I've been wondering if there could be something wrong with the metallurgy &/or the casting process. Haven't tried using more oil than I'd think though.
New Cast Iron Care And Maintenance
- Thread starter Ragman
- Start date
Why would you, at this point? Something is wrong. Metallurgy. Casting. Something is wrong with it.
Not my business of course, but I wouldnt build an overlander out an SUV with a rusted through frame. If theres a problem with the metallurgy or the casting of a cast. iron pan, those are the two fundamentals.
I feel like, if you tried with this pan some more, it would be like me watching you try to survive a week in the wild with a Coughlin's knock off Swiss Army Knife. You'd be out there and some of the little tools would break or bend. Some wouldnt even open. And when you were all narrowed, exhausted and frustrated, you'd go out and but a Victorinox Huntsman for next time. Just my 2 cents worth, of course.
A Lodge pan can be gotten at Target, Walmart, sometimes Marshalls, TJMax or Home Goods on the cheap. An hour of sanding, rinsing, drying, oiling and baking one of those would make you much happier
But good luck if you decide to keep trying
Well....
1 - sentimental value; the friend is no longer around and each time I use it I think of them.
2 - I like challenges like this and too many things get tossed as it is.
3 - I'm not a fan of Lodge.
Steward I
Use oven cleaner to strip it bare, use a sander to polish it smooth, and use Buzzy Wax and the advice given above to start a new patina.
Didnt mean anything by it.
-Sentimental value holds weight. Sometimes the most
-A challenge is one thing. Banging your head against the wall is another, though you are right, too many things get tossed
-I dont know what you might have against Lodge but I kinda like that they exist as the last real pan foundry of substance in the US and am encouraged there are small ones popping up. To each thier own.
Maybe a pic of it would allow someone to spot something
Just not a fan of the Lodge found on shelves now. I'm not a big fan of any of the modern CI pots and pans sold either. When I buy I look for older ones, pre 1950s, especially those like Erie, Griswold and even Lodge.
I do like new Lodge but admit they need work to get them smooth. I started a quest to find my mother's old stuff, but since her passing a decade ago, they seem beyond reach, either with someone else in the family or lost to time.
Erie was actually the stamping that Griswold first went by, as they were originally out of Erie Pennsylvania. If you find an Erie, it's a Griswold from between the late 1800's ro maybe 1910 or so.
I've started doing the same as you and started looking on Craigslist for Griswold, Erie stamped or not, ir Wagner Ware. Kind of like old Craftsman tools and all the good old Leatherman tools
Same here. Scrub with chain mail under water. Dry and oil. No issues with mine at all.
Explorer I
I have also been lucky to find some of the older Griswold, Wagner, Wapak, etc at the antique stores and, with a little or a lot of work, have restored them to daily use. The problem I am finding now is that the prices they are asking make them pretty much a deal breaker for me. For a few buck you can buy a Lodge and if you are up to it sand it down and season from scratch. Other than being a bit heavier once seasoned well I think the Lodge cooks just as well.
Don't get me wrong the old stuff takes a season beautifully and becomes very non stick very quickly if done correctly and I use a late 1800s Wagner when camping-it has seen better days but still cooks like a champ.
Don't get me wrong the old stuff takes a season beautifully and becomes very non stick very quickly if done correctly and I use a late 1800s Wagner when camping-it has seen better days but still cooks like a champ.
The vintage/antique CI cooking pans come up quite often at our local auction house (Erie, Griswold, Wagner, etc), not to mention yard sales and estate sales. Can typically get great stuff dirt cheap around here. Then again I live in a rural area. We have two, large ham boilers, being used as planters on the porch!
The modern stuff just doesn't feel right to me.
Explorer I
That we are. Now, if we drive into Wichita, and go to an antique store, they would be very pricey.
The only dud I've snagged at an estate sale that really bothers me was an antique aebleskiver pan. Unfortunately the owner had all of her. antique/vintage cast iron painted black, for display. Because of this those pans went cheap, got the one I got for $1.
When I had some of the Land Rover's parts professionally sand blasted I tossed it in. They weren't able to get most of it off! They said they had no clue what they painted it with, but it was definitely on there. They said they could switch to a different blasting medium, but it would ruin the pan. They were thinking who ever painted it used an aircraft paint.
Local dude on Craig asking 120 to 160 for a single Griswol. Eh, I should have picked some up last year when they were 80
Explorer I
Lower heat and time to heat up is a key point for using cast iron. I think sometimes folks have problems cooking in cast as they think it needs to be screaming hot. Gross generalization I know but MiamiC70 matches my experience.
Is there a faint red hue to the cast iron? It may be damaged irreparably by fire. Check this video out for a better explanation than I could give:
