* - Weber 26.75" OTG
* - Weber 22.5" Premium cloaked in Crimson
* - Slow 'N Sear
* - Smoke E-Z - 26.75" (The Grain Silo)
* - Lodge Sportsman Grill
* - Weber Rapid Fire Chimney Starter
* - Thermoworks ThermoPop
* - Thermoworks Mk4
* - Thermoworks Dot
* - iGrill2 - 4 probes
* - Favorite Beer - the cold one in my hand (craft beers of all flavors; haven't had a blue yummy in over 6 years) my tastes change with the season so it is difficult to name just a couple. However, I will occasionally have a vanilla porter float in the summer (Empyrean Vanilla Porter w/a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream) as I usually drink stouts & porters in the colder months, pale ales & IPAs in the warmer months. I have to add Not Your Father's Root Beer to beers I use for floats.
* - Booze - I don't really have a favorite, but lean towards single malt Scotch & Irish whiskey
* - Wines - Reds: mainly the heavy stuff mixed in with the occasional pinot noir ( I have yet to meet a malbec I didn't like); Whites: German & Nebraska (hey, I have to support the home team)
* - Favorite Spice outlets - Volcanic Peppers - Bellevue, NE
* - Current butchers: Cure - Ft. Calhoun
Thanks to everyone for their positive feed back on this thread, means a lot coming from all of you. I hope this can be a resource for those that are looking into restoring cast iron. The durability and versatility of Cast iron is what makes it so special. I restored some pans earlier this year that my great-grand mother used on her small Iowa farm in the 1920's, and now I am cooking with them. That is truly something special. How many family heirlooms do people actually use day to day? Not many. I use cast iron every where, in the kitchen, on the grill, smoker or camp fire. In my very humble opinion, there is nothing better.
Thanks again for reading and commenting!
Last edited by Spinaker; August 17, 2016, 10:28 AM.
Weber Summit Kamado with SnS and Vortex.. Broil King Baron, Primo Oval Junior. Primo XL. Love grilling steaks, ribs, and chicken. Need to master smoked salmon. Absolutely love anything to do with baking bread. Favorite cool weather beer: Sam Adams Octoberfest Favorite warm weather beer: Yuengling Traditional Lager. All-time favorite drink: Single Malt Scotch
Nicely done! I have a Wagner 1891 original 8 inch skillet that my brother gave me. I don't know how old it is, but it is perfect for doing two over-easy eggs, or a small fritatta. I have a larger Lodge skillet as well. I agree there is nothing quite like cast iron. I have seen Youtube videos of this process, but they were not as good as your write-up.
Thank You for the kinds words man. Those old Wagners are incredible. Smooth as can be. I wish it was cost effective for Lodge to polish them like they all used be to back then. That is a great find, hold on to that one.
Some pieces can be dated to approximate decades by type & size of company emblem. The real old ones, 1880 & back, I believe don't have markings, it's near impossible. Don't quote me on this.
Spinaker, I did my Griz in a vinegar bath. It took several "baths" & about a week. But it came out real good & am using it. My wife recently did some cornbread in it & turned out fantastic.
PS. I just recently did some weights for dumbells with vinegar. Now I guess l'll have to "season" them to keep them from rusting again, because I sure don't want to paint them.
Last edited by FireMan; August 17, 2016, 08:41 PM.
Spinaker, I did my Griz in a vinegar bath. It took several "baths" & about a week. But it came out real good & am using it. My wife recently did some cornbread in it & turned out fantastic.
Vinegar baths are effective too. I've done that with some of my other pans that had a good base layer of seasoning and some surface rust. It works great no doubt. The E bath takes everything off.
Using the the vintage pans is incredible. The cooking surface is so smooth and it's awesome knowing that your using cookware that is decades old. Pretty cool. I'd like to see a picture of that Griz.
Thunder77 I Have dated a lot of the pans that I have. I am pretty new to the Restoration game but I could probably give you a good idea of how old it is and who the manufacturer was. Plus others may be able to help as well. Post a picture of the back and front and we can take a look. It's one of the really fun parts of restoration.
the one I have is really cool. It is actually stamped Wagner 1891. And there are even seasoning instructions stamped into the back! They are a bit worn, but I will post a Pic. The "Wagner" is stamped in script.
Here is how I do it. I have had great results with this method.
For the initial rounds of seasoning. (About 5 rounds) I use Flax oil. It is considered a "drying Oil" so it perfect for seasoning cast iron. And it has a much lower smoke point than most other oils that are used.
When I start, I put the CI in the oven at 200 F for about 15 mins to make sure the surface is bone dry before I add any oil. This also allows the pours in the metal to open up and accept more oil.
Once the CI is heated, I drizzle some Flax Oil in the CI and wipe the whole thing down, inside and out, handle and all. I make sure that all of the oil is wiped out. Even though you've wiped it out, there is still a very thin layer of oil on the surface. This is what you want. Any excess oil will cause a sticky surface to the CI. Bad News.
After you have everything wiped down, turn on the oven to 500 F and put the CI in the oven. (if you have a skillet flip it over to avoid any pooling of oil) I want the pan to heat up with the oven. Once the oven reaches that 500 F mark, start a timer for an hour. Let it go for an hour, at 500F, then turn the oven off and let it cool naturally.
I repeat this four to six times. After these rounds of seasoning with flax, I cook the first few times with lard. I find that it works best after the initial seasoning to cook with but I imagine you could use cooking spray or shorting as well.
This is Lodge grill that we picked up at a garage sle near Red Wing. The Griz is one of two that my mother-in law passed on to my wife. The Griz is pre 1950 & the Erie is before the merger with griswold. It probably predates 1940.
Spinaker, if I can figure this pic co-ordination thing I think l would be dangerous. The Erie somehow did'nt get the back view but it is the one to the left of the pic of two. The bacon is in the Griz. Also, as l pulled the Griz & the Lodge out & flipped them l see l have a little unfinished business. I also have a griddle like you restored & a new lodge 10" & an 8" Chinese thing. Man, l do not like chinese cast iron. A cool cast iron guy is Kent Rollins, due to his being on the range. And, Walter Staib, who has the book The City Tavern cookbook, recipes of the Birthplace of American Cuisine. Every thing he cooked was in cast iron, as in pots & pans. He even had a show where he cooked in Thomas Jefferson's kitchen, which consisted of a big open hearth fire, so cool. GE or Viking were'nt in business at the time.
Spinaker, et al, Spin I have used this metod of rust removal on an old Model T Gas Tank! It is very effective and non damaging! Excellant Write Up!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan
Spinaker, if I can figure this pic co-ordination thing I think l would be dangerous. The Erie somehow did'nt get the back view but it is the one to the left of the pic of two. The bacon is in the Griz. Also, as l pulled the Griz & the Lodge out & flipped them l see l have a little unfinished business. I also have a griddle like you restored & a new lodge 10" & an 8" Chinese thing. Man, l do not like chinese cast iron. A cool cast iron guy is Kent Rollins, due to his being on the range. And, Walter Staib, who has the book The City Tavern cookbook, recipes of the Birthplace of American Cuisine. Every thing he cooked was in cast iron, as in pots & pans. He even had a show where he cooked in Thomas Jefferson's kitchen, which consisted of a big open hearth fire, so cool. GE or Viking were'nt in business at the time.
Nothing better in cast iron than bacon. It just feels right. I really need to get more Grizwalds. I only have one Griz pan right now. Check out my link above for some great Flax oil for seasoning. The stuff works great. If you wipe the pan with the oil so there is just a micro layer of Flax per seasoning cycle, you will get a beautiful even sheen.
I don't even bother with the Chinese stuff. I always pass. The castings are poor, rough and lack character.
I will have to check out Kent Rollins. Can you imagine how cool it would be to cook in Jeffersons kitchen? Although I wonder how much HE actually cooked.
I wanted to post the results so far from the griddle I did in the E-Bath. Here is our griddle after one round of Flax oil seasoning. It's come a long way.
I wanted to post what the anode looks like after three pans being restored and not scraping them after. These ones have seen probably 15 total over that last few months. I had not cleaned these in 3 pans or so. These are about done. Yep thats all rust!!! And its tough to see, but the metal is severely pitted and the wire that connected them finally was eaten through. They had a good run. But now its time for some new steel.
I really need to get more Grizwalds. I only have one Griz pan right now. Check out my link above for some great Flax oil for seasoning. The stuff works great. If you wipe the pan with the oil so there is just a micro layer of Flax per seasoning cycle, you will get a beautiful even sheen.
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