WAPAK and FAVORITE WARE Waffle Iron Finds Today

Jody M

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https://imgur.com/irhi8zP
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Picked these 2 waffle irons up at an estate sale this morning before church. Stood in line over an hour to get them. Missed out on the Griswold one, but that didn't bother me at all. I try to stick mostly to skillets, but I've owned my share of waffle irons too. This is the first WAPAK WI that I've had the chance to buy. The FAVORITE WARE one really appealed to me with it's unusual hinge and handle design. I've owned them with the Favorite Stove and Range logo, but never saw one like this before. Pretty excited to have gotten them both.
 
Thanks Rodney. There were a bunch of pictures online for this sale. Looking through them, I spotted 3 different waffle irons and 2 Gate marked skillets. Considering how many people showed up, and what was available, I was thrilled to come away with what I felt were the 2 hardest to find pieces.
 
I have a weakness for Favorite... so I can't wait to see that one all cleaned up... like the high base as well... I posted one of these last week or so with the low base.
 
I have a weakness for Favorite... so I can't wait to see that one all cleaned up... like the high base as well... I posted one of these last week or so with the low base.

I just went and looked at your thread. You did a great job with yours, will look amazing when you get the handles made. The handles on mine are in great condition, but are pinned on. I've dealt with this before by leaving the handles stick out of the water in the etank and then seasoning on the stove top, taking care to keep the handles away from the heat. I would love to take them off this time and re-pin them after seasoning, just not sure I trust myself not to mess them up, lol.
 
yeah, mine only had the one handle, but it was also secured with the little tack/nail thing... I just got something under the edge of the head and pried it up... it's longer than you would think...but it came out fairly easily...it's just a thin little tack...
the more difficult thing with this set of irons is that they don't easily come apart... and only open part way, due to the design of the hinge.. .so I ended up hanging mine with wire from each handle and a third wire at the hinge to hold it up open so I could get access to inside and out on both paddles. also, for some reason mine was really carbonized on the inside... it took a lot of manual scraping to get the inside cleaned up.
 
I just got the paddles in the etank. I was able to drive the pins out from the small side with a punch and remove the handles. Like you said, the hinge doesn't come apart and doesn't allow the paddles to fully open. Luckily one of my two tanks is big enough to hold it in that position. I constructed a "cage" of sorts, from plastic milk crates, that allows me to submerge bigger items without hanging them. I also have my Graphite plates on hangers which allows me to move them close to the iron. I'll give it a couple of days and see what I have.
 
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I took the paddles out of the tank yesterday and seasoned them with 2 layers of Crisco, like I do my skillets. The wooden handles had such amazing patina that I just did a wipe off with a soft cloth and Murphy's oil soap. Put them back on with the original pins and had enough length on the pins to peen them over. I absolutely love the way this waffle iron looks.
The base is in the etank now and it appears that some of the original jappaning is missing and some is still there. I'll try to remove all of it then make the decision to either paint it with high-temp enamel, or season it like the paddles. I've done both ways in the past and still not sure which I prefer.
 
Really nice job on those paddles. Those are really great finds.

I also have a weakness for Favorite pieces. I have the high base square Favorite waffle iron that I won't part with.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. I absolutely love everything about this waffle iron. The crossover handles, the offset hinge, and the short wooden handles all give this waffle iron an amazing look. I'll post some more pictures of the whole piece when the base is done.
 
I have been wanting to try one ever since I saw the first pictures. I have never seen one in person in my area.
 
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