Dutch Ovens - Do you season the wire handle?

[RustyP]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and to cast iron in general (I'm a college student and these are my first cookware items ever!). My first two restorations were a great success. I'm amazed at how easily sticky foods come off.

Now I'm working on my first dutch oven. I'll be posting an ID request later, but first I have a question about seasoning.

Do you need to season the wire handle, or can it be kept shiny silver? I think it would contrast nicely with the black oven.

 

[KevinE]

Beautiful DO!! No, you don't need to season the bail. With use and time, it'll end up seasoned anyway.

 

[Doug D.]

I usually just clean the bail up with steel wool and then wipe it once with seasoning oil to rust-proof it.

 

[RustyP]

Thanks for the tips. I figured I may as well season everything, so I coated the handle too.

Did the first coat today. Decided to skip electrolysis which apparently was a mistake, since the insides picked up a red tint. Guess I'll have to strip and start over. I'll post a pic of the problem later

(Edit- Actually, you can see how the top half of the inside wall is a different color even before seasoning. My fault for being lazy/overexcited)

Here's a shot of the outside for now. It's not really gray, just overexposed by my cell phone.

 

[Ken Davis]

That's a nice lid, Rusty. Any idea who made it? I have a skillet in the lye bath with those same lines and have been searching for a maker for months. The only hint I have is from another member here that thinks it might be Renfrow ... but my research into Renfrow has turned up not a single piece with these lines.

 

[RustyP]

Thanks, Ken. I originally passed it up when I saw it, but thankfully it was still there when I went back to the store a couple weeks later.

I think it is a Renfrow. I found a few examples last night of the lid with matching criss cross bottom. My bottom appears to be the exact same shape, but with hammered finish instead of criss cross.

I'll post links for you later tonight.

 

[RickC]

Really cool looking Dutch oven. I wish I'd have seen it first.

When seasoning, I always wipe down the bail, but it's just to keep it from rusting or re-rusting. You don't really need 6 layers of seasoning on the bail. Just enough to keep it rust free.

 

[Jeffrey R.]

Hi Rusty,
Welcome to the site, also nice looking dutch oven. Any photos of the bottom of the lid and base?

Do you need to season the wire handle [/rimg]

As for myself, I season every part of the piece. The way I look at it is if you do one coat of seasoning only on the handle, it will wear off in places. Also with it fully seasoned, it is easy to clean. :icon_thumbsup:

 

[RustyP]

Here's the inside of the lid:

And here's the bottom of the DO:

If I'm already seasoning the rest, I guess I may as well do the bail handle. I just liked how it looked unseasoned

 

[RustyP]

And some other shots...

I need to figure out how to straighten the bail handle:

It almost looks like there's a dent machined in here...

...that allows the handle to sit flat:

Or maybe it's just worn down from years of use. But I'm so anal about it that I don't even lift by the bail handle anymore. I don't want to risk wearing down the seasoning. You can already see the rust redness on the "ear" (?) where access is blocked by the loop of the handle.

Here's the inside. I need to get a few more layers of seasoning on here before I use it.

 

[Jeffrey R.]

I don't even lift by the bail handle anymore. I don't want to risk wearing down the seasoning. You can already see the rust redness on the "ear" (?) where access is blocked by the loop of the handle.

Looking good,
You might want use a small strip of a cloth with some oil on it and run it up through the ears and the handle loop, or you could also try a Q-tip.

 

[Doug D.]

The groove in the top of the bail attachment is common; it's, as you surmise, there to allow the handle to lay flat, and made in the pattern, not machined after the fact. Interesting on the close-up of the lid dimples, you can see the circles lightly scribed in the pattern to guide the placement of the indentations. My bail handle straightener is a 3" metal pipe fence post. I hook the bail over it, position it as required, and gently tug a few times (mainly holding the bail ends, not the pot), checking as I go.

 

[DLChandler]

Hey all resurrecting an old post for 2 reasons. 1) I just want to say how awesome I think these Ribbon pattern pieces are. 2) I am compiling some data to try to establish a connection between the the Unknown hammered, the Ribbon pattern, and a Plain DO that I have that is very similar in dimension and unusual. Do you still have this Hammered DO? Could I trouble you to take a measurement of the diameter of the bottom as well as the opening at the lip? And height too? I will soon have the Ribbon pattern set in my hands, and I know one other person local also with a Ribbon DO set. I'm going to make detailed comparison of the 2 of them and your unknown hammered and my plain unmarked. Hope this isn't too big an ask and you still have it and would want to collaborate with my catalouging efforts. I can say that I have a Renfrow DO. and have compared them.......and these are not like it. Size is different, shape is different (less taper) and I've never seen a Renfrow unmarked, or with holes for a bail. Pics are the Ribbon pattern DO, and a comparison pic of my Plain DO next to your pic of the unknown hammered (FWIW, someone else has told me that this hammered pattern is shared with some "pointy handle" unknown skillets so they may be same foundry. The person who told me that was I guess an expert, and was adiment that the pattern is "known as unknown hammered and is from the pointy handle skillet foundry, unknown" basically. Thanks.