Believe I've got my pans broke in good! yay!

[Taylor Brogan]

Ive got a #10 Griswold skillet that has never been seasoned, all I did was wash it good and start cooking with it. Now it has a nice black patina to it and completely non-stick! One question though... how long before it gets that thick crusty black seasoning on it? My #8 Wagner skillet has a very thick seasoning on it and you can cook anything in it w/o sticking even bake cornbread after cooking spaghetti sauce and it will just slide out!  Can't wait for my Griswold to get like that.  ;D

[Frank Burkhead]

Cook with it every day for a couple decades and it'll get good and crusty. But chances are, it'll happen so slowly that you won't notice. ;D

[Cheryl Watson]

Taylor, was your #10 New Old Stock?

Or do you mean it was previously used, with existing seasoning, and you did not clean and strip it..... :-/ :-/

[Taylor Brogan]

It was clean and new, never been used looked like. I scrubbed it good with soap and hot water and took it over to the stove, heated it up, and started frying zucchini slices w/ cornmeal. very minimal sticking and it just continued getting better over time and today i can fry anything with minimal oil, even potatoes! and they will not stick a bit. But its taken months to get it to this stage. Its a keeper for sure. Its a nice #10 large block Griswold w/ heat ring.

[Sandy Glenn]

It was clean and new, never been used looked like. I scrubbed it good with soap and hot water and took it over to the stove, heated it up, and started frying zucchini slices w/ cornmeal. very minimal sticking and it just continued getting better over time and today i can fry anything with minimal oil, even potatoes! and they will not stick a bit. But its taken months to get it to this stage. Its a keeper for sure. Its a nice #10 large block Griswold w/ heat ring.

Well, Taylor, you can do what works for you, but I certainly wouldn't recommend buying and using a pan without thoroughly stripping and properly seasoning it first.  The only time I haven't followed my own advice was when I knew how it had been cleaned and seasoned before buying it (like from another WAGS member).  I can't speak for the others, but I would guess almost all of them do the same as I do.

[Taylor Brogan]

Sandy, I appreciate the advice and I do strip ones that i buy at flea markets and such. But this one my grandpa had hanging in his garage since the 80's. Which he said he cleaned with Red Devil I believe he said. But It was clean and plum gray inside and smooth. So I figured I would go ahead and use it. I guess its too late to strip it now  :(

[Gary Salsman]

Red Devil used to make lye. What you did was probably fine.