Today's Cast Iron Junkyard and Yardsale finds

[Rick Gilley]

School is out for Easter..and my wife and I headed to the "cast iron junkyard".  We found quite a few pieces...nothing to jump up and down and holler about though. Found one big #12...really light, not sure what it is yet. Really, not sure I can bring it back from the dead or not. Probably picked up probably 20 pieces or so there for a whopping $50.00. My wife does not have the same love for the "cast iron junkyard" like I do..so we left after about an hour or so. On the way back, ran across a yard sale. First thing that caught my eye was an unmarked Wagner chicken fryer with a good lid. Elderly gentleman said, $12.50. I said sold. I picked up a big #10 older Lodge. $12.50...was his answer..I said, well its pretty common..how about $10. He said okay...wife was plundering on a trailer he had..she pulled out a bread stick pan..I think its might be a Gris...but got to clean it first. Then she pulled out a nice Erie style skillet...to crudded to see any name. $6.00 for both he said, I stacked them up. He said, I have some more cast iron on the back of the truck. I jumped over four tables...2 people..and a pickup truck to get there to the cast iron. He had a nice chrome Griswold big logo 701 skillet, and a big #10 BSR..and a beautiful..light Wagner Stylized Logo 1058..I believe. He wanted $20 for the Gris. I told him if it was not chrome..maybe but no since it was chrome. I told him I would give him $20 for the four skillets on the back of his truck including the Griswold. He took it. I bought some old fishing tackle..and bunch of knives...and some other stuff. So I ended up with a bunch more cast iron to clean today.








Who made this one...I remember a discussion on this style markings on the handle?

[Bill Corum]

Rick, nice haul you have a bunch of cleaning to do. Are the two square skillets in the center of photo #3 marked?

Bill

[Tim1234]

Rick,

Nice pickin's.  I wish I had a cast iron junkyard like that near me.  I did pick up one of those Wagner unmarked chicken fryers recently for $15 at a thrift shop which I thought was a good deal.  Yours for $12.50 is a great deal.  Actually, I didn't buy it the first time I saw it.  I went home, and the little voice in my head kept telling me that it was an unmarked Wagner and to go back and get it.  So, I did (lucky for me it was still there).  It's one of my favorite pieces now.  I like the lid and the way it fits the deep skillet so well.

Matt

[Jeff Seago]

Hey Rick, Eat Dirt  ;D ;D ;D  You are making me kinda jealous over here in Iowa!!!

Nice haul.  I always like to see what you have saved this week so I am glad that you keep showing this stuff off!!

[Jon Wollenburg]

Who made the one marked 2-2 QT I just bought one at Goodwill with a skillet lid.

[Rick Gilley]

Rick, nice haul you have a bunch of cleaning to do. Are the two square skillets in the center of photo #3 marked?

Bill

I don't think so that I could tell...I am pretty sure they have some of the typical unmarked Wagner numbers or letters on the underside of the handles.

[Rick Gilley]

Thanks Jeff....most of what I get are not collectors items or money makers...I just enjoy rescuing old cast iron and giving it a new life. I have probably 130 pieces of iron to clean...and I am so glad its cast iron and not puppies I am rescuing.

[Rick Gilley]

Rick,

Nice pickin's.  I wish I had a cast iron junkyard like that near me.  I did pick up one of those Wagner unmarked chicken fryers recently for $15 at a thrift shop which I thought was a good deal.  Yours for $12.50 is a great deal.  Actually, I didn't buy it the first time I saw it.  I went home, and the little voice in my head kept telling me that it was an unmarked Wagner and to go back and get it.  So, I did (lucky for me it was still there).  It's one of my favorite pieces now.  I like the lid and the way it fits the deep skillet so well.

Matt

matt...it may have been your post I read about the unmarked Wagner...as soon as I saw this one with the round inside handle..I knew what it was.

[Sam Roberts]

Rick,
If ou get ready to sell the 2-2 QT Lodge Sauce Pan let me know what you want for it. Thanks.... :)

[Rick Gilley]

Sam...someone has already emailed me and asked about it...said they had a lid that matched it. So, if I decide to get rid of it..they got first dibs...sorry.

[Sam Roberts]

That's fine. I have a weakness for the older Lodge and when I see something I will normally try to buy it if priced decently....

[Kathy English]

I have one I'm about to sell.  

[Jean Carver]

So....how bad is too bad to restore? I saw a stack of badly rusted pans a few weeks back....I passed on it all..figured it was too far gone to rescue....was I wrong? Will they still cook OK?  I didn't think they would. Please let me know how they clean up? Most of the pans I've had were rusted bad on the bottom but not so much on the cooking side.

[Larry Pesek]

So....how bad is too bad to restore? I saw a stack of badly rusted pans a few weeks back....I passed on it all..figured it was too far gone to rescue....was I wrong? Will they still cook OK?  I didn't think they would. Please let me know how they clean up? Most of the pans I've had were rusted bad on the bottom but not so much on the cooking side.

 
Welcome to the forum Jean,  

  I think most here would agree when I say, If the price is right, get it...  You eventually learn to pass up the more common pieces and watch for the items that interest you the most.  This of course can lead to a greater interest in Cast Iron which in turn can lead to an even greater interest in the history of American foundries.   (It's a condition refered to as 'Castironitis')

ANY how, in my experience, most rusted pieces can be cleaned and used, but many will never be pretty again.   :(
I use an electrolisis tank for the majority of my cleaning and it does wonders!   :)

Larry

[C. Perry Rapier]

When you get rusty pieces and you don't have time to clean them right now, put them in a lye bath. That will stop them from rusting and will 'hold' them just fine until you can get to them. And it'll help loosen the rust up a little. Just some cheap friendly advice.  ;)

[Brian Vick]

When you get rusty pieces and you don't have time to clean them right now, put them in a lye bath. That will stop them from rusting and will 'hold' them just fine until you can get to them. And it'll help loosen the rust up a little. Just some cheap friendly advice.  ;)

Good point CPR...Lye is like a rust arrester People have left stuff in the tank for over a year and it does not hurt them at all!
OB ;D

[Jean Carver]

Thanks everyone. Oh yes...I've been bitten by the csstironitis bug alright. Its bad...I may need an intervention.

[Jim Glatthaar]

Jean, I don't think cast iron interventions is our strong suit here ;)   Besides, they tell me there's no cure.

[Jodi Nielson]

So....how bad is too bad to restore? I saw a stack of badly rusted pans a few weeks back....I passed on it all..figured it was too far gone to rescue....was I wrong? Will they still cook OK?  I didn't think they would. Please let me know how they clean up? Most of the pans I've had were rusted bad on the bottom but not so much on the cooking side.

Hi Jean!  How bad is to bad....well, it depends on the rust.    If you can see pitting, that's bad.  But don't let a little rust scare ya--we've got an app for that....Lye will take the crud off, a soak in a white vinegar and water solution will work on the rust.  Oh, and lots and lots of scrubbing!  But if you're will to put in the effort, you can usually find a diamond under that pile of poop.

[Jean Carver]

Thanks Jodi! I was hoping someone would address that question with a good answer!! Thanks so much for taking the time. You just re-enforced what I thought to be true....still happy in passed on that stack..someone else can give them a go. Plus...they probably wanted too much anyway. LOL