I’m looking for a user #9 skillet. I came across this one recently on ebay. I wanted to post it here in the cleaning section for what not to do to your cast iron. Looking at the photos online, the surface of this skillet just didn’t appear the way I would expect from a 3-notch Lodge. It did not state in the details how this skillet was cleaned. It merely stated that it had been cleaned. I wrote to the seller and asked if it had been sandblasted or wire brushed. The seller replied that a wire brush had been used. Looking at the general non-uniform color of the skillet, the wire brush must have been a wire wheel mounted on a motor or drill. The pour spouts on this skillet give a good idea of what the surface of the skillet should look like. The bottom of the skillet shows some significant pitting. Being as this pan was not put through a lye bath, I would expect the pitting on the bottom to be more noticeable once the pan was properly stripped and cleaned. I’m just not sure it would season well as the wire seems to have been stiff enough to alter the original surface of the pan. Sometimes good intentions are the worst thing one can do to cast iron.
