Good cast iron cook ware

[Ithaca Gunner]

We have some old cast iron cook ware which is smooth and shiny. The popular Lodge cast iron cook ware currently available is rough with a gritty, or sandy finish inside. Anybody know of a good smooth finish cast iron cook ware brand?

[Zymurgy50]

I had the same issue, DeWalt 4" side grinder with a 120 grit flap wheel solved the problem for me. Just remember to clean and season well after.

[waksupi]

I had the same issue, DeWalt 4" side grinder with a 120 grit flap wheel solved the problem for me. Just remember to clean and season well after.

I do the same with new cast iron cook ware. Most can be done with the sanding wheel, then I finish up with a piece of folded sand paper to finish up the bottom corner.

[gwpercle]

The new stuff Lodge is making is not near as nice as the older cast iron ( seems like NEW is not necessarily Better). This gives you a good reason to haunt flea markets , garage sales and thrift stores looking for the good old cast iron cookware. I have also gotten some from older relatives who had something stashed in a cabinet and they they no longer used. Doesn't hurt to ask. My mom was glad to pass on some she had to me. And when my daughter was looking for a dutch oven I had two I wasn't using and gave her.
Gary

[joec]

The smooth stuff would be Griswold and Wagner which where made for a very long time but no longer. Now I have cast iron by both as well as Lodge. To be perfectly honest with you they cook the same and the smoothness or lack of have no effect on sticking or difference in seasoning.

[45 2.1]

Erie, Griswold, Wagner and Lodge, in order of oldest to newest. Griswold is the best of the bunch followed by Wagner.

[Dale in Louisiana]

Shop at flea markets and garage sales for the OLD cast iron. You can try Ebay too, but it seems like a lot of Ebay sellers think they cast this stuff out of gold.

Lodge will do in a pinch, but some of the new stuff that's NOT Lodge shows that the Chinese have not yet learned to cast the thin, smooth sections that are found in the older American stuff.

dale in Louisiana

[Rick N Bama]

Lodge will do in a pinch, but some of the new stuff that's NOT Lodge shows that the Chinese have not yet learned to cast the thin, smooth sections that are found in the older American stuff.

dale in Louisiana

Is Lodge being made in China now?

Rick

[Rick N Bama]

Rick, it wouldn't surprise me at all that Lodge is made in China along with about everything else.

It's been several years since I've been to the Lodge Store in S. Pittsburg TN, but I'm thinking that the Foundry was still in operation at that time.....maybe 3 or 4 years ago.

Rick

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I bought a old Griswold fry pan about a decade ago for $5 and she was needin' of some attention, but not cracked or rust pitted...I use it at least once everyday. I wouldn't dream of using something newer, of lesser quality, that costs more. The only time it gets washed is when it gets tomato sauced !
Good Luck,
Jon

[Char-Gar]

With use, the rough bottom of cast iron is filled in with carbonized oil and food. It will become smooth, just use it. If it is property seasoned, it won't stick.

Every time I use my cast iron (which is daily), I wipe it out, and then use a razor blade paint scraper to remove any traces of anything that stuck.

Only rarely do I wash with water, then it is plain hot water with a Scotch-Brite pad. I heat the utensil on the stove to dry it and apply a coat of oil while it is still warm.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I smoothed up the bottom of true dutch oven with sanding discs chucked in an electric drill. It was not all that I thought the bottom too rough. Someone had "borrowed" it, and when I finally repossessed it, it was rusty inside. Took me a few hours, starting with 60 grit, but came out nice and smooth. It does clean easier now that when it was rough.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've got one old Griswold (medium size logo model 704K #8) that's about perfect. Smooth as glass, jet black and perfectly flat. I'm always on the lookout for a few more but most people have caught onto the market and want too much for them now. The old Griswold's were significantly lighter than the modern Lodge, Wagner, etc. I think they were able to make them lighter because the iron was better quality. I have no basis for that assumption, it's just a guess on my part. Regardless, I'll never let go of it.
I've wire brushed, sanded and re-seasoned some newer Lodge and Wagner pans but they just don't compare to the old stuff. I've got a cast iron South African Potjie Pot with a flat bottom (for use on a stove instead of a campfire) and it's the best thing in the world to make stew in. It was the same as the newer Lodge stuff, a little rough at first but fixable.

[Gliden07]

No there still American made!! Lodge is good stuff once seasoned correctly I have never had sticking problems. I do have some Wagner I picked up at Tag Sales and Salvation Army. I like the Wagner but actually think the bottoms are thinner than Lodge? I have no definitive proof of that but it feels thinner?

Is Lodge being made in China now?

Rick

[Rick N Bama]

I've just received this in an email from Lodge;

Thank you for your email. All of our foundry seasoned cast iron products, and Our newest cookware the Seasoned Steel are manufactured in the USA. Our Lodge Enamel and Stainless Steel items are imported from China.

We have one of their enameled pieces of cookware & quite frankly it leaves something to be desired. My wife & I were given 2 Lodge Skillets as a Wedding gift some 46 years ago that are often used. Another piece we have is an 8" skillet, probably from Lodge, that my Mother received as a wedding present in 1928. It sees use as a Cornbread Pan 2 or 3 times a week.

The only abrasive we ever use on our CI is Kosher Salt. A plastic scraper gets most anything off that might stick.

Rick

[GLL]

Carnitas is a Wagner #9 Roaster!

I have several very large Lodge legged Dutch ovens for field trips. They are good quality.



Jerry

[timbuck]

Is Lodge being made in China now?

Rick

The porcelain coated stuff is. I don't know about the other new stuff. The regular cast iron was made in the USA last time I looked.

[WARD O]

Are these older brands clearly labeled or do you need to recognize emblems/logos etc???

[Gliden07]

I'm not familiar with many other brands but Wagner and Lodge both are clearly marked. I will say though a couple of the Wagner's I purchased were so grungy I could not see the Wagner insignia and I took a chance. When I got them home I put them through a cycle in my self cleaning oven, cleaned the ash out of them, reseasoned them and put them back into use. I found a smaller Lodge dutch oven that must have been left outside for a while, the outside was relatively clean but the inside was rusty from collecting water (2 bucks at a tag sale!!). I poured a 2 liter bottle of coke into it, soaked it a few days, scrubbed it out with 00 steel wool, chucked it in the oven for the self cleaning cycle, and reseasoned it. It turned out GREAT!!

Are these older brands clearly labeled or do you need to recognize emblems/logos etc???

[Rick N Bama]

Are these older brands clearly labeled or do you need to recognize emblems/logos etc???

The older Lodge stuff is not labeled at all.

Rick