Hi all,
I have just started to delve into this cast iron stuff. :razz: I'm really starting to develop a love for it. I'm currently trying to talk myself out of acquiring every bit of CI I see.
I've had a cast iron skillet for most of my marriage (8 almost 9 years) that I found at an antique store with my MIL. She told me it was the best thing to fry chicken in which was what I was looking for. It's a Wagner dated between 1915-1920, although I didn't know that at the time. I really only used it to fry chicken and didn't give it any thought otherwise. That changed when I was given a skillet that was from a scrap yard that looked like it was beyond help. It was very rusty. I did some research into restoring it and came across this site. After cleaning it up and reseasoning it I couldn't believe how it came back to life. I was able to determine that the skillet I'd saved was an unmarked Wagner dated before 1960 thanks to the info here. That led me to dating the Wagner that I had previously. I have become addicted to that process and have even volunteered to clean and season CI for friends because I just wanted to get my hands on more of it.
I've added a few more pieces to my collection, but my favorite so far is a #8 Crescent skillet. It's so beautifully smooth and it seasoned so easily. I wish there was more info on that foundry. I'm planning to hit up a flea market hopefully this weekend and maybe I'll come away with a few more pieces. Thanks so much for all the great info on this site. It's been very helpful!
I have just started to delve into this cast iron stuff. :razz: I'm really starting to develop a love for it. I'm currently trying to talk myself out of acquiring every bit of CI I see.
I've had a cast iron skillet for most of my marriage (8 almost 9 years) that I found at an antique store with my MIL. She told me it was the best thing to fry chicken in which was what I was looking for. It's a Wagner dated between 1915-1920, although I didn't know that at the time. I really only used it to fry chicken and didn't give it any thought otherwise. That changed when I was given a skillet that was from a scrap yard that looked like it was beyond help. It was very rusty. I did some research into restoring it and came across this site. After cleaning it up and reseasoning it I couldn't believe how it came back to life. I was able to determine that the skillet I'd saved was an unmarked Wagner dated before 1960 thanks to the info here. That led me to dating the Wagner that I had previously. I have become addicted to that process and have even volunteered to clean and season CI for friends because I just wanted to get my hands on more of it.
I've added a few more pieces to my collection, but my favorite so far is a #8 Crescent skillet. It's so beautifully smooth and it seasoned so easily. I wish there was more info on that foundry. I'm planning to hit up a flea market hopefully this weekend and maybe I'll come away with a few more pieces. Thanks so much for all the great info on this site. It's been very helpful!