I recently picked up this Griswold skillet and was wanting to see what some others think if i should strip it completely or just season it and start using it.
Vintage Cast Iron Skillets
- Thread starter KyLegend45
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If it clean enough to use, use, it. Before use rub down with Olive Oil, or something similar.
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- #3
Thanks for the advice. I really didn't want to make a lye bath or use easy off cleaner.
just use it -- no reason to strip away all those years of seasoning
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- #5
I was thinking the same but wanted some advice, thank you.
Using these antique frypans seems to be a trend in some outdoors circles; they have collectible prices, in many cases.Must be something to it! G'luck.
AA
I've gone both ways. Ultimately it comes down to your preference, pretty much. There is much to be said for simply resetting the ground and going back to bare iron. One advantage to that is that you can more easily check for blemishes, casting faults or cracks when you don't have things covered up. Which leads to a subject that makes some folks a tiny bit uncomfortable.
Lots of iron collectors of my acquaintance would simply put that pan in the oven and run a clean cycle. There is a risk with iron as thin as Griswold tends to be that the pan may warp under that treatment. The rationalization is that while Griswold isn't making any more pans, they made a heck of a lot of some styles so if one example doesn't survive the process the sin is at best merely venial.
Honestly, I've reseasoned a lot of iron and I've never had a piece warp. Might just be pushing my luck, but there you go. One reason I like to go back to zero and start over is that I've had pans that were long-term stored and had begun to develop rust around the edges of whatever vestiges of seasoning they had left. Getting all the rust off was a priority, and that meant cleaning the whole thing. As the collectors say, "Dirt is not patina."
So, scrub it and use it, or get down to bare iron and go from there? If it's a display piece then restore it. If it's got rust developing or you suspect it may have a flaw, strip it and inspect. If you're obsessive about wanting to put your own stamp on it and "season it the right way" (whatever that means to you) then do that.
On the other hand, if it's in generally good condition, no rust or evident flaws, and you're intending to put it straight to use on a frequent basis, then brush the mouse droppings out of it and put it on the stove. It'll be fine.
That was the long way around the barn to say there isn't really a wrong answer. Congrats on a nice piece of iron!
O.H.
Lots of iron collectors of my acquaintance would simply put that pan in the oven and run a clean cycle. There is a risk with iron as thin as Griswold tends to be that the pan may warp under that treatment. The rationalization is that while Griswold isn't making any more pans, they made a heck of a lot of some styles so if one example doesn't survive the process the sin is at best merely venial.
Honestly, I've reseasoned a lot of iron and I've never had a piece warp. Might just be pushing my luck, but there you go. One reason I like to go back to zero and start over is that I've had pans that were long-term stored and had begun to develop rust around the edges of whatever vestiges of seasoning they had left. Getting all the rust off was a priority, and that meant cleaning the whole thing. As the collectors say, "Dirt is not patina."
So, scrub it and use it, or get down to bare iron and go from there? If it's a display piece then restore it. If it's got rust developing or you suspect it may have a flaw, strip it and inspect. If you're obsessive about wanting to put your own stamp on it and "season it the right way" (whatever that means to you)
then do that.On the other hand, if it's in generally good condition, no rust or evident flaws, and you're intending to put it straight to use on a frequent basis, then brush the mouse droppings out of it and put it on the stove. It'll be fine.
That was the long way around the barn to say there isn't really a wrong answer. Congrats on a nice piece of iron!
O.H.
- Thread starter
- #8
Thank you, i guess i feel down the rabbit hole with cast ironI've gone both ways. Ultimately it comes down to your preference, pretty much. There is much to be said for simply resetting the ground and going back to bare iron. One advantage to that is that you can more easily check for blemishes, casting faults or cracks when you don't have things covered up. Which leads to a subject that makes some folks a tiny bit uncomfortable.
Lots of iron collectors of my acquaintance would simply put that pan in the oven and run a clean cycle. There is a risk with iron as thin as Griswold tends to be that the pan may warp under that treatment. The rationalization is that while Griswold isn't making any more pans, they made a heck of a lot of some styles so if one example doesn't survive the process the sin is at best merely venial.
Honestly, I've reseasoned a lot of iron and I've never had a piece warp. Might just be pushing my luck, but there you go. One reason I like to go back to zero and start over is that I've had pans that were long-term stored and had begun to develop rust around the edges of whatever vestiges of seasoning they had left. Getting all the rust off was a priority, and that meant cleaning the whole thing. As the collectors say, "Dirt is not patina."
So, scrub it and use it, or get down to bare iron and go from there? If it's a display piece then restore it. If it's got rust developing or you suspect it may have a flaw, strip it and inspect. If you're obsessive about wanting to put your own stamp on it and "season it the right way" (whatever that means to you)
On the other hand, if it's in generally good condition, no rust or evident flaws, and you're intending to put it straight to use on a frequent basis, then brush the mouse droppings out of it and put it on the stove. It'll be fine.
That was the long way around the barn to say there isn't really a wrong answer. Congrats on a nice piece of iron!
O.H.
It’s easy to do. Cooking with cast iron is kind of like wet shaving. It takes something you’ve been doing your whole life and makes it fun again. There’s a learning curve so stick with it and have fun. Looks like a really nice pan.Thank you, i guess i feel down the rabbit hole with cast iron
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- #10
Thanks.
I personally strip every piece of cast I get. I’ve found cracks in old cast that was otherwise unnoticeable. Plus like a razor it’s nice to start from a clean piece.
If it’s a family skillet I could let it slide…….maybe. I took my family’s old Wagner back to bare iron and that’s a skillet I ate countless meals from.
If it’s a family skillet I could let it slide…….maybe. I took my family’s old Wagner back to bare iron and that’s a skillet I ate countless meals from.
If you go the oven self cleaning route, be aware that the high heat is no friend of your mother board. Appliance repair guys confirm this. Mother boards are not cheap. Personally, I prefer to use Carbon Off.
I’d say season it and start using it. I’d go with fatty foods (bacon, ribeyes etc) or a high fat cooking method
I'd say strip it. If it were your seasoning, that'd be different. Someone else's seasoning is just dirt and grime.
Thank you, i guess i feel down the rabbit hole with cast iron
I wouldn't know what that's like.
O.H.
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- #16
I've noticed a problem, i used this skillet last night, wiped it out afterwards, applied some oil to it and it seemed to evaporate right away, i've never noticed this before with any of my other skillets .
I wonder if some skillets have deeper micro pores than others therefore taking more time to season
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- #18
Could be, no telling how long this skillet sat without being oiled before i received it.
You can use your grill, too.
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- #20
I don't have a grill so it's either a lye bath, easy off oven cleaner or carbon off for my choices.
