in a few minutes.

That #3 is an early Griswold. The Square one is a Wagner Square Skillet. The #5 looks like a Wagner.

DON NOT SAND THESE. Spray them down with yellow Easy Off (or the Walmart brand, which is the same thing), throw them in a trash bag, and let them sit a few days. You may need to do a few rounds of this. Then follow my original seasoning instructions.