My first CI hunting trip

L

Lloyd B

Member
While I await my ultimate find - Sportsman Grill - I've learned way more about CI than I ever intended. Today I made my first trip dedicated to looking for CI and for around $70 I was able to purchase the following items. I've identified one as Taiwanese junk (hey it was part of a lot), a Griswold #5 from the late '50's and the rest will have to wait till they get cleaned up!

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Looks like you got off to a real good start. You can get a bail for that footed kettle from Lodge and it can make for some real fun cooking. That little lead melter won't make a good butter warmer, so keep it for lead.

Hilditch
 
Thanks! That little lodge will be for my display only unless I decide to cast my own bullets and fishing weights again.
 
Lodge sold it as a butter or cheese melter, syrup warmer, or milk scalder, with the suggestion it could be useful to sportsmen as a lead ladle.
 
Man, this is getting expensive already! Got my lead test kit (wooo hooo, no lead in any of my finds!), lye, Dawn, Magic Eraser, SS scrubbers and gloves. Five gallon bucket holding a few of the pieces for now in the lye solution!
 
My discoveries:

Lye is amazing stuff.
Vinegar and water does amazing things to rust.

There is alot of information to learn with a new hobby, even if it's just some old cast away iron.

It's been cooler than normal here (only in the 80's a few hours a day) so the more heavily crusted pans are still in the lye.

The Wagner, Lodge butter pot and Asian pan are in the oven for their second round of Crisco seasoning.

I have found my grill that started this whole thing, but haven't purchased it yet.................coming soon..............
 
My pans are looking blotched after the 500 degree baking. The color looks good, no other signs of problems. Am I going to light on the Crisco maybe? I'm heating the pans to 250, coating the entire pan and letting it cool. I wipe off everything that will come off and then baking at 500 for 45 minutes allowing the pans to remain in the oven until it cools to room temp.
 
Lloyd, I think the blotched look comes from not wiping all of the oil over before heating it up to the 500 temp. I've had the same thing happen. A couple of times even when I thought I had done a good job of wiping it down. So, now I have two cotton towels ready. I wipe it down with one, until I'm sure I got it all, and then with the second towel, just to be sure.


Edit: also, I used to my seasoning similar to the way you did it. Now I follow the instructions on seasoning on this site. I like the results better using this method.

If you are going to put it in on 500 for 45 minutes, it's a good idea to take it out every 5-10 minutes (at least a couple of times at the beginning of the hearing process) and wipe it down again with a clean cotton cloth. Of course, if you have cleaned the excess oil off the first time time, there shouldn't be anything there to wipe, but if there is a little extra, you will get it before it bakes on.
 
You should be wiping it while still hot, and not letting it cool first. If you don't get the excess off the even 250° pan, it will start to polymerize somewhat and you won't be able to remove enough. Also, you don't really need to exceed the smoke point of the oil or fat you're using, so more like 350 for Crisco should be sufficient. Just bake it long enough it doesn't feel tacky afterwards.
 
I agree that 350° F will polymerize the Crisco, but is not hot enough to create a layer of generally accepted seasoning.

Hilditch
 
I use crisco at 400 degrees for an hour, then let the pan cool in the oven. I always check the pan and wipe if needed at 10-15 minutes and again at 30 minutes when baking. I too got that blotchy stuff once but this method has eliminated that for me. Good luck!
 
Thanks guys! I'm going to begin using these and be more careful with the next set. It's amazing how little oil is needed to season!
 
So, I finished the first three and started on two more today. We've already cooked twice in the little Griswold and it's wonderful! I also wound up with some more items somehow..........another thread.
 

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I finished a few rounds with two of my more rusty pieces. I know the bottom photo is a BSR #5 (Century Series?) but I need help with the top one as the only markings I see is an 8 on the handle. The BSR has some significant rust pitting on the bottom and two spots in the pan but the #8 is severely pitted all over. I'm going to continue to season them and begin using them for larger foods until they make good users.

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