Griswold 11.25 inch "Skillet Griddle"

Ed you posted

" I found yet another skillet griddle like mine except this one is a Model 202A which could mean it has pour spouts."

Mine is a 202 also and is an A as you can see in the photos I posted . But the A and B are mold markers and not part of the model . They are both model 202 . Your's was made from mold B and mine was made from mold A is all .

They marked the molds so that they could tell what mold was making a bad pan as the molds started wearing out .

At $175 it had better be nice , because the other day I was checking on the Panhandler (and things don't go cheap there) and there was one all cleaned and looking like new for $200
 
Since sand molds are not re-usable, the tooling used to create them are known as patterns. 202 is the pattern number and the A and B identify a unique working pattern. The model number here is 109.
 
Oh ok. I stand corrected then. Yes I saw the one at PanHandler. Pricey. Anyway, from the photos, it appears as nice as mine. Check eBay and seller is out of range @ $175.


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Finally got this big boy cleaned up to bare metal. I have below photos of in progress cleaning and after. I decided to speed things up a little an purchased a can of Easy Off yellow can HD oven cleaner because the lye bath was just not working fast enough for the most stubborn old burnt grease. What I learned from this is that after the interior was machined at the factory, the interior was not totally smooth. The machine marks left a somewhat rough surface so as to facilitate holding fats/oils on the surface as you use it which explains why the outer interior area of cooking surface had such a tough, hard seasoning. This made it difficult to take off with lye bath and to attest that a rough surface is preferable to hold fats/oils to a slick surface. I don't know of any vintage maker that machined the interiors to a glassy smooth surface at the factory. Anyway, I saw something I have never seen before and that is the metal has a silver tone in color, which leads me to speculate if Griswold or any other makers ever use cast steel for cookware instead of cast iron? Thoughts?

https://goo.gl/photos/b1XqY2AA2znAM3y98
 
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Clean, bare cast iron is gray, a common term for it being "gray iron". Nowhere have I ever seen a manufacturer catalog or ad touting the striations were purposely left to facilitate seasoning adhesion. The spiral marks left by the polish grinding are just artifacts of the process, as they weren't going for a true mirror finish, just a reasonably smooth one. Some bailed and handle griddles, however, appear to have been extra polished, and while it makes them nice and slick, it does make for a difficult manual seasoning application. I have handle griddles from several makers, and it is true of all of them.
 
Doug D. said:
Clean, bare cast iron is gray, a common term for it being "gray iron".
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Ok, just wasn't sure...just never seen this before.


Doug D. said:
Nowhere have I ever seen a manufacturer catalog or ad touting the striations were purposely left to facilitate seasoning adhesion. The spiral marks left by the polish grinding are just artifacts of the process, as they weren't going for a true mirror finish, just a reasonably smooth one.
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True, kinda thought that. My wordsmithing was not the greatest. Maybe it was an unknowingly added benefit would have been a better way of conveying the thought...or... something of the sort...maybe?
 
Ed, IIRC the basic difference between cast iron and steel is that steel has a little more carbon mixed in with the ore and is rolled from a poured ingot. I have always felt that the manufacturers making the thin and light cast iron vessels used a carbon percentage between cast iron and steel and then poured it like cast iron into molds. Thus, being real close to poured steel. It would still be fairly brittle due to the structural changes from rolling, but less brittle than cast iron and of a finer texture allowing for machining.

The leaning toward steel made the castings stronger allowing for thinner castings. What stands out is the similarity with steel in cooking, especially the hot spots. Machined or sanded surfaces appear lighter like steel than untouched gray iron.

Hilditch
 
In general, cast iron has a carbon content of 2.5%-4.0%. Cast steel generally has a carbon content less than 2%. Steel typically has a carbon content less than 1%.
 
I few pics added to this album after re-seasoning:
https://goo.gl/photos/b1XqY2AA2znAM3y98

During the cleaning and re-seasoning, I noticed on the bottom of griddle what could be/looks like molding imperfections, though I am not sure of it.(?) It looks like small rust spots in the pictures, but it wasn't, and I tried to get a good angle of light to show it. Anyway, I read from this source, quality may have declined some in the 1940s until they closed in 1957. So, I wonder if it applies to this skillet? Thoughts?

http://www.griswoldcookware.com/history.htm

Otherwise, I am very happy with the results of ths griddle...a wee bit too much seasoning resulted in the "orange peel" effect, but other than that, it will work just fine with use. I just had to try French toast on it, so I added a pic of the first time use of this griddle! If you don't have a griddle in your collection, I highly recommend to add one to your collection. This is my 3rd!:glutton:
 
I don't really perceive a decline in Griswold quality pre-acquisition. It is true collectors don't seem to like the small logo items as collectibles as much as the earlier large TMs. Post-acquisition, a lot of Griswold was just Wagner re-branded, and that time period was when polish grinding stopped, automation requirements took precedence over aesthetics, etc. What I see on the bottom of this pan just looks like a little bit of sulfur pitting.
 
Ed that piece looks great . You did a good job bringing it back and now you will have an excellent pan for a lifetime .

There's nothing wrong with the small logo Griswold skillets . I have Slant logo , Block logo and small logo and quite honestly I see no drop in quality what so ever in the Small logo . They are thin , smooth inside , uniform and well balanced . I think they represent probably the best deal in user pans you can get for price and quality .
 
M.Trainor said:
Ed that piece looks great . You did a good job bringing it back and now you will have an excellent pan for a lifetime .

There's nothing wrong with the small logo Griswold skillets . I have Slant logo , Block logo and small logo and quite honestly I see no drop in quality what so ever in the Small logo . They are thin , smooth inside , uniform and well balanced . I think they represent probably the best deal in user pans you can get for price and quality .
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Thank you, MTrainor. Its not the logo style or style of fonts that I am focusing on or concerned with; it is the texture/surface condition of the underside of this particular griddle. If you compare a good specimen of a large block logo Griswold like this:

https://goo.gl/photos/3hAVk9bshgzLBAcZ9

to this:

https://goo.gl/photos/z4PG79WPoT9obAK5A

...there is a very obvious difference in the texture/condition of the surface, save the fonts and logos. To paraphrase DougD, a change in production methods. However, the interior surface was of excellent quality for the time period back in the day and I agree with you on that. When it was dry prior to the seasoning, you could still feel the machine marks with a light touch of the finger. Probably moderate use, for lack of a better scale to judge. The other #8 Griswold (above) I have was a well used skillet back in the day and the only machine marks left are the ones on the outer interior rim of skillet.
 
You're misinterpreting what I said, which was quality dipped after Griswold was bought out. The bottoms of Griswold small logo pieces are for the most part every bit as smooth casting if not moreso than earlier large TM pieces. Your griddle has slight damage causing the unevenness, not deficiency or defect.
 
Doug D. said:
[ You're misinterpreting what I said, which was quality dipped after Griswold was bought out..
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You said nothing of quality dropping after the buyout. You said

Doug D. said:
I don't really perceive a decline in Griswold quality pre-acquisition. It is true collectors don't seem to like the small logo items as collectibles as much as the earlier large TMs. Post-acquisition, a lot of Griswold was just Wagner re-branded, and that time period was when polish grinding stopped, automation requirements took precedence over aesthetics, etc. What I see on the bottom of this pan just looks like a little bit of sulfur pitting...
Click to expand...

Still you mentioned nothing of quality after buyout. You said polishing grinding stopped and automation requirements took precedence over aesthetics, etc. If that is not change in production methods, to paraphrase, then what is it and how did I misinterpret you? These changes do not constitute change in quality but a change in methods or cost cutting. Not all cost cutting methods constitute/result in poor quality. Cost cutting is probably a better way to put it, in my opinion. A change in quality would something like the quality of the iron used and how much carbon and silicon they add/take away to get to their desired cost point, for example.

Doug D. said:
The bottoms of Griswold small logo pieces are for the most part every bit as smooth casting if not moreso than earlier large TM pieces. Your griddle has slight damage causing the unevenness, not deficiency or defect.
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Probably true. Just did not see hardly and rust which got my attention.
 
My point was that your pan was produced in Erie, PA, by Griswold Mfg. Co. prior to the company being sold and production moved elsewhere. Prior to that, there is nothing over-arching about Griswold product to say their quality had at some point fundamentally declined compared to previous, regardless of what that one webpage may claim. Although they did stop polish grinding their toy skillets at some point, if that can be perceived in some way as a decline.
 
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