Posted 2 years ago
kwqd
(1122 items)
This Orr, Painter & Co., #8 cast iron skillet is 10.25" in diameter at the top x 2" high. It is marked "O. P. &. Co" and "8" on the bottom. It was made between 1886 and 1899 based on the mark on the bottom. It is very finely made and like many older cast iron skillets is thin and relatively light with a highly polished interior.
It does have one of the heaviest carbon build ups that I have ever seen on a piece of cast iron. Aside from that, it appears to be in great shape, not warped and no major rust or pitting. It should clean up really well. The carbon buildup it pretty porous, at least in places, and I was able to flake it off with an oil soaked paper towel. Most of it may clean up using a stiff bristle brush. The handle kind of looks painted, though that could just be from years of built up seasoning. My initial research indicates that skillets by this foundry are fairly rare and command $$ from collectors.
I have been haunting thrift shops for several days looking for some Corelle bowls and plates for my new house. Corelle is my preferred ware, but I am short a couple of plates. For some reason Corelle is non-existent at thrift shops in my area right now. I have been to five thrift shops and not seen a single piece. ??!!
Anyway, I did find one useful bit of furniture, but did not expect to find something else at GW which I could not walk away from. I could not pass up on this 120 plus year old skillet which should restore to like new. I definitely don't need more cast iron but this will be my oldest piece of American cast iron cookware. It was under $9 including tax with my veterans discount. I also just beat a couple who were eying it from a few feet away. I could see their frowns when I picked it up.
I do have an older piece of American cast iron, a glue pot used by my great grandfather when he was an upholsterer for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in the 1870s. Been thinking about posting that...
At my new house so my resources for taking and manipulating images are primitive.
http://www.castironcollector.com/orrpainter.php
Thanks Kevin!
Thanks PhilDMorris and dav2no1!
Thanks for checking out my old skillet Vynil33rpm, Watchsearcher and AnythingObscure!
Cast iron the only way to fry things, none of these new fangled pans with coatings ever work for long! :)
Thanks BHIFOS! I agree, and to boot, those coatings are often not healthy.
Interestingly, I just bought a second Lodge cast griddle for use at my new house and it is pre-seasoned. That doesn't work well at all. I had to stove top season it half a dozen times before food stopped sticking to it and re-do that before each use. Eventually that will make it non-stick. I am an advocate of stove top seasoning over baking in the oven....
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-clean-a-cast-iron-skillet-proper-care-and-seasoning-tips#how-to-season-a-castiron-skillet-on-the-stovetop-in-4-steps
I am going to put an apartment in the basement of my new house and move down there during the summer to avoid air conditioning bills so a lot of duplicate stuff I am buying for my new house will go into the basement apartment.
Thanks for loving my 120 plus year old cast iron skillet jscott0363, Alfie21, Bruce99, Jenni, vcal, fortapache and Cisum!