Unusual find

[Doug D.]

Here's a pan I saw today that I found interesting. It's a Lodge #10 skillet. Hanging on a wall, I saw the bottom first, and thought, wow, a ~ 1940s raised molder's mark 3-notch #10. Taking it down off its hook, I was surprised by what I found when I turned it over. Who can tell what it was that stumped me? Click on both to enlarge. Click on enlarged image to enlarge further if necessary.

 

[JasonL]

Is that egg shell stuck to the bottom of the pan?

 

[Doug D.]

Not that I know of. The conundrum lies in the pan itself.

 

[John E]

Looks like a rather thick casting with small pour spouts, to also have a raised molder's mark.

 

[Doug D.]

And the handle profile is certainly in keeping with an earlier Lodge. I have a #10, no "SK", no "Made In USA", with the same handle, but the casting/spouts are noticeably thinner/larger.

 

[JasonL]

Have you seen any others like this one, and why so thick with small spouts, plus i'm guessing that would have been noticed and corrected at some point during manufacturing?
What were they asking and did you end up buying it?

 

[Doug D.]

From what I saw on the bottom, what I expected to see when I turned it over was larger spouts and a thinner casting than the one I already have, which is from the 1950s. Rather than molding error, the thick walls and small pour spouts are indicative of a piece produced by an automated molding process, which, even though most put the beginnings of automation in the 1960s, Lodge's website says they started in 1950. The puzzle, then, is why would a piece that physically has all the hallmarks of automation, have a molder's mark indicative of a hand-poured piece?

$25. I didn't buy it, as I already have a couple of Lodge #10 skillets, and didn't need another user. I did get a nice WWSO handled griddle for $15, though.

 

[Ken Davis]

Could it be that Lodge kept some molders on duty to watch over the automated process? If so, they may have continued to leave their mark/s.

 

[John E]

Maybe one of the first castings from the new patterns that would eventually end up in the automated process? I could see them receiving them (or a prototype of them) and doing a round of castings the good old fashioned way, at least to give them a baseline to compare against the results from the new process.

 

[Doug D.]

I had occasion over the weekend to see a Lodge skillet marked SK that also had the flat blob raised mark above the size number at 12 o'clock. Perhaps it was used at some point for something else in the automation vein, like a production shift indicator.