Restoring some heirloom cast iron

[camp_cookie]

Thanks to all for the kind words.

I'm looking forward to cooking with these pieces and sharing family history and memories with my little girl.

[Constance]

I have a nice collection of cast iron in the basement, including a wonderful chicken fryer, which is about 6" deep and has a lid. It's dry down there, so nothing is rusty, but it's filthy.
I can't use the stuff because it's just too darned heavy for me anymore, and I suppose I could clean it up and sell it, but I prefer to hang on to it, just in case we should ever have an emergency where we have to cook over an open fire. You just never know.

[Bigjim68]

Looks like you did a good job in rescuing some family heirlooms. Some of my cast iron is from my grandmothers, and most the rest of it was bought at yard sales for almost nothing. I probably would have passed on skillets as bad as your's looked. Now I will look at them as restorable. A wire brush chucked in a drill works wonders on sust. Never tried the coke route, what does it do? I always remove the seasoning on resale cast iron as I have no idea where it has been or what has been in it. I have a square skillet similar to the one you have, which does double duty as a bacon press on a cast iron grill. I hope that these pans came with your grandmothers recipes for corn bread and fried chicken. Grandmas recipes in her cookware always tastes better.

[jabbur]

This thread inspired me to drag out the 3 skillets I have and get them into cooking condition. Well, the one is a small "ashtray" size but it was in the worst condition. After removing all the gunk and getting down to the original finish, I foung that my larger skillet is a Griswold #8. The smaller one doesn't have a brand on the bottom and is just the right size for 2 eggs. I've reseasoned them and they are looking and cooking good! Now I want to look for a good griddle and a 12" skillet. Will have to hit thrift stores and estate sales this spring. Thanks for the instructions on restoring cast iron.

[C Fowler]

I just received a skillet from my Aunt - I was wondering if it was possible to fix it up. Now I know and will get to work on it.

I love cast iron for cooking on the stove top and I always use it for biscuits in the oven.

I have a lot of the All Clad Copper Core pots and use them all the time, but some times you just need a good 'ol cast iron skillet.

[Leolady]

You did a good job on those pans, and have some excellent photos.