Very nice farmer steve! I'm not sure where mine will end up on the wall. The Mrs like the clean look behind the stove, so maybe the wall to the left under a cabinet. I wonder what what else Griswold cast? I saw a cast iron mailbox for sale on Marketplace once from Griswold.
The fire set has been out in the barn for over a year collecting dust and rust. I did not want to paint them. Cleaned and wiped veg oil on them. In the oven at 425 for 45 minutes. Let cool on the steps outside. I'm pleased with the finish. I gave them a good wipe down for any minor residue. Ready for service. I just told the Mrs. I was seasoning some cast iron...
I picked up a few wagner/griswold pans off of eBay that were in pretty bad shape. 2 had deep pitting from rust over the years. I went at them with an angle grinder flap disk and then a 5 inch sanding pad. 60 grit down to 200 or so. They could still use some steel wool but they are about ready to be seasoned and put back into production.
Sweet! Not gonna lie, that one was super cheap and the worst of the 3 with pitting. I suppose I ruined any collectable value but they were not in any useable condition so they increased in value to me.
A good portion of my collection is unmarked Wagner and BSR pans. People tend to collect pans with the name stamped in them. Lots of good unmarked pans out there. Never was a collector of rare pans or others that held value. I use most of them. It can be a tough call to what level of smoothness you want in a pitted pan.
There are some features to look for. Fire rings. It's pretty safe to say if a skillet is nice, smooth, thin and has a fire ring, it's pretty old. Gate marks. Same as above but it appears that it's been "welded on the bottom and ground off. " some people would think the pan was cracked and repaired. Making it worthless...but! The earliest cast was poured through a "gate" and it left a small area that needed cleaned up. Let me go grab a pic
Unmarked pans usually have no manufacture stamp on the bottom. Unmarked were made for stores that affixed there own paper label. Like time mentioned above, plenty of identifiers. Handle shape and how it attaches to the pan. I have some marked made in USA with no manufacturers stamp. Gate marks are late 1800's.
Make a simple Electrolysis unit vs. grinding and sanding. Easy and save's the value. Mine is in this thread somewhere, I've has a few that were real bad also.
I've gotten some super cheap wagners and they are some of my favorites. Not really sure why people price Griswolds so much higher, I suppose they are more desirable but for what reason other than their logos? Wagners cook just as good as Griswolds, and I actually prefer my late 1800s wagner over my Erie because the Erie seems to overheat pretty quick even on my stoves lowest setting. I can't deny though how cool those big block Griswold logos are, or the slant logos. But it's still just an odd market to me, 90% based on what logo is on a pan. It is funny how each pan is unique. Over the years I have figured out which pans I like for certain things. For whatever reason I really like my early 1900s Wapak for eggs. I think because it's slightly thicker and heavier, it takes a bit longer to heat up, so eggs don't just cook instantly in it like say the Erie that heats too quick. My 1800s Wagner #10 is my go-to for everything though.
Maybe not. Over time you'll likely get a nice thick seasoning that hides the sanding marks. Everyone seems to get crazy about the old super smooth skillets. But, honestly, i think the sand peeble surface on the newer pans works as good if not better at holding seasoning and thus making them more non-stick. My goto skillets are the Wagner 1891 Originals (100 year commemorative edition made in 1991). I have at least 3 and they are awesome skillets. Big, thick, heavy, with pebble surface. One Miss July found at a yard sale for $5 with the original marketing sticker still on it. (26+years old)
Anything with a loop helper handle is likely a Lodge. BSR skillets often only had a number stamped/cast into them but they are possibly the smoothest casting you'll find. Anything that is marked "made in the usa" is not old. (In the mid 60's it was required that cast iron be marked because Taiwan/Asia was making cheap knockoffs.) Some with (really bad) imitation logos.
