Cast iron

[joeD]

The key to cast iron is being poor in Depression era Appalachia. 

[BilletHead]

9 hours ago, 96 CHAMP said:

I disagree respectfully, how hot do you think that Dutch oven is when you have coals under & on top of the lid. 350,400,450,500, all depends on what you are cooking for hours on end

                    350 -500 yes no problem but we are talking self cleaning ovens going to 800 plus degrees. I am not going to take the chance with vintage stuff that hot. There are many more easy ways to clean your iron safely. 

[BilletHead]

9 hours ago, Basfis said:

After reading and googling a little more, I think I’ll walnut blast and speed the stripping without harsh chemicals 

                   Harsh chemicals? Not sure what you mean? Lye is a natural product. It was in the soap that your elders used.  You can wash it off after using it. If you all knew what some of the vintage stuff was worth you might think twice. If you want to blast it I think your idea of walnut medium is a good choice.

  BilletHead

[BilletHead]

9 hours ago, Terrierman said:

Interesting reading.  Thanks.  I googled Wagner cast iron cookware.  I had no idea that stuff was even kind of valuable.  It's been so long I don't even remember how I came by it.

              Rick,

    I am glad you get it my friend. They don't make stuff like that anymore. That is what got me so interested in it. I have at least one piece that was made in the 1800's. Others way, way older than I am that properly treated will outlive all of us. I like it !

    BilletHead

[96 CHAMP]

37 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

                    350 -500 yes no problem but we are talking self cleaning ovens going to 800 plus degrees. I am not going to take the chance with vintage stuff that hot. There are many more easy ways to clean your iron safely. 

If a self cleaning oven went to 800 I definitely would not put anything in it, the cleaning cycle on mine goes to 500 max.

[Flysmallie]

13 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

I always thought the greatest thing about a cast iron pan was that it cooks evenly, lasts forever, and you could bang it around any way you wanted to.

But everyone that considers themselves a CI connoisseur is always saying "OMG don't do THAT, you'll ruin it".  🙄 

 

Yeah I'm not creating any family heirlooms here. My usual process is to pull it off the campfire and toss it in the river until I need it the next morning. The minners and crawdaddies will clean it out. Wire brush on a drill works pretty good. Coat with some oil or whatever and throw that baby on the grill. The queen get's pissy when I do it in the oven. 

[top_dollar]

A quick soaking in vinegar, and a light scrub with warm soapy water and steel wool.  A mild acid will work similarly to an electrolysis bath.  It should be mostly silver at this point.  Then rub it with oil and bake it in the oven at 400F for at least an hour.  If you aren't going to be using the pan very often, repeat the oil/bake process a few times.  If you will be using it often, then just 1 time will be fine as cooking in it will build up a good coating. 

[tjm]

 We cleaned crusted up skillets in the wood heating  stoves at dull red  temps or in an outside fire buried in the coals so that the cool down was slow. Dull red hot  (~500-800F) removes everything that I can think of ever being in or on a skillet including scale rust and never  harmed a good skillet if evenly  heated and slowly cooled. Scouring with rock salt was not uncommon because it was sand like and in the premises, salt is seasoning.  Finishing was always wipe it with lard in and out as soon as it cooled and cook in it. Key to getting it nonstick is never ever use detergent to wash it; heat the pan smoking hot and splash water into creating instant steam will turn the scorched stuff loose and  scouring with a chore girl pad under warm running water will remove any mess.  At the camp fire, hot skillet with a bit of grease throw some ashes into it and stir then add some water and bring to simmer hot and scour with sand or dirt.  You just made and used lye soap to clean it. Wipe it out with a rag and rub more lard on it. Folks I grew up around, that had lived in the 1800s,  would laugh themselves silly at some of the cast iron methods and "knowledge" of today. Flax oil or better known to them as linseed oil was used as harness oil and paint base, I doubt you could have forced them to eat it or put it on a pan.

[96 CHAMP]

6 minutes ago, tjm said:

 We cleaned crusted up skillets in the wood heating  stoves at dull red  temps or in an outside fire buried in the coals so that the cool down was slow. Dull red hot  (~500-800F) removes everything that I can think of ever being in or on a skillet including scale rust and never  harmed a good skillet if evenly  heated and slowly cooled. Scouring with rock salt was not uncommon because it was sand like and in the premises, salt is seasoning.  Finishing was always wipe it with lard in and out as soon as it cooled and cook in it. Key to getting it nonstick is never ever use detergent to wash it; heat the pan smoking hot and splash water into creating instant steam will turn the scorched stuff loose and  scouring with a chore girl pad under warm running water will remove any mess.  At the camp fire, hot skillet with a bit of grease throw some ashes into it and stir then add some water and bring to simmer hot and scour with sand or dirt.  You just made and used lye soap to clean it. Wipe it out with a rag and rub more lard on it. Folks I grew up around, that had lived in the 1800s,  would laugh themselves silly at some of the cast iron methods and "knowledge" of today. Flax oil or better known to them as linseed oil was used as harness oil and paint base, I doubt you could have forced them to eat it or put it on a pan.

Flax seed oil is pure, and fit for human consumption, Lind seed oil contains additives that makes it usable for paint cleaning properties, not good for human consumption. 

[ness]

One thing I know from experience is when seasoning use very little oil and wipe it down until it's almost all gone. A thick coating of oil will give you a gummy, sticky surface.