Help identify??

R

RobertH

New member
New here, just getting back into using cast, but I can see how it'll become a hobby very quickly. Forgot what a pleasure it is cooking in good old cast. Looking forward to browsing the forum.

Managed to pick up 5 old pans over the last week, couple of wagners, a McClary, one lodge but there's one I can't identify. Little griddle, just starting the cleaning process.

The only mark on the pan is a rounded number 8 on the handle.

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---------- Post added at 09:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 AM ----------

Didn't buy this one, but it's a large dutch oven. Would be great for campfire cooking. only identifying mark is a number 14 on the lid. Haven't bought it yet but they want $180 for it, wondering if someone knows if it's worth it and what it is...


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Pan is possibly a wagner? Seems to be the only line that used rounded fonts on the handle. Griswold looks to have used square fonts. Driving me nuts that I can't find it online.
 
Still like to know what it is but I used a fine grit sandpaper wheel and it was heavily caked. Lots of old pitting, a crack and looks like someone tried to repair. I'll clean it up and maybe hang it on the wall as a conversation piece.
 
No ideas? Thinking it's an old lodge. My GF's mother gave her an unmarked lodge chicken fryer tonite in pristine condition, identical marking on the handle. She has a set of these pans, GF's getting them all.

Thought it was a dead pan, threw it in the fire pit a couple of days ago and wow. Cleaned up nicely, turns out it's a great little griddle, seasoned up nicely, used it today for pizza.
 
Living dangerously? You do realize 100 years ago and even today people cook in coals and open fires, didn't hurt the pans? The fine sandpaper wheel was used to knock down a couple of high spots on a pan I thought was dead, either slag or some old repair. Didn't hurt the pan at all.

Fire works great for cleaning iron pans, takes it down nice and clean, and I've never worried about warpage. I don't buy these pans for resale, I buy them for use, they are unmarked lodge and wagner lower end, now if I end up buying some higher end griswold...

Sorry if I offended.
 
I am definitely not offended. I have heard about the toss it in the fire method and I have heard complaints that it will warp a pan. I like my iron too much to take a chance on warping it
 
Been using oven cleaner on all the pans but it just don't seem to clean them to a point where they are pristine.

The McClary seasoning was blotchy after the oven cleaner method and that drives me nuts. It and the GF's lodge chicken fryer ended up in the fire pit last night, came out beautiful and it seasons up evenly with little effort, evenly is the key for me. Good scrub in hot soapy water afterward, good rinse, into the oven for a half hour to dry and season. Zero warpage, so looking forward to cooking on them. Think her mom will be surprised when she sees what her pans look like now and she knows they will get used lovingly. Just too heavy for her to use anymore.

When she gets the rest of the pans, they'll end up in the pit too. Works wonderful for me, just don't mess with them too much while they are in the coals.
 
I think the major problem with "tossing them in the fire" is when people toss a cast iron pan in a raging inferno of a full on bonfire/campfire. Even 100 years ago noboby cooked over a raging fire.

Now, putting a pan into a coal bed in order to burn off the old gunk doesn't expose the pan to the extreme temperature changes that result in warping. It doesn't overheat the pan resulting in the red iron look. Heat and cool the pan slowly to avoid warping.

Personally I have used the Self-Cleaning Oven method on most of my cast iron, and have never had a problem. Pan goes into cold oven, and stays there until oven is cold again.

I have also used an electric sander on a newer Lodge Griddle that I could literally grate parmasean cheese on. I knocked down the points till it felt smooth, then I sat with a wet stone and polished it with a couple teaspoons of vegetable oil until it was a smooth as a Griswold, but with no concentric grind marks.
 
RLMuse said:
I think the major problem with "tossing them in the fire" is when people toss a cast iron pan in a raging inferno of a full on bonfire/campfire. Even 100 years ago noboby cooked over a raging fire.

Now, putting a pan into a coal bed in order to burn off the old gunk doesn't expose the pan to the extreme temperature changes that result in warping. It doesn't overheat the pan resulting in the red iron look. Heat and cool the pan slowly to avoid warping.

Personally I have used the Self-Cleaning Oven method on most of my cast iron, and have never had a problem. Pan goes into cold oven, and stays there until oven is cold again.

I have also used an electric sander on a newer Lodge Griddle that I could literally grate parmasean cheese on. I knocked down the points till it felt smooth, then I sat with a wet stone and polished it with a couple teaspoons of vegetable oil until it was a smooth as a Griswold, but with no concentric grind marks.
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Tried the self cleaning oven method originally, stunk up the house something awful, was bringing tears to my eyes. Had to kill the stove and air place it out. Works for some, but who knows what's in some of these older pans.


This is the wagner 1899, newer pan but nice to cook with. Notice the blotchy seasoning after cleaning with oven cleaner. I don't like it, and it's taking a trip to the fire pit in the next night or two.

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Chicken fryer after a ride in the pit, still needs a bit of work to remove the bit of rust around the rim, but it's a far cry from what it was. Only one shot of shortening.

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The McClary after a ride in the pit and one shot of shortening, it looked like the wagner up top. It's not a perfect pan by any means, but it'll be my go to campfire pan.

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The limitations of lye and oven cleaner spray are that they won't remove rust nor build up that doesn't have any grease left in it. Crud that has been reduced to pure carbon that lye won't budge can be removed either by electrolysis or careful mechanical methods.
 
Doug D. said:
The limitations of lye and oven cleaner spray are that they won't remove rust nor build up that doesn't have any grease left in it. Crud that has been reduced to pure carbon that lye won't budge can be removed either by electrolysis or careful mechanical methods.
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Yes, and many are scared to use mechanical means. A fine sanding wheel will work wonders as long as one is careful.

Cast is tougher than most believe.
 
There is, as they say, more than one way to skin the proverbial cat. The difficulty collectors have lies with those methods that, in the hands of the knowledgeable, do no harm, but that can, in the hands of the inexperienced, destroy collectible value. People's tendency to be selective in their reading, choosing to follow advice less than completely, or their failure to understand the methodology resulting in that destruction is the reason you see the stance taken against those methods, regardless of whether we're talking collectibles or users.
 
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