quote:

Originally posted by soggy_spinout:

We have a large cast iron skillet of unknown make that I bought 30 years ago. No maker's mark that I can identify, just a imprint '10' and 'SK' on its underside towards the handle, raised 'Made In USA' in the middle, and a imprint capital 'D' over '1' below that. The cooking surface is as smooth as one should expect from a well-made piece of cast iron cookware, not like the small, bumpy faced Lodge camp skillet I bought a few years ago for more convenience with backwoods use.

This is most likely a 1960s era Lodge.

ETA: It should have a fire ring on the bottom with notches in it at 9, 12, and 3. If so it's definitely a 60s Lodge. They made a decent pan back then. I have one just like it that I keep in the camper.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gustofer,

I'm still finding good quality vintage pans at the local goodwill; I see no reason whatsoever to invest $80-100, or the obscene price on page one when I can still find unwarped pans for $6-10. Most have thick food residue build up and looked rough until re-seasoned- all came out clean and smooth.

Over the last year, I have procured a minty 8" Wagner, a 6" close to mint Made in USA round, a 6" mint Made in USA square, and most recently, a Cuisinart square griddle bottom. Each for under $10.

I will never pay the ridiculous prices being asked nowadays.

Have several Griswold and Wagners I got from grandparents and estate sales. Great pans!

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
I'm still finding good quality vintage pans at the local goodwill; I see no reason whatsoever to invest $80-100, or the obscene price on page one when I can still find unwarped pans for $6-10. Most have thick food residue build up and looked rough until re-seasoned- all came out clean and smooth.

Over the last year, I have procured a minty 8" Wagner, a 6" close to mint Made in USA round, a 6" mint Made in USA square, and most recently, a Cuisinart square griddle bottom. Each for under $10.

I will never pay the ridiculous prices being asked nowadays.

I bet if you look at what a Wagner cost 90 years ago and adjust for inflation, you'll find a $160 Stargazer to be right on the mark. You finding them so cheap is a blessing provided by your timing and geography. I never see quality pans at bargain shops out here, unfortunately. I suppose Utah was a lot farther to ship cast iron cookware from Sidney, OH or Erie, PA then WV was back when shipping was way more expensive than it is now.

I am glad to see that new pans are being made in the old tradition. That is, with thinner sides, reduced weight, high polish, and generally of a high quality. I would gladly support them. Being that I'm fond of kitchen gadgets, I'll probably get one anyway. Somebody has to bite the bullet to get an heirloom quality piece in the family.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I bet if you look at what a Wagner cost 90 years ago and adjust for inflation, you'll find a $160 Stargazer to be right on the mark.

Not even close.

Here's an ad from 1928. You could pick up a number 8 Griswold skillet for $1. That's $14.43 in today's money.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I bet if you look at what a Wagner cost 90 years ago and adjust for inflation, you'll find a $160 Stargazer to be right on the mark.

Not even close.

Here's an ad from 1928. You could pick up a number 8 Griswold skillet for $1. That's $14.43 in today's money.

Looks like you're spot on right. Damn, what a good deal. If only I had a time machine.

Why so much inflation? Even a Lodge 8" today is more expensive than a Griswold was in 1928 in adjusted dollars, and the Lodge has waaaaay less man hours invested in its manufacture than the Griswold would have had. Perhaps the prices in 1928 didn't include FICA taxes, unemployment insurance, Obamacare mandates, min wages, CO2 surcharges, and every other little way the government drives up manufacturing costs.

The prices of automobiles have outpaced inflation, but at least that is explainable. New features. But these new hipster pans aren't any different than the old ones.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
But these new hipster pans aren't any different than the old ones.

I've read that while they are good pans, and made in America vs. the cheapo Chinese crap, they are not as good of iron as was used back in the day.

I can't confirm that as I know next to nothing about metallurgy, but I suspect any difference in cooking ability would be negligible.

The casting, as well, apparently was different back then compared to today. No idea what difference that makes in the quality of the pan though.

I'm all for people going back to cast iron and getting rid of the aluminum and teflon crap that will kill you, and I love to see manufacturing starting up again, but the prices these folks are asking is just simply silly in my opinion. Like I said earlier, if they'd drop the prices even to $50 or $100 vs. $400, they'd sell a ton more of them.

Maybe they don't want to and perhaps they're happy being just a small niche operation, but it doesn't make much sense from a business perspective.

I'd never spend that kind of coin on one. Like gearhounds above, I still routinely find quality pans at goodwill, antique stores, estate sales, and flea markets for $5-10. Yeah, most take a little elbow grease to clean up and reseason, but it's worth it IMO.

All of my old pans have a story to tell that is worth far more than anything new.

I was frustrated with my Lodge, and was considering (and still am) taking the orbital sander to it and smoothing it out, when I saw a No. 8 Griswold with "patina" (aka abused and without any kind of seasoning) for sale on eBay for $20.00.

I bought it, stripped it all down and started over, and today have (in my opinion) an heirloom quality pan for my kids to fight over. Around here, people scoop those old pans up first thing at the estate sales, so good luck finding one locally.

I have 3 (8”, 10” & 12”) no name pans that are at least 3, maybe 4, generations old. They are all non-stick as they each have a well seasoned interior and likely slicker than anything these folks might produce on a good day. They cost me...well not all that much. I’m guessing the 8” probably weighs more than the $395 polished pan advertised.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I can't confirm that as I know next to nothing about metallurgy, but I suspect any difference in cooking ability would be negligible.

The casting, as well, apparently was different back then compared to today. No idea what difference that makes in the quality of the pan though.

It would be my guess that the older, higher quality castings can be thinner, therefore lighter, and yet still resist warping under high heat. Warping is the real killer of a nice cast pan.

One question about the Stargazer- their bullet points tout that it's one pound lighter than the competition. They may very well have a nicer finish, but I don't think they can change the physics of cast iron regarding heat retention and distribution. Also, if it's thinner and lighter, it seems that it would be more prone to warping over time. What do y'all think about those issues?

Also, if the only knock on the Lodge is the smoothness of the finish, would there be a viable business model to simply buy Lodge at wholesale prices, smooth them out, season them, and resell them at premium prices?

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
One question about the Stargazer- their bullet points tout that it's one pound lighter than the competition. They may very well have a nicer finish, but I don't think they can change the physics of cast iron regarding heat retention and distribution. Also, if it's thinner and lighter, it seems that it would be more prone to warping over time. What do y'all think about those issues?

I was wondering the same thing. The higher mass of the thicker/heavier cast iron seems like it would have better temperature stability, for example when pre heated to a high temp for searing a steak.

Any thoughts from the cast iron experts? I'm also frustrated with poorly finished Lodge pans and would like to get something nicer.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
<snip>
I'm all for people going back to cast iron and getting rid of the aluminum and teflon crap that will kill you <snip>

Few, maybe none, of the nonstick frying pans sold today have Teflon finishes. Most have ceramic finishes. That's the case for my light aluminum Kyocera. It's an excellent egg pan. The best nonstick frying pan I've ever owned.

https://www.amazon.com/Kyocera...nstick/dp/B00I5HE62S

quote:

Originally posted by Brett B:
The higher mass of the thicker/heavier cast iron seems like it would have better temperature stability, for example when pre heated to a high temp for searing a steak.

Any thoughts from the cast iron experts? I'm also frustrated with poorly finished Lodge pans and would like to get something nicer.

The secret is simply to preheat at a low temperature. You can dial things up after that. Just don't preheat at a high temp if you want to avoid warping.

FWIW my Stargazer attains a cooking heat (making a low temp cooking oil smoke for example) at a lower burner setting than my Lodge Signature pan does. Temperature stability? How would you suggest you evaluate that? As an aside both 10" pans weigh about the same.

The secret to keeping the older/thinner ones from warping is to keep the heat down.

90% of my cooking is on low and if I have a recipe that needs to go in the oven it never gets over 400F.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
The secret to keeping the older/thinner ones from warping is to keep the heat down.

90% of my cooking is on low and if I have a recipe that needs to go in the oven it never gets over 400F.

Agreed. When I said after preheating on low you can dial things up, I'm finding a medium low to medium setting is more than sufficient to char a steak in my Stargazer.


And as an aside and being redundant to what I posted in the earlier cast iron thread, in these parts vintage Griswold and Wagner pans are simply not to be found.

I have found used rusty Lodges at garage sales for a couple bucks.. and I have Polished them inside.. and just cleaned the outside. The inside will shine up very nice. then I season them in my Gas grill...a couple times will make them last for ever.

I took a new $19 Lodge cast iron skillet. Hit the insides with 40, 150, 400 grit orbital sander works great. But by all means go buy a 200-300 cast iron pan.

https://youtu.be/9CVP79T5hsU Kent Rollins checking out a new pan from this place https://fieldcompany.com/ We've got an old lodge one but I always wanted a smoother one

I have a whole set of Griswold that my Grandmother left to me. I remember them when I was young so I know they're well over 50 years old. Still going strong.
I would imagine that they'll outlast me properly taken care of. Some did require multiple seasonings and some work but they are wonderful to cook with.