Author Topic: Magnalite Finds (Read 11514 times)

Chuck Rogers · « **on:** September 11, 2009, 09:41:22 PM »

Attended an auction after work today in the rain and wind. Came away with a Griswold, fully marked Tite-Top Dutch Oven with matching lid. It's in the tank now. I want to see what's under the thick gunk. No pics, sorry. And this lot of Magnalite. From back to front, left to right is:

A 4683, A 4682 (Both have original wood lid knobs, and handles)
A 4672 The Gourmet Pan, A 652 Flaring Sauce Pan (aluminum, not Magnalite), A 4681.

A GHC Magnalite 9 3/4 inch, and a 4506-P

Any info on these would be great. I found some of them in the RB, but not all. I seem to be running into the Magnalite lately.

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #1 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:33:10 AM »

Hey Chuck, what kind of a griswold tite top dutch oven, theres eight kinds. ;)

And about the magnalite wooden handles, I ain't sayin they ain't original, and I ain't sayin they are, but I have never seen any like that before, have you Chuck? They look like a handy person made them. :-/ Nice job too, but original. :-/

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #2 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:34:49 AM »

OH, Chuck, and if you ever come across that one magnalite, its big, its deep, and its got a lid, they are nice, I have seen a couple on ebay, but I have never got one, if you find an extra, I'd like to have one. :)

Chuck, and it looks like you got a litter of magnalites there. You are going through the "magnalite stage" right now Chuck. Its when you look away from cast iron for a fleeting moment, and you think, "hey, that stuff looks pretty neat", it took me about 25 or thirty doses to quench my thirst, for now. ;)

Chuck Rogers · « **Reply #3 on:** September 12, 2009, 01:12:15 AM »

Perry,
   The handles are missing the black finish I believe. They show that style on page 40 of the RB, bottom left. Or are the ones in the book black plastic of some sort. I just assumed that the black was worn off of the ones that I have.
   Sorry, forgot to mention it was a #9 Griswold DO. As for the large Magnalite, which one are you referring to Perry. Am I missing something?
   As for looking away from cast iron, I don't know. It was just nice to see all that Magnalite in one spot, and the price was right at $15. This Magnalite is super clean, and in real nice shape. Besides, I still got the #9 DO, so I'm mixing C I, and aluminum. ;D

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #4 on:** September 12, 2009, 01:34:52 AM »

FIFTEEN DOLLARS :o I don't blame you one bit, I'da give that for them if I had a thousand just like them. ;) And the one I'm talkin about, here, I'll post a picture of it for you, now don't slobber on it. ;D

Chuck Rogers · « **Reply #5 on:** September 12, 2009, 07:00:28 AM »

HOLY COW. What is that? Looks like about 3 gallons. And I don't see an assist handle. Either you ladled out of it, or had real big forearms to lift it when it's full.

Now, about those wooden handles on my pots. Were the originals made of wood, or were they plastic from the factory?

   One other question. One of them has a wobble. Can this be fixed, or are they like black iron, NO BENDING? It would be nice to make them all sit flat.

One intresting point about the Magnalite that I bought. The woman who owned them used to live in Sidney Ohio, right next to the Wagner Plant. She only moved to this area about 10 years ago. This is according to her son, who I spoke to after the auction yesterday.

   Now make sure you wipe that thing off before you put it away. I did druel just a bit on it. Sorry bout that.

Will Person · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2009, 07:35:09 AM »

652 Flaring Sauce Pan is not really Magnalite. There is the 651, 652, and 653 Flaring Sauce Pans. I have one of them. I will have to look and see.

Will 8-)

Robert Hilman · « **Reply #7 on:** September 12, 2009, 10:45:45 AM »

As far as I know they only used solid bakeolite handles

Chris Stairs · « **Reply #8 on:** September 12, 2009, 10:59:16 AM »

Quote

652 Flaring Sauce Pan is not really Magnalite. There is the 651, 652, and 653 Flaring Sauce Pans. I have one of them. I will have to look and see.
Will 8-)

Will,
Chuck said in his very first post that the 652 is not Magnalite.

I'm with Perry and Robert in that I'm skeptical about those wooden handles. If they are a handyman job, and I hope they aren't, it looks like holes might have been drilled in the metal to attach them. :-/

Chris

Robert Hilman · « **Reply #9 on:** September 12, 2009, 11:11:04 AM »

Chris like Chuck said on page 40 of the RB there are pictures of handles attached the same way. But till I looked I thought the same thing.

Roger Barfield · « **Reply #10 on:** September 12, 2009, 11:46:02 AM »

Perry, what was the 4 digit number on that deep skillet? 457?

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #11 on:** September 12, 2009, 11:53:18 AM »

Well, I looked at page 40, and those handles sure look like bakelite to me, I have never seen anything but a bakelite handle on a piece of magnalite. So if your handles are wood Chuck, somebody put them on there like that. Bakelite does chip and break, so somebody has replaced them handles and the knob, if you think about it, a wooden handle on a skillet is not a good idea at all, but, its better than no handle at all.

And Chuck, I don't have that big magnalite skillet that I posted a picture of, thats why I posted it, you're supposed to go find me one. ;)

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #12 on:** September 12, 2009, 11:58:23 AM »

Heres a picture of the bottom of that skillet I posted. I can't make out the numbers on it, I do see Magnalite though, and its possible that this is not a Wagner Magnalite. Maybe one of you Eagle Eye folks can read this? :-/

Roger Barfield · « **Reply #13 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:05:26 PM »

I think it's 4572

Roger Barfield · « **Reply #14 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:06:18 PM »

I don't know if these are original, but I saw these on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Pcs-Wagner-Ware-Magnalite-10-1-4-Chicken-Fryer-etc_W0QQitemZ120464245889QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0c3a8481&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Chris Stairs · « **Reply #15 on:** September 12, 2009, 12:22:30 PM »

Roger,
Just looking at how the handles attach to the pan, I can see how the Bakelite would be prone to cracking. I'll bet many wooden handles were crafted for these items to keep them in service. I notice Chuck's has a hang hole, and the one you posted does not.
Looks like they changed to a different style of attachment, probably for this reason. I know that early Revere Ware used a shorter metal tang, and it's rare to find an unbroken one. They changed the style of attachment to prevent the Bakelite handles from cracking.

Chris

Robert Hilman · « **Reply #16 on:** September 12, 2009, 01:56:44 PM »

Quote

Well, I looked at page 40, and those handles sure look like bakelite to me, I have never seen anything but a bakelite handle on a piece of magnalite. So if your handles are wood Chuck, somebody put them on there like that. Bakelite does chip and break, so somebody has replaced them handles and the knob, if you think about it, a wooden handle on a skillet is not a good idea at all, but, its better than no handle at all.

And Chuck, I don't have that big magnalite skillet that I posted a picture of, thats why I posted it, you're supposed to go find me one. ;)

Perry that was not my point. The handles attach the same on page 40 so no holes were made to attach them. That was my point.

Ray Benash · « **Reply #17 on:** September 12, 2009, 06:42:46 PM »

Not near the experts that you guys are. But during my few years of watching and resisting (well not totally because I have some old Faberware that I really like) non cast iron vintage pieces, all of the magnalite (which I think is really cool - old stuff) with handles was Bakelite. If they are wood they are replacements IMHO. But - my experience is minimal, just watching, looking and reading. There was older pre magnalire aluminum Wagner that had wood handles though I believe, but they were rounded?

I do like the old magnalite, I have one piece a large #9 size roaster with trivet that I love and use often.

But I do beleive the handles on magnalite pots were bakelite never wood.

AFA the #9 DO Chuck - that was my first ever piece of Griswold and it has been used heavily since. That's a really nice size. I have an unmarked lid (I moved up to a medallion enameled lid) with the enamel inside. If you want it let me know. The fully marked lids are really cool, but if you are cooking you may want to have this lid as the enameled lids are so easy to clean and you really don't have to worry about the seasoning on them, since the topside of the lid takes care of itself pretty much and darken on their own. Since you've done such a great job on my CI refinishing I though this might be a good payback. Let me know if you want it. This way if you are cooking with it you can keep your fully marked lid really nice and on the shelf.

Chuck Rogers · « **Reply #18 on:** September 13, 2009, 01:53:41 AM »

I'm in agreement that the handles are replacements. I assumed that they were original, and that the finish had come off, similar to W I handles. I can see now that a wood handle, that is that close to the pot, may have an issue with burning. These show no burn marks though. They're made out of some really nice maple.

Perry, I will be on the lookout for that piece for you. I've been coming across alot of Magnalite in the past couple of weeks, so you never know.

Will, is that 652 Flaring sauce pan something that you need? After looking it up in the book, I realized that it was just aluminum, not Magnalite. Still a nice piece though. The handle has some issues, but still a nice one.

Ray, I'm in the same boat. Learning as I go. I got the #9 out of the tank this evening, and it turns out the the crust on the outside bottom was hidding some bad pitting. The inside looks great though. The lid has some blemishes, so I won't be replacing the one in my set with it. I'll have to decide what I'm doing with the #9. We already have one for a user. I appreciate the offer on the lid, but I think I'll have to pass. Although I grab every lid that I see at an auction. ;D

C. Perry Rapier · « **Reply #19 on:** September 13, 2009, 09:05:41 AM »

Chuck, now when you're on the lookout for this piece in the picture, its not just a regular 12" magnalite 3"deep skillet, it is deeper than 3", and Roger says the number is 4572, that very well could be right, because the number 4570 is for a 12" chicken fryer, but like I said, this one is not that one. I hope that makes sense. :)

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Author Topic: Magnalite Finds (Read 11514 times)