Help identifying an unmarked pan please…

[DougSahady]

Pictured is a pan that was given to my daughter by her 92 year old grandmother, who got the pan from her mother who owned it before her. It’s unmarked other than the #8 and the letter J under the handle. Reminds me of my Wagners but seems a little heavier and possibly thicker. Nice smooth bottom. In nice shape overall. I would appreciate any help identifying the maker and approximate age of the pan.

Sorry I had to chop all the pics to get them sized to upload.

 

[Doug D.]

Could be an unmarked Wagner. If so, a smooth bottom wouldn't be the lightest of Wagner skillets, but shouldn't be overly heavy, either. I have encountered a few pans that appear to be unmarked whatevers that feel unusually bottom heavy, one of which had a number on the handle that was unmistakably Griswold. But Griswold didn't make completely unmarked pans. I have to assume it was a competent recast (not bottom gated or sprue-marked) that for whatever reason came out with a thicker than normal bottom. The sidewall thickness on yours doesn't seem abnormal.

 

[DougSahady]

Much appreciated, Doug.

 

[DougSahady]

I was reading the unmarked cast iron section document in the forum resources. Does the fact that this skillet is not marked on the bottom with the size “8 inch skillet” as is common for unmarked Wagner indicate an earlier date of manufacture for smooth bottom skillets…say 1935 to 1940s?

 

[Doug D.]

All the unmarked Wagners with the dimensional inscription seem to have the "late" style handles. If a genuine unmarked Wagner, yours with the early style handle would not have that, and it's period of manufacture would be the same as marked smooth bottom versions with that handle, usually given as 1935 - 1959.

 

[DougSahady]

Thanks so much once again for the helpful response. I am planning to talk to my mother in law to see what if anything she remembers about the pan that might reveal how long her family has been using it. If she adds any info to what we have here I’ll be sure to share it

 

[DougSahady]

Got some info from my mother-in-law. Her mother (who was born in 1902) gave her the skillet when she got married and was “setting up housekeeping” in February of 1947. He mother told her at the time that “every house needs a cast iron skillet”. It was not new at the time. It was one that had belonged to her mom that she passed down to her but she couldn’t remember anything about it beyond the above.. that at least narrows the date of manufacture of this skillet by 12 plus years.

 

[DougSahady]

I might also have added to the above history that my mother-in-law’s dad was a coal miner, and the family lived at the time in southwestern PA, an area that I figure was dominated by Wagner and Griswold.