Will you identify? unmarked 8, X on base

[DeeC]

Hi, thanks to this site, I was able to identify three of four skillets. However, one is unmarked. The handle looks identical to the Wagners, and there is a 1/2 inch inset 8 at the top of the handle. The hole in the handle isn't completely clean, there's a thin bit of metal horizontally at the narrow point, which looks like a casting defect.

The only mark on the back is an inset X at about 6:30. The X is a bit askew. The bottom is flat. outside of a more gentle slope to the pan wall, it looks like the Wagners I have. Also, it's thick, and much heavier, 6 lbs. (I weighed it after noticing the difference from the others.)

Any thoughts on the maker and/or the age? This one may be a gift to a friend, is this piece is purely functional, or does it have any collectable value?

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[Doug D.]

If you could post a photo of the entire bottom of the pan, including the handle, we can probably ID it (without having to ask more ?s).

 

[DeeC]

Thanks! Here are front and back photos, I stripped and reseasoned this weekend.

 

[Doug D.]

I have one similar to this one. I bought it at a flea market, covered in crud, expecting, from the shape of the 8, to find a Griswold TM underneath. But all I got was a bare bottom heavy skillet. I believe a Griswold pan was used as a pattern, and, once the pan was removed from the mold, some sand was scraped off the side that would become the bottom of the pan to remove the markings. This would have also resulted in a larger mold cavity, and therefore more iron entering the mold, making for a heavier pan.

 

[DeeC]

Thanks, Doug. My friend will love it to cook with anyway, it will be packed up with some seasonings from a spice store, and a tea towel.

So, it sounds like a bit of an oddity, but not in a way that adds to collectability. Probably American? Any thoughts on age?