Unknown skillet

J

JimR

New member
I went to a local antique shop just to look around a little. He had quite a few pans. I found one that looked interesting. It was about a #8 size. There were the raised letters PS on the bottom, a heat ring right on the outside edge of the bottom and it was gated.
I found another #3 pan that said O'Brien and O'Brien, Chicago
And another #6 size pan that had the hammer marks of the Chicago Hardware Foundry.
And a #8 Wardway skillet.
All in excellent condition. Are any of these of particular interest as I am not familiar with any of them or their values.
thank you
Jim
 
It depends what are you interested,for cooking the# 8 it is the most common size for display,the#3 since it is little it will look good with proper cleaning and seasoning, the #6 is good size to make pies. For collection all are old skillets.
 
Depending on price, I'd pick up the....

Wardway. Made by Wagner for Monkey Wards.. Because I don't have one yet.

No.6 Hammered finish CHF.

Possibly the O Brien & O Brien, although the one's I've seen don't impress me..

The gatemarked no 8/9.... I'd have to see it.. Fancy handle, small pour spouts, smooth/pitted??

So, possibly all four, maybe 1 or 2..
 
I went back and bought the Wardway skillet for $12. It is in the lye soak right now. It sits flat and is in good shape with no rust and a thin coat of seasoning. I think it will turn out very nice.
I put a dutch oven through a vinegar soak and seasoned it yesterday. It looks like new. I think I could get into this. My son stopped by today and was impressed. He tried talking me out of the DO, but I'm not ready to give it up, yet.
One question I have is: I've some pressed steel "cold handle" skillets (not cast iron) with black and rust on them that I'd like to clean up. Is lye and vinegar safe to use for these?
thanks,
Jim
 
After 2 days in the lye I took the Wardway skillet out today. The lye didn't do much. It has a thin coat of black that looks almost like paint. It came off in a few small patches but not much. I read that sometimes a pan can get a coat of carbon on it that the lye cannot react with and I think this might be it. Will electrolysis clean this? I have a side wheel wire grinder that is very aggressive, but I don't know if I ought to use it.
I also cleaned up and seasoned a hammered looking Chicago Hardware Foundry skillet today that turned out great.
thanks,
Jim
 
Some people use wire wheels very successfully-- with experience. I don't recommend it on any piece of value unless you have proven to yourself that your equipment and technique on a piece of no value has caused no damage.

Electro should in most cases take off that which lye hasn't been able to budge because there's no grease left in it.
 
Have you tried a hand held wire brush? I am able to remove a lot of that kind of stuff by hand scrubbing. I have the little brush from home depot like Doug uses. I use it on all my skillets without any damage.
 
What type of wire brush do you use? I should get something like that for tougher pieces, and would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.
 
DougH said:
What type of wire brush do you use? I should get something like that for tougher pieces, and would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.
Click to expand...

I bought something like this at Home Depot in the paint department.

Plastic handle, because it's going to get wet, and stainless steel bristles, so they don't rust. Just be careful, if it looks like it's actually scratching the piece you're working on, try and find one with finer bristles.
 
Funny thing, I was looking through the basement the other day for some painting supplies, and I stumbled onto two wire small wire brushes, clearly made for detail work. One has nylon bristles, and the other one is either brass or copper, I'm not sure. Both look to be new...probably one of those things we bought and never actually used...we do that a lot :)

Anyway, I dug those out and put them by my shop sink and will start there for the next piece I have that needs a little persuasion. Thanks for the tips, though...if these don't work as I want them to, I will look at the couple you guys posted.
 
Oh! Good to know. Glad I haven't tried that one yet. I was worried about the metal scratching, but had never considered color transfer.
 
So, I picked up a stainless steel brush like you guys suggested and used it for the first time last night. Talk about a near life changing experience...it was so much better than the handheld scrubber I had been using for tough spots.

As always, thanks so much for offering help and suggestions...people around here are pretty awesome. :bow:
 
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