Steve,
Thanks for the advice. I own a couple of Lodge cast iron skillets and a Wagner Ware - Griswold No. 8 DO. I decided that if I like cooking with cast iron, I might as well do it right and have some good quality utensils. I don't want to bash Lodge at all, but the 10.25 inch skillet and lid that I recently ordered through the mail are shockingly poor quality -- the casting is very rough, and worse still, it's uneven (e.g., some parts of the skillet are smoother than others, so it seems to take seasoning differently in different spots). The 12 inch skillet and lid I have from Lodge are better -- and in fairness to Lodge, they have done a couple of things to earn my gratitude: 1) they provide the considerable service of keeping cast iron afloat as an affordable, available cookware option for those who cannot comb through ebay, antique shops or estate sales for pieces produced by defunct companies; 2) they have added an "assist handle" to their skillets opposite the main handle -- I find this immensely helpful in controlling this heavy piece of metal (the 12-incher), especially when it's full of food.
Anyway, the quality of the casting and refinement of the design of the Wagner-Griswold Dutch Oven is such that the Lodge ware seems very cheap and clumsy indeed by comparison. Now I know (or I think I do -- this is all fairly recent self-education, so correct me if I'm wrong) that this DO was cast by Wagner using the molds they took over from Griswold, and I would guess that it dates from the 1960's -- i.e., that period during which many say the quality of the cookware being produced was in decline. I thought to myself, "It looks good to me. But if this is representative of the decline, what must a piece of genuine Griswold iron be like, produced by the company during its (long) heyday?" So I decided to acquire some real Griswold iron.
I have to balance a few concerns: limited funds; limited space in my NYC apartment; and a quirk of mine that I get more pleasure out of things that I own and USE than I do out of things that I simply own. I find cast iron intensely beautiful, but for me part of its beauty has to do with its functionality, its practical appeal. What could be better? -- it's pleasing to the eye and hand AND it's a spectacular conductor of heat, makes food fantastic! I love caring for my cast iron cookware -- the cleaning and seasoning are pleasureable because I know that I'm helping it improve in its function. And I love the idea of cooking with older iron, of making use of something that has passed through various hands and served others in the past, iron that has seen some history. I get a charge from the idea that an object that came into existence in order to be used is still fulfilling that destiny with me, 50 or 75 or 100 years later. It's a bit of a link-with-history feeling for me. I am acquisitive in general, but due to the nature of cast iron's appeal for me -- and the afore-mentioned limits on money and space -- I'm not likely to acquire any more than I can actually use in my kitchen.
Whew! Long-winded, eh? That's how enthusiastic I am right now. I can just see you long-term fanatics reading this, shaking your heads and thinking "He's been bit by the bug, alright. He THINKS he'll stop when he's got his practical kitchen needs met, but I've seen cases like this before...". Even now I am torn -- it seems like the most practical investment for my needs (i.e., a No 8 skillet for cooking) would be one of the many extant skillets from c.1930's with the large block TM and "Erie, PA, USA" between the TM and pattern no. But it would be soooo cool to have and use a pan from the turn of the last century. It's a slippery slope...
-Kevin
