Traditionals and Cast Iron Cookware

Old Hunter said:
I’ve tried to explain Navy Galley’s to my wife, nice big rack mounting from the ceiling with lots of cast and stainless pans hanging overhead - all I get is eye rolls and a negative answer! Married 45 years, I know when I won’t get my way - this is one of those. OH
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I wouldn't get my way even if I lived alone... Then again, were I in that situation I wouldn't have kid stuff lying strewn about like a cyclone just rolled through the house, and I'd probably live in a durashed with a pot belly stove for heat and a hole in the wall with a funnel outside for a bathroom.
 
With two coats of oven baked seasoning, followed by one additional stove top application I cooked breakfast then followed with browning some venison for tonight’s chili. It all went fine, to include cleanup with warm water and the brush. I think I am on the way now. I have read a lot of information and decided from here on out to do what Smithey and Field recommended (along with several of our posters) - just keep on cooking while being generous with the oil. Bacon and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. OH
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Old Hunter said:
With two coats of oven baked seasoning, followed by one additional stove top application I cooked breakfast then followed with browning some venison for tonight’s chili. It all went fine, to include cleanup with warm water and the brush. I think I am on the way now. I have read a lot of information and decided from here on out to do what Smithey and Field recommended (along with several of our posters) - just keep on cooking while being generous with the oil. Bacon and blueberry pancakes for breakfast. OH
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Smithey-Ironware-B-fast-pancakes-1-22-23.jpg
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Looks great you nailed it
 
Old Hunter said:
I can take you to two antique malls in this general area that have plenty of vintage, used cast iron. Lot of small pans (must be #6 or #8) and then some kettles and dutch ovens. Priced anywhere from $20 to $200. I have been content to buy new Lodge cast iron over the last 20 years and of course now I have this upscale Smithey - with new cast iron I know what I am getting, most of the used has no name and maybe a number and that's all. OH
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Thanks for the offer. No need, I have all the CI I need. But I used to buy and clean vintage CI for gifts. That's not really an option anymore.

I suppose I could try to hit up yard and estate sales, but how much would that cost me in time and gas? I'd rather keep my weekends free to spend with loved ones.
 
Old Hunter said:
I’ve tried to explain Navy Galley’s to my wife, nice big rack mounting from the ceiling with lots of cast and stainless pans hanging overhead - all I get is eye rolls and a negative answer! Married 45 years, I know when I won’t get my way - this is one of those. OH
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i actually had that in my kitchen but my wife is 4'8" tall and every time she wanted a pot or pan she had to get the step ladder. i came home from work one day it was gone the ceiling was patched and painted i knew better than to ask
 
I still find deals occasionally, but average price has gone up since a few years ago. The thing is, you can't go out and just pick up a good piece of used CI anytime you want to. It is a hunt, which is part fun and part work. I just brought this #9 skillet home last week from an antique store near my work. It wasn't dirt cheap, and required a some labor to clean it up, but it turned out to be a real peach of a skillet. $85 for a #9 size skillet that is 100yrs old is a bargain compared to an equivalent piece from Field or Smithy for $180+. Just have to look past the crud and grime and see what could be... and take some risks that there aren't any cracks under there. Which does happen. That is what keeps me in the hunt. Though I confess that some areas have it harder, and some have it much easier, in terms of availability.

One thing new boutique manufactures have over vintage is readily available skillets in larger sizes. anything over a #10 in a known vintage brand quickly eclipses the price of Field and Smithy, and is really where they shine in today's market in my opinion. I really want a #12 Field since it would become one of my largest skillets and #12 vintage is all but gone these days. Once the kids get older, I'll need to start making larger meals :)
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I really need to get a knife in the pic.

...edit to add, I was really happy about this find since it now becomes one of my oldest skillets (1920's), and I don't find pieces like this very often. Most Griswold stuff gets slapped with $150+ price tags and I walk away. I am a cast iron user first, so I try not to get carried away on collector grade iron and stick to more user grade stuff for cheaper. Occasionally I find one like this that is attainable for my self-appointed budget and that is a rare treat. My favorite stuff is early BSR because it is unmarked and usually priced really cheap for how light and smooth it is.
 
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Looking good Preston! I left Wednesday morning and drove halfway across the state to Charlotte for meetings, got home Friday evening - all restaurant food, no home kitchen last few days. I did stop at a few small rural gunshops I have been missing for the last three years. One had taken in a few older but mint pocketknives, picked up a Winchester 3-spring Whittler, very stoutly built. OH
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Old Hunter said:
Looking good Preston! I left Wednesday morning and drove halfway across the state to Charlotte for meetings, got home Friday evening - all restaurant food, no home kitchen last few days. I did stop at a few small rural gunshops I have been missing for the last three years. One had taken in a few older but mint pocketknives, picked up a Winchester 3-spring Whittler, very stoutly built. OH
Smithey-Ironware-Winchester-3904-Whittler-1-28-23.jpg
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A good looking double there. :thumbsup:
 
Fixed some homemade Egg McMuffin’s this morning. The Smithey skillet has really advanced rapidly using the grapeseed paste and oil, slick as glass and cleaned up with a swipe of a paper towel. The Case 5318 is from the New-Grind era.
OH
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