Cast iron questions

In article <[email hidden]>,

drdoody said:

I have a small and growing cast iron collection and I was
wondering if anybody here did the same. I would appreciate
some advice, particularly in the area of different
manufacturer's markings.

Doc

--
"I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and
State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us
up enough on their own, so both of them together is
certain death."

George Carlin

I only collect Griswold and am still learning.....

K.

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Quoted message said:

I only collect Griswold and am still learning.....

K.

Expensive hobby, that. I've got a Wagner Sidney #6 and a
Vollrath #5 with smoke ring. Both I use every day. I've also
got a 10 1/2 inch skillet of unknown parentage. All it has
in the bottom is a "Y" with "10 1/2 skillet" stamped beside
it. I have no idea what it is, but when I get it cleaned up
I'm sure it'll be great.

Doc

--
"I'm completely in favor of the separation
of Church and State. My idea is that
these two institutions screw us up
enough on their own, so both of them
together is certain death."

George Carlin

drdoody said:

I have a small and growing cast iron collection and I was
wondering if anybody here did the same. I would appreciate
some advice, particularly in the area of different
manufacturer's markings.

I've got a small collection mostly of somewhat lesser
known manufacturers. Some I use, others I don't. The most
odd ball piece is an "odorless" skillet made for the top
of a wood stove. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of this
one. It's marked "Odorless", "869", and a patent date of
Oct. 17, 1893.

I've also got a Martin Stove skillet and a Wrought Iron
Range Company (WIRCO) skillet, along with a covered Vollrath
chicken fryer.

Unlike the quality of Griswolds, the WIRCO might be
considered very low quality. It is very thin compared to the
others, and is warped because of this. I had never before
seen cast iron as thin. I got it because it's kind of
unique. Wrought Iron Range Company is the maker of the
famous Home Comfort stoves and the Home Comfort cookbook.

All of the above cast iron is pre-WW II, with the possible
exception of the Martin one. I've also got a Lodge double
burner griddle from the early 1990s which is now very well
seasoned from a decade of cooking pancakes and bacon.

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

drdoody said:

I have a small and growing cast iron collection and I was
wondering if anybody here did the same. I would appreciate
some advice, particularly in the area of different
manufacturer's markings.

I've got a small collection mostly of somewhat lesser
known manufacturers. Some I use, others I don't. The most
odd ball piece is an "odorless" skillet made for the top
of a wood stove. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of this
one. It's marked "Odorless", "869", and a patent date of
Oct. 17, 1893.

I've also got a Martin Stove skillet and a Wrought Iron
Range Company (WIRCO) skillet, along with a covered Vollrath
chicken fryer.

Unlike the quality of Griswolds, the WIRCO might be
considered very low quality. It is very thin compared to the
others, and is warped because of this. I had never before
seen cast iron as thin. I got it because it's kind of
unique. Wrought Iron Range Company is the maker of the
famous Home Comfort stoves and the Home Comfort cookbook.

All of the above cast iron is pre-WW II, with the possible
exception of the Martin one. I've also got a Lodge double
burner griddle from the early 1990s which is now very well
seasoned from a decade of cooking pancakes and bacon.

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

In article <[email hidden]>,

wff_ng_6 said:

drdoody said:

I have a small and growing cast iron collection and I
was wondering if anybody here did the same. I would
appreciate some advice, particularly in the area of
different manufacturer's markings.

I've got a small collection mostly of somewhat lesser
known manufacturers. Some I use, others I don't. The most
odd ball piece is an "odorless" skillet made for the top
of a wood stove. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of this
one. It's marked "Odorless", "869", and a patent date of
Oct. 17, 1893.

I've also got a Martin Stove skillet and a Wrought Iron
Range Company (WIRCO) skillet, along with a covered
Vollrath chicken fryer.

Unlike the quality of Griswolds, the WIRCO might be
considered very low quality. It is very thin compared to
the others, and is warped because of this. I had never
before seen cast iron as thin. I got it because it's kind
of unique. Wrought Iron Range Company is the maker of the
famous Home Comfort stoves and the Home Comfort cookbook.

All of the above cast iron is pre-WW II, with the possible
exception of the Martin one. I've also got a Lodge double
burner griddle from the early 1990s which is now very well
seasoned from a decade of cooking pancakes and bacon.

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

K.

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In article <[email hidden]>,

wff_ng_6 said:

drdoody said:

I have a small and growing cast iron collection and I
was wondering if anybody here did the same. I would
appreciate some advice, particularly in the area of
different manufacturer's markings.

I've got a small collection mostly of somewhat lesser
known manufacturers. Some I use, others I don't. The most
odd ball piece is an "odorless" skillet made for the top
of a wood stove. I'm not sure of the manufacturer of this
one. It's marked "Odorless", "869", and a patent date of
Oct. 17, 1893.

I've also got a Martin Stove skillet and a Wrought Iron
Range Company (WIRCO) skillet, along with a covered
Vollrath chicken fryer.

Unlike the quality of Griswolds, the WIRCO might be
considered very low quality. It is very thin compared to
the others, and is warped because of this. I had never
before seen cast iron as thin. I got it because it's kind
of unique. Wrought Iron Range Company is the maker of the
famous Home Comfort stoves and the Home Comfort cookbook.

All of the above cast iron is pre-WW II, with the possible
exception of the Martin one. I've also got a Lodge double
burner griddle from the early 1990s which is now very well
seasoned from a decade of cooking pancakes and bacon.

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

Quoted message said:

,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<

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&include=0&userid=katra

"drdoody" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I only collect Griswold and am still learning.....

K.

Expensive hobby, that. I've got a Wagner Sidney #6 and a
Vollrath #5 with smoke ring. Both I use every day. I've
also got a 10 1/2 inch skillet of unknown parentage. All
it has in the bottom is a "Y" with "10 1/2 skillet"
stamped beside it. I have no idea what it is, but when I
get it cleaned up I'm sure it'll be great.

Doc

I'm not a collector but did grow up in Vollrath town and was
never aware that they produced cast iron. I have many
stainless steel pieces. What is the time frame for cast iron
production? Janet

"drdoody" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I only collect Griswold and am still learning.....

K.

Expensive hobby, that. I've got a Wagner Sidney #6 and a
Vollrath #5 with smoke ring. Both I use every day. I've
also got a 10 1/2 inch skillet of unknown parentage. All
it has in the bottom is a "Y" with "10 1/2 skillet"
stamped beside it. I have no idea what it is, but when I
get it cleaned up I'm sure it'll be great.

Doc

I'm not a collector but did grow up in Vollrath town and was
never aware that they produced cast iron. I have many
stainless steel pieces. What is the time frame for cast iron
production? Janet

Katra said:

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

The enameled cast iron is also a motley lot. Roughly half
is items acquired new (Le Creuset and Cousances), while
the rest are vintage pieces acquired off eBay. These
older pieces include items no longer available these
days, and were made by Descoware (Belgium) and Prizerware
(Reading, PA).

My prize pieces are a "bean pot" and a dutch oven. The bean
pot is unmarked, but I believe is Descoware. It is "flame"
colored. It is a larger version of the more common Descoware
bean pot, but has an iron bail handle. Julia Child had one
exactly like it that can be seen in the background on her
older cooking shows, and it is currently sitting on the
stove in the Smithsonian exhibit of her kitchen. I've only
seen this particular pot twice on eBay, one of those times
being when I got mine.

The dutch oven is Iranian, believe it or not... Not!!! The
woman selling it on eBay listed it as made in Iran, and the
price was right even if it wasn't. When I got received it I
saw the confusion. Compare:

MADE IN IRAN MADE IN FRANCE

Turns out the impression of the letter "F" was weak, looking
like the letter "I" instead. The impressions of the letters
"C" and "E" were almost nonexistant. What it looked like
changed depending on how it was held in the light. From some
angles, it definitely looked like "MADE IN IRAN". I told the
seller she might need new glasses! ;-)

While on the topics of eBay and cast iron, often the
shipping cost exceeds the item cost, as was the case of this
"Iranian" piece. I effectively got my WIRCO skillet for 42
cents, as I bid a dollar, but the actual shipping exceeded
the sellers quote by 58 cents.

Katra said:

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

The enameled cast iron is also a motley lot. Roughly half
is items acquired new (Le Creuset and Cousances), while
the rest are vintage pieces acquired off eBay. These
older pieces include items no longer available these
days, and were made by Descoware (Belgium) and Prizerware
(Reading, PA).

My prize pieces are a "bean pot" and a dutch oven. The bean
pot is unmarked, but I believe is Descoware. It is "flame"
colored. It is a larger version of the more common Descoware
bean pot, but has an iron bail handle. Julia Child had one
exactly like it that can be seen in the background on her
older cooking shows, and it is currently sitting on the
stove in the Smithsonian exhibit of her kitchen. I've only
seen this particular pot twice on eBay, one of those times
being when I got mine.

The dutch oven is Iranian, believe it or not... Not!!! The
woman selling it on eBay listed it as made in Iran, and the
price was right even if it wasn't. When I got received it I
saw the confusion. Compare:

MADE IN IRAN MADE IN FRANCE

Turns out the impression of the letter "F" was weak, looking
like the letter "I" instead. The impressions of the letters
"C" and "E" were almost nonexistant. What it looked like
changed depending on how it was held in the light. From some
angles, it definitely looked like "MADE IN IRAN". I told the
seller she might need new glasses! ;-)

While on the topics of eBay and cast iron, often the
shipping cost exceeds the item cost, as was the case of this
"Iranian" piece. I effectively got my WIRCO skillet for 42
cents, as I bid a dollar, but the actual shipping exceeded
the sellers quote by 58 cents.

Katra said:

wff_ng_6 said:

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

Descoware rules. I love the screw-in threaded wooden
handles.

Katra said:

wff_ng_6 said:

I've got a bigger collection of enameled cast iron, but
that's another story! ;-)

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

Descoware rules. I love the screw-in threaded wooden
handles.

"Janet Bostwick" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm not a collector but did grow up in Vollrath town and
was never aware that they produced cast iron. I have many
stainless steel pieces. What

is

Quoted message said:

the time frame for cast iron production? Janet

The site I have says 1884-1964.

A collector also says that my Vollrath was probably made
between 1930 and 1950, which is fine by me. Still no answer
on the "Y" skillet, thought.

Doc

--
"I'm completely in favor of the separation
of Church and State. My idea is that
these two institutions screw us up
enough on their own, so both of them
together is certain death."

George Carlin

"Janet Bostwick" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm not a collector but did grow up in Vollrath town and
was never aware that they produced cast iron. I have many
stainless steel pieces. What

is

Quoted message said:

the time frame for cast iron production? Janet

The site I have says 1884-1964.

A collector also says that my Vollrath was probably made
between 1930 and 1950, which is fine by me. Still no answer
on the "Y" skillet, thought.

Doc

--
"I'm completely in favor of the separation
of Church and State. My idea is that
these two institutions screw us up
enough on their own, so both of them
together is certain death."

George Carlin

In article <[email hidden]>,

wff_ng_6 said:

Katra said:

Enameled cast iron??????? <drool>

The enameled cast iron is also a motley lot. Roughly half
is items acquired new (Le Creuset and Cousances), while
the rest are vintage pieces acquired off eBay. These
older pieces include items no longer available these
days, and were made by Descoware (Belgium) and Prizerware
(Reading, PA).

My prize pieces are a "bean pot" and a dutch oven. The
bean pot is unmarked, but I believe is Descoware. It is
"flame" colored. It is a larger version of the more common
Descoware bean pot, but has an iron bail handle. Julia
Child had one exactly like it that can be seen in the
background on her older cooking shows, and it is currently
sitting on the stove in the Smithsonian exhibit of her
kitchen. I've only seen this particular pot twice on eBay,
one of those times being when I got mine.

The dutch oven is Iranian, believe it or not... Not!!! The
woman selling it on eBay listed it as made in Iran, and
the price was right even if it wasn't. When I got received
it I saw the confusion. Compare:

MADE IN IRAN MADE IN FRANCE

Turns out the impression of the letter "F" was weak,
looking like the letter "I" instead. The impressions of
the letters "C" and "E" were almost nonexistant. What
it looked like changed depending on how it was held in
the light. From some angles, it definitely looked like
"MADE IN IRAN". I told the seller she might need new
glasses! ;-)

So is that good or bad? ;-)

Quoted message said:

While on the topics of eBay and cast iron, often the
shipping cost exceeds the item cost, as was the case of
this "Iranian" piece. I effectively got my WIRCO skillet
for 42 cents, as I bid a dollar, but the actual shipping
exceeded the sellers quote by 58 cents.

Wow. So the seller lost money... Yeah, shipping can add up!
I know what you mean.

I'd not mind a larger Griswold DO, but I really cannot
afford to get any more cast iron at the moment.

K.

Quoted message said:

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Quoted message said:

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&include=0&userid=katra

Hey Drdoody? By any chance would you sell your Sidney Wagner #6 Bean pot?