Wagner Arc/arc (I Think) with an Extra Big 'A'

D_Madden

Well-known member
this was bought at an auction the other day. 1) because it felt like a nice casting, covered in a thick layer of crud on the sides and bottom, but nice cooking surface and kind of lightweight, despite the crud. and 2) it was cheap.

I let it sit in the lye bath for about 24 hours and pulled it out to check on it and it looked almost exactly the same.. .the crust was very carbonized... so, plan B, went to the e-tank... a couple of hours and some foamy black gunk floating up... and then some additional scraping and poking and steel wooling... and I found a wagner (I believe arc/arc... pitting kind of conceals most of the sidney, but there are some letters there and appear to be in an arc)... the odd part is the 'A' over there at about 3 oclock... pattern maker's mark? early version of a pattern identifier?
https://imgur.com/gallery/XqmrbRK
 
One would be tempted to assume the A might be a maker's mark from the Erie skillet the pan was copied from, if it indeed was. Erie skillets with A marks aren't really known to have it in that position, though, and the handle bottom doesn't really look like any of the Erie designs, either. Four just like it sold on eBay, 2 on 12/13, 1 on 11/21, 1 on 11/19, same A, same handle. It is (was) a double arc.
 
Looks like a good user. Have you ever wondered if cruddy CI was ever washed AT ALL? We all take care of them, in great shape. But those that are covered in a 1/4 inch layer of crud......how many times of not washing it would it take for that kind of build up?
 
I WONDER, I hate seeing them that way but I love it as well because it gives me the opportunity to restore them to their natural beauty.
 
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