Is It Time to Strip and Reseason?

LTryon

New member
I bought a large logo (I think) Griswold #8 about ten years ago off eBay. It was NASTY! About 3/4” of bubbly, crusty gunk built up on the walls. I used the Easy Off method b/c I don’t have a self-cleaning oven or room for any kind of bath (I live on a boat). Once it was bare, I used flax seed oil religiously for seasoning and, over the years, it’s built up nicely, though the surface isn’t perfectly smooth anymore. I wouldn't say it's *bad*, just not perfectly smooth.

This came up recently when I rediscovered an old Lodge I’d bought *before* I found the Griswold. The surface was typically pebbly, not smooth like the Griswold, which is why I went searching for a different pan in the first place. I found a YouTube video that showed how to grind that pebbly surface smooth, and by jove it worked!

So now I have two 'smooth surface' cast iron skillets stored in my oven (any time I bake, I add more oil to the surface to build up the seasoning) with two different textures. I am wondering if my old Griswold needs to be stripped. Over the years, I’ve probably not been able to scrape off every speck of food, and using regular paper towels sometimes leaves lint behind, which has all added up to some ‘texture’ on the walls and cooking surface. (see pics)

I hate the idea of starting from square 1 with the Griswold, but the freshly seasoned Lodge is so smooth! Am I nuts?

Bonus question: Crisco or flax seed oil?

http://imgur.com/a/X92ZP (two pix)
 
I don't see any need to strip in the photos. In fact, it looks quite like the pan I use nearly every day. It needn't be pretty and absolutely smooth (like the flaxseed oil blog might imply) if it cooks like it should. If it looked like one of those thickly encrusted as-found flea market pans, I might say yes, but not what I see here.
 
Don't be afraid to use a flat edged metal spatula. One can often have a leveling effect just by normal usage. Just try not to gouge with sharp corners.
 
Thanks for the suggestion! I finally bought a couple of Lodge scrapers, which seem to be working well, but I'm order that spatula too.
 
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