Raised Numbers/marks

Which manufacturers used raised numbers or letters on the handles or on the bottoms of skillets? I haven't found any on the various sections of the site.

Are there any pictures?

Thanks.

Lodge,wirco,

Re: Raised Numbers/marks (now with pics)

Got this yesterday. Had to use oven spray because my lye spa and electro tanks are still frozen. Got enough crud off the bottom to reveal no markings. Handle has a raised 8 and a "P" before it. Assume the P is the pattern no.

Has an unbroken inset heat ring. Is it a Lodge? Any idea of age range?

Thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/gHB3m

It is no notch lodge, more than 100 years old

Edgar got it. Lodge or maybe Blacklock. Still not sure how to tell the difference between the two.

That's not a Blacklock. Along with a raised number on the handle, A Blacklock has a raised molder's mark on the bottom at or near 6:00 and an outside heat ring. Even when all those criteria are met there's no guarantee you really have a Blacklock.

Ty L. said:

That's not a Blacklock. Along with a raised number on the handle, A Blacklock has a raised molder's mark on the bottom at or near 6:00 and an outside heat ring. Even when all those criteria are met there's no guarantee you really have a Blacklock.

Click to expand...

I was going to reply to that comment but didn't want to get involved in a 'blacklock' battle.

The big difference alleged between the blacklock vs early lodge is the change from outside heat ring to inset heat ring... that and the fact that the early lodge pans were actually marked with the arc lodge logo on the bottom. but you'll get arguments about even that... based on standard skillet pictures on old lodge price lists.

arc lodge 4's: https://imgur.com/a/gapqX
arc lodge 10 with raised size on handle: https://imgur.com/a/ixbHn

a pan that seems to fit the characteristics stated on CIC about what a blacklock looks like: https://imgur.com/a/WAMc1

I started this post with a question about which mfgrs produced skillets with raised numbers. The reason for the question was a picture I saw of a skillet available at a nearby estate sale. I have read the information here about unnamed CI. I just wanted to know who else produced raised numbers. Edgar's response convinced met to try and obtain the piece. Thank you Edgar.

I did obtain the piece along with a #3 smooth bottom CHF. I have not posted the "what it looked like when I got it" and "what it looks like now" pics, so here they are:

https://imgur.com/a/MIn8L
https://imgur.com/a/Hatrr

I was surprised to find no raised maker's mark on the bottom or an outside heat ring. I was also surprised that Edgar dated it at 100 or so years old.

That surprise and the resulting curiosity prompted me to send pictures of the restored skillet to Lodge with an inquiry about the skillet. Here is part of the response:

"The raised 8 on the top of the handle is of earlier Lodge Skillet. This skillet may date back to ...., between 1910-1920." The "....." is my effort to prevent more commentary in this post about "it is/it ain't BL" because she said "MAY".

Reading this just raised more questions for me about Joseph Lodge and his companies. I fired back about 6 questions of which only 2 got answered. Here they are.

"I have found out some info below, some I could not find out.

By the way, other than the 1910 - 1930 period, does anyone know why Lodge did not put its name/logo/trademark on pieces until the 1950's? Although we don’t know for sure, it is likely because Lodge did not have a formal logo until later on, and it did cost a little more to add details like that at the time."

Wally's thought, if we hear this enough (for Lodge and others like BSR, it must be true. (LOL)

"Finally, does Lodge have a "museum" of cast Iron pieces or an archive with product brochures and literature? That would be interesting to visit.

That is something that Lodge is currently working on."

Lodge put his name on some skillets,before 1950,check eBay and you'll see a lot of skillets and lids.

The most likely explanation for a maker removing a TM or logo from their wares is to be able to satisfy a market which demands a less expensive product while not diluting the value of the name brand. Some did this by producing a line of unmarked versions; others like Lodge apparently opted to just have one version and differentiate it for different markets via paper labels.

also, at some point didn't Sears and Roebuck require the people who were making 'their' products to make them essentially 'unbranded'... so that they could change suppliers whenever they wanted without sears customers knowing... sears didn't want to build someone else's brand... they wanted customers to think of the products they bought as 'sears' products, not Lodge products.

Sears used Griswold to make their Best Made, Merit, and Puritan store brands. Favorite also made Puritan for Sears. The Sears CI made by Lodge was regular unmarked Lodge with Sears paper labels. Shipping labels on cartons read "Sears, Roebuck & Co, South Pittsburg TN".

See also: http:/www.castironcollector.com/store.php