WeldrDave , the mad scientist of CI. Or Mad metallurgist. Madallurgist. If nothin' else, you prolly had fun.....until it broke.
Thought I had it Dave..., No warning, it just exploded! . And when it did, I thought something happened in my pants too...
I was working out of town a lot so I spent a lot of evenings at antique shops. I saw a bunch of cast iron with warped bottoms and wondered if I could press them straight...Guess not A couple of them were beautiful skillets... Sad
Buy them for "wall hangers" decoration if your into that and there cheap enough. I have a couple cracked ones, I have beautiful Griswold # 12, cracked around the handle. That pan in the picture is the exact reason why I tell people "NOT" to overheat their pans, throw them in self cleaning ovens, throw them in fires to burn off the crud, put them in a wood stove, etc... That warp/belly came from over heating. I've worked in the metals field for nearly 40 years now, "Mostly ship hulls" but think of this; How many times has a pan expanded and contracted in the last 75 to 100 years of the life of that pan? If it was taken care of, the pan has many more years left. But even cast pans "are" susceptible to destruction. Thats why we decommission ships and airplanes because the both flex, expand and contract, and things start to fatigue then break. You can get another 100+ years from a pan just by some simple care. Never over heat past 500 degrees, never throw cool or cold water in them when hot, and "try" not to drop them!!! Just that alone can cause mirco cracks which will rear their "ugly heads" down the road.
At antique shops, they always price the skillets as if they're perfect... I want skillets that can still be used...
I had this unmarked griddle for a few months that I never tried. This evening I made a light supper of crepes. The handle looks like a Wagner, maybe it was paper labeled. Blueberry yogurt filled and fresh fruit on top. One swipe of veg oil in the pan to start, and it made a dozen without sticking. Swiped a little more oil when finished, raised the temp until the pan smoked a little and it is good to put away. I need to make the little wood dowel batter spreader for the next batch.
I really think so. I made omelettes yesterday with that pan. It is very nice as the edges raise up a little.
That batch came from my friend who is a scrapper. I've seen a few of the griddles out there. An antique store I was in last year had a "mint" #9 Griswold griddle for $75.00 . I just couldn't bring myself to purchase it.
I found this unmarked #8 Wagner, I believe during a quick scrap yard visit today. My go to #8 has a warped bottom, so this will be primary. It was pretty rusted and had some pitting, but not too bad. It has a ground cooking surface. It got the wire wheel treatment. I think after a few seasonings, it will be ready to use.
