Help ID old kettle

F

F. Beard

New member
I'm a newbie and I recently re-discovered the wonders of cooking with antique cast iron skillets. My favorite is a #8 Martin with the hamburger logo with "Stove & Range Co. Florence Ala". I cleaned it down to the gray iron and seasoned it a few times and the cooking surface is as smooth as glass. Cleans up so easily under the faucet with my plastic Lodge scrapper.

I also have a 1960s "Made in USA" #10 no name with 3 notches in the smoke ring. It's heavy, with a textured surface, so it doesn't clean up so easily. I'll keep an eye peeled for an older #10.

My wife found the kettle below and I'd appreciate any info on it's approximate age and any details. It's getting an electrolysis bath now and the only marking I've seen is a 10 under the lid, along with a lot of little indentions. As a bonus, the lid fits my #8 skillets. :) Thanks, Frank

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My guess is the lid does not match as those kettles often came with a tin (metal) lid. Always nice to find a great lid. I have seen several of that type of kettle lately. None I have seen has ID.
 
F Beard
Pictures of the top & bottom of both lid and pan would really help in identifying it. Also include pictures of the ears where the bail attaches to the pot.

Jack
 
Here's some pics of it cleaned and maybe ready for seasoning, not sure. It still has a brown patina after a vinegar soak. I wire brushed it with my drill attachment and it looked clean but every time I rub the inside, I get brown on my rag. This might be normal before seasoning. Would y'all clean it any more? I even ran it through a self-cleaning cycle. As I mentioned, the lid rubs the bail but I might be able to adjust it.

Ok, do the pics help with the ID, or is it just an old no namer? :-D


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F Beard
I have a Red Mountain BSR FBP. The top is clearly marked FBP. The dimple pattern on the bottom of the lid indicates it is Red Mountain. The bottom of the pot is marked 8 B and is 7 3/8" before it starts to curve up. Yours has the bottom square with the sides. The ears have the same single long leg as yours and there is no second leg. The hole in the ear for the bail is a single round hole, not a slot as yours is. The lid fits just right and can be raised and lowered without the bail dragging on it. The inside diameter of the pot is exactly 9". The inside rim of the lid is about 8 7/8", very tight fit.

I do think your lid may be a recast, I don't know, can't tell for sure from the picture. I have seen a very similar pot with a well fitting Lodge, bullet dripper, top. I do not remember if the sides of that pot were square with the bottom. The pot could be a Lodge made after they acquired the BSR patterns.

M Fraley has an FBP that is slightly different from mine and I think it is a Century series BSR. So obviously there are different versions of this pot. I think Michael posted pictures of his but I cannot find them now. I can post pictures of mine if you like.

Hope this helps.

Jack
 
Thanks Nancy, I got it for free so I can't complain if it's a knock-off. Odd if it is though, because it came from the estate of a relative in her 80s. It has been setting for decades, without being used. Anyway, I'm not collecting (yet), just trying to put together a set for cooking. :glutton:
 
BSR was economical in their manufacture. Their lids had ears, whether it was for a skillet with ears or a DO without. That lid has no ears, has a weirdly shaped blob handle, and is not marked like a BSR. I could be totally incorrect. Wouldn't be the first time, but I still believe that lid is a Chinese knockoff.
 
My BSR Red Mountain lid has the size at the handle on top and random dimples on the bottom side of the lid. My BSR Century lid has a straight line dimple pattern with the size # under the lid. That #8 could be a ghost mark from using two different lids for patterns by someone other than BSR. Also, I’ll add in the no ears mentioned and it being a BSR is a real tough sell.

Hilditch
 
F Beard
I think I found a pot matching yours today. Does yours have an outside heat ring? Can you give me the outside diameter of the top and the bottom?

Thanks,
Jack
 
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