Anvils: A beginner buyers guide | BushcraftUK Community

Ok chaps - I can't for the life of me remember if I ever posted this here before so mods please feel to move/ remove as necessary.

This is a very long read so go get a nice beverage and settle in - we seem to have a number of folks getting into blacksmithing at the minute and this is a post I wrote out some years ago for another forum that people have found helpful in the past so I thought I'd post it here too.


First of all I want to make it very clear that if you’re just starting out in blacksmithing you DO NOT NEED a “London Pattern anvil” to start hitting hot metal on. "Real" anvils are usually very expensive (your location in the world makes a big difference) not to mention relatively rare and hard to find.

All too often I see posts on forums or Facebook where a new smith has spent all of their spare cash because they “HAD” to have an anvil.

A large sledge hammer head, a section of rail track mounted vertically (more mass under the hammer) or any large chunk of scrap steel will make a perfectly serviceable anvil. Some are even better than a “real” anvil for one reason or another.



Also I’d like to make it very clear that this guide is aimed at newcomers to the craft and not seasoned smiths.



Also I’d like to note I’ve copied these images from the internet. All rights go to their respective owners. If you have an anvil that looks similar to the ones I’ve shown then please post them here so that we can use images from forum members. If anyone has issue with me using their image please let me know so I can take it down.



So this is the anatomy of an anvil:



Firstly lets look at a “Perfect” Anvil.



This is a brand new Refflinghaus anvil pictured on blksmth.com - The face is perfectly flat. The edges are straight and crisp. There’s nothing broken or missing. This is arguably the daddy of all anvils. A wonderful tool. If I could afford it I’d buy one. But the reality is I can’t.

Chances are that the anvil you are going to look at is very unlikely to look like the above. If it does you are either a) incredibly lucky or spending a great deal of money. Which is absolutely fine either way.

So you’ve saved up a wad of cash and have found an anvil within reasonable collecting distance. What do you need to know and what should you be looking for?



When going to view an anvil you need to bring a testing kit with you.



You will need:

A hammer

A 1” ball bearing

A ruler. (preferably metal)

A scraper if the anvil is covered in paint. More on all that later.



RULE NUMBER ONE: ALWAYS TAKE CASH WITH YOU AND BRING MORE THAN THE COST OF THE ANVIL!!!!





Step 1: Figure out what it’s made of.



The first thing for me would be to work out what it is made from. Generally speaking it really doesn’t matter at all. The only real thing you need to discern is whether or not it is made of cast iron. (the bad kind)



Just for your knowledge though: There are several materials anvils can be made from - in no particular order.



Wrought iron body with welded steel face.



The oldest construction method of the bunch. These anvils have a forged wrought iron body with a steel face welded to the top. There are numerous British and American makers that used this method and it makes a superb anvil. The fact that so many survive today is a testament to the quality of their construction methods. - Older anvils had the face plate made up of several different pieces of steel, as steel was harder to make in large sections. Notable makers include Mousehole Forge, Peter Wright, Hill, Isaac Nash, Henry Wright, Wilkinsons and many others.

All forged anvils have identifying features that give away their construction. The most obvious is the presence of handling holes at the waste of the anvil and often a handling hole under the base of the anvil. This is where large tongs gripped the body while it was forged.


Another indication of forged construction is having a stamped makers mark, depressed into the steel rather than raised out of it.Forged wrought iron anvils have two very common “faults” - “delamination” and “sway”. More on these later.




I’ve inserted an image of a forged anvil. This is a Peter Wright. Notice the handling holes at the waste and under the base. Also note the extra handling hole in the feet, this is characteristic of Peter and Henry Wright anvils. You can also make out the stamp in the picture.



Another thing to note here is that I often see beginners try to identify anvils for one another on Facebook with some very strong opinions on what the anvil “DEFINITELY” is. If you are trying to identify an anvil with no clear markings I would suggest asking the forum or PM me directly. There are too many armchair experts out there who quite frankly have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.



Case and point is that there were literally HUNDREDS of forges making anvils in Britain. Below is a forged English anvil. NOT ALL ENGLISH ANVILS ARE THE “MOUSEHOLE” BRAND. - A great many makers made anvils with the same features as Mousehole Forge. The above anvil shares all the features of a Mousehole but I don’t see a makers name. As such it is likely not made by Mousehole.




Cast Steel

With technological advances and cheaper steel makers were able to cast entire anvils. Depending on the maker these can be hard to identify but will typically lack handling holes of any kind. - The biggest giveaway to a cast anvil is raised lettering on the body.

Below is an image of a Brooks anvil. Note the parting line running centrally up the anvil and the raised lettering on the side.



Cast anvils are generally less prone to sway, but it can happen. The issue many cast steel anvils have is chipped edges. More on this later.







Cast iron with welded steel face: (Henceforth called CISF) -

There are several American makers that constructed anvils in this way. Fisher, Badger, Star and Vulcan are the ones I know of though there may be a few more. These have a cast iron body with a steel face welded to it producing a perfectly good anvil. Though beware, Vulcan anvils are generally considered poorer quality as they had very thin face plates that were very likely to chip in use. Fisher face plates were quite hard I believe and are also prone to chipping. - It is worth noting that this method of construction produced an anvil which doesn’t “ring” and as such are relatively quiet. If the smith has concerns with noise, an anvil made this way would be a good investment.

Below is an image of a Fisher anvil. Notice the raised numbers and makers mark indicating a cast anvil. If you are faced with an obviously cast anvil but do not recognise the makers mark, posting it to a Facebook group via your (assuming you have a smartphone) will often lead to a quick identification. HOWEVER google that maker yourself just to clarify it.



- Please note here that CISF anvils are not typically found in the UK. Some examples did make it over but these are few and far between. Should anyone happen to spot a Fisher anvil - I call dibs. I own one already and know of 3 others in the country.



Cast ductile iron

- the last of the decent anvil construction materials. Ductile iron is similar to cast iron but much much stronger. IT makes for a relatively soft anvil but is vastly superior to cast iron. I believe only a few modern makers use ductile iron - they are made specifically for farriers. Below is an O’Dwyer farriers anvil. Identification of these should be rather easy. - As an update I am told that O'Dwyer now use cast steel. As such it will only be their older models that use ductile Iron.






Cast iron:

- Finally the worst of all the materials. Cast iron is brittle, weak and frankly an awful material to make an anvil from. These will dent and chip in use and should really only be considered if you honestly have no access to a large sledge hammer head or chunk of scrap steel. The money spent on a new cast iron anvil should easily cover the cost of a cheap hardware store sledge hammer which will serve you far better in the long run.


Cast iron anvils come in several shapes and forms. They are very easy to spot once you know what you're looking at. The proportions of the anvil will be wrong. The horn will likely be either very short and stubby or flat. Or both. The overall shape often looks wrong and they will typically be very small in size. Less than 20lbs in most cases. They often have no pritchel/ hardy hole or no hole at all. Sometimes the hardy hole is smaller than the pritchel hole. The cutting table will be very short if present. And they're almost always painted blue... Pictured are all cast iron junk anvils.











Step 2. Start checking the anvil over. Visual inspection.



Now assuming you’ve given the anvil a once over you’ve probably figured out what it is made from and you may have seen a makers mark. But try not to get too excited and hand over the cash. Now is the time to really check the anvil over.



This is where you need to start your visual inspection of the anvil. How does it look? Does it look in good overall condition or is it chipped or swayed? Are there parts broken off?



Ideally the anvil should be in as good condition as possible. But it is still a perfectly serviceable tool even with some significant damage.





Sway:



This is the name given to an anvil face that has become concave through use. This is typically the result of a combination of the nature of the materials used to make the anvil (Wrought iron is relatively soft) and the scars of many years of heavy use.

*It is interesting to note that Peter Wright anvils were made from high quality wrought iron, compared to other companies that used “Best Scrap” which inevitably had bits of steel in there too. As such the “Best Scrap” anvils were often a little tougher than the Peter Wright anvils. As such the early PW anvils would sway relatively easily; eventually PW started making their faces very slightly concave to combat this.



Sway in an anvil is not a problem, indeed some smiths prefer it. Excessive sway however should really be avoided if at all possible. Ideally is there is any sway it should be less than 1/8” over the length of the anvil face. Use your ruler to check for this.



This anvil has some sway, Personally this is the most I could work with but some folks are perfectly happy with more sway. The anvil is in otherwise perfectly good condition and well worth having.




This anvil however has excessive sway. The face has dipped significantly and even the heel has been bent. (I should really point out that we are spoiled for choice for anvils in the UK and there are enough available within driving distance that I can afford to be fussy. - personally I would pass on both of the above and keep looking. BUT if you’ve spent several years looking and this is all you’ve found then they are both still a workable tool. Nothing has been broken off and the central part of the face appears to be relatively flat. The face plate also appears to be intact. Buy it if it’s cheap. Pass if not.)


Chipping and edges:

All anvils can chip, cast steel and CISF anvils are particularly prone to it. As such there is a good chance the anvil you go to see will be at least slightly chipped somewhere.



Whether or not this is an issue on the anvil varies dramatically. In short the less chips out of the edges of the anvil the better. BUT a chipped anvil face does not make it a bad anvil at all. Quite the contrary. Chips should be ground smooth and radiused with a flap disc on an angle grinder. This gives the smith some very useful surfaces to work on when forging.



As with sway, a little chipping is not a problem at all. Almost all of the anvils I’ve owned have been at least a little chipped. Excessive chipping however should be avoided.



This anvil below has chipped edges. In my opinion this is not excessive chipping and with some work with an angle grinder and a flap disc this is a perfectly usable anvil. Notice how the chips are limited to the outer edges of the face and do not extend into the face itself.





Excess chipping would be where the chips extend deep into the face of the anvil itself or deep into the body of the anvil; so much so that grinding it back would require removing a significant amount of the anvil. Common sense should prevail here.


This particular anvil is a CISF Vulcan brand mostly seen in the USA - but serves to give you an idea of severe chipping. It's not actually THAT bad on this anvil and if it were of forged or cast steel construction this level of damaged could be repaired by a skilled welder but personally I'd just walk away.


Sharp edges:

New smiths seem to be fascinated by the idea that anvils need to be perfectly flat and have perfect 90 degree edges. This is not the case. AT ALL. You really do not need sharp edges for 99% of forging processes. If a sharper edge is required then a hardy tool can be made for this job.


Delaminating/ Delamination:

This is only really an issue for forged anvils with a wrought iron body and steel face. Delamination is where the weld between the body and the face of the anvil has failed. This can occur on just part of the face or across its entirety.



Above is a perfect example of where a face plate has completely delaminated and broken off of the body of the anvil. Of course this does not always happen like this. Some times the delaminated area of the plate remains attached to the face plate but is detached from the anvil body. This is why it is important to check the entire face for ring and rebound. A delaminated plate will sound different; dead if you will, compared to the rest of the face. More on that below.


Again common sense prevails. If 90% of the face plate is missing I would walk away. If a small portion at one corner has broken off and the rest appears to be ok, and the anvil is in otherwise good condition then you could still buy it.

Welding an anvil:

DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS IF YOU ARE NOT A HIGHLY COMPETENT WELDER. If in doubt don’t buy the anvil and walk away.

Anvils can be repaired by competent welders. It IS doable. BUT only if you do it properly. The vast majority of Facebook armchair smiths I’ve seen have offered WRONG advice on this matter.


As a general rule I almost always suggest that people do not weld their anvils as 99% of cases do not really require it. However there are times when an anvil would benefit from a good quality repair. An anvil with a small piece of the plate missing is a good example. The anvil above has a significant amount of the face missing but it seems to be in good condition apart from that. Depending on the sale price it could be a good candidate for repair.

Just do your research. The Robb Gunther method is generally regarded as a good way to repair an anvil.



Step 3. Testing:

Assuming your anvil passes a visual inspection and has no obvious flaws then it is time to test it.


Ring and Rebound:

These are the most well known tests for any prospective anvil buyer. Be aware that paint or rust on the face will dramatically effect the results so you should clean at least a portion of the face if you can. (with current owners permission obviously)

Ring:

Take your hammer and gently strike the face of the anvil. If the anvil is forged wrought iron or cast steel it will ring like a bell. The pitch of the ring can also help indicate what the anvil is made from.

A wrought iron anvil in my experience usually has a high pitched ring like a bell, with almost a musical note to it. This is usually not a prolonged note.

In my experience cast steel anvils have a very high pitched ring that can be very piercing and almost unpleasant to the ears. The ring can also be quite prolonged and drawn out.

Cast iron anvils with a steel face will produce a note when struck but will not sound like a bell. The note shouldn’t reverberate or be prolonged at all.


Cheap cast iron anvils should sound dead under the hammer. I can’t honestly say what they sound like as I have never been in the situation where I’m looking to buy one.

Strike all over the face, horn, heel and body of the anvil. Even the feet. At this point it is worth noting that the horn and the heel of an anvil WILL sound different to the body. Higher pitched usually. This is because there is less metal in these areas so the note is different.

When striking the face it should all sound the same. If you are striking and suddenly the face sounds wildly different in one area it could indicate a crack or delamination. Be sure to visually inspect this area closely and be sure to test it with the rebound test.

Also check to see if your hammer blows have left dents. Dents left by light blows are a good indication that the face is soft. I’ve used an anvil with a soft face and it worked perfectly well, just keep it in mind and use it as a negotiation point if needs be.

NB - ring is only an indication. It is not a rule set in stone. My first anvil barely had any ring to it at all but it was a perfectly good anvil. Rebound:

To me this is the more important of the two tests. If you’re on the hunt for an anvil the I’d keep that 1” ball bearing in your car on the off chance you come across something.

“Rebound” is the name given to the amount of energy an anvil reflects back at the user. But it can give a good indication of face plate problems.

Take your 1” ball bearing (Larger or smaller it doesn’t really matter.) and your ruler. Now hold the ball at 10” above the anvil face and drop it. It’s best to do this so you can see how high it bounces.

10” is ideal as it’s very easy to do the math for it. A “good” anvil should have more than 70-75% rebound. So the ball should bounce a minimum of 7” high. Many anvils will produce rebound higher than this but anything drastically less should be approached with caution.

This is where cleaning the anvil face makes a big difference. Paint and thick layers of rust WILL drastically reduce rebound, so clean the face if you can.

Like the ring test, you should check rebound all over the face. The heel will have less rebound than the face, just like the ring there is less material there so it behaves differently.

The rebound should be the same across the whole face. An areas where it suddenly rebounds a lot less may indicate a crack or delamination. If this occurs during the testing then have another good look at the anvil. (Common sense) It may be that there is a significant crack you missed initially so proceed accordingly.

As frustrating and disappointing as it it. (Trust me, I know) You are better off in the long run to save your cash and walk away from an anvil that is too damaged to be usable.

Step 4. HAGGLE!!!!

So you’ve looked over the anvil and everything is in order. There’s a couple small flaws, a little sway or maybe a chipped edge. Use that to your advantage. Start to umm and ar about the price. Make a cheeky low ball offer. You never know you might get lucky.

If for arguments sake your seller wants £400, why not offer £250 or less! They might know what they have is valuable but they might not. You might get laughed at but on the other hand they might either accept the offer or come back with a slightly reduced figure. Ultimately you’ve saved yourself some cash.


Remember rule number one? Always bring cash and bring more than you need if you can afford to. Money talks. Your seller might start to budge on price if he sees some nice crisp notes being counted out infant of him.

A trick I’ve heard of people use is to count out the sum they want to pay in front of the seller. Some guys crack at this.

The other trick to try is to ask if they have any other blacksmithing stuff. You might stumble on a gold mine of equipment. If that is the case and you can afford it (and there are things you want) then you should try and get some other stuff as part of the deal.


So I hope this has helped some of you out there. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. PM me directly if needs be.

All the best

Andy

Last Updated on June 7, by Aaron von Frank

With competitive price and timely delivery, Hengfeng sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Antique cast iron pans put modern cookware (including new cast iron) to shame. In this article, you’ll discover:

• how to find the best antique cast iron cookware for prices you won’t believe;
• how to restore, maintain, and cook in cast iron pans; and
• myth vs reality of using cast iron in your kitchen.

This article is a collaboration with our dear friend, Eliza Holcombe. Eliza, who we affectionately call “encyclopedia head,” is a fount of knowledge about antique cast iron cookware — and an avid collector.

The first thing she’ll tell you: you don’t have to have deep pockets to have a swoon-worthy antique cast iron cookware collection. In fact, armed with a bit of knowledge (which she happily provides to anyone who will listen), you can have a kitchen full of antique cast iron cookware for far less than it would cost you to buy cheap modern cookware.

Why is antique cast iron cookware better than the rest?

Years back, Eliza gifted us a beautiful set of cast iron pans she’d found at a flea market and restored to perfect condition. (Yes, that’s what you call a good friend!)

The Tyrant and I do a lot of cooking and consider ourselves fairly adept at using various types of cookware. At the time of Eliza’s gift, we had enameled cookware, new cast iron, stainless steel, and more in our kitchen…

The first thing we noticed about the antique cast iron pans Eliza gave us were the smooth surfaces of the pan bottoms. “That’s how you can immediately tell they’re antiques,” Eliza informed us. (You’ll learn why below!)

After using our “new” antique cast iron pans for a few weeks, we quickly fell in love. Now we rarely use anything else. Exceptions: we still use stainless steel sauce pans for boiling water, soups, and high acid sauces (yes, you’ll find out why in this article), plus we use a wok for Asian stir fry dishes.

5 unique benefits of antique cast iron pans

Properly cared for antique cast iron pans have a wide range of benefits over other cookware, including:

1. They’re virtually indestructible and will long outlive you. (Your Teflon pan will be lucky to outlive a hamster – no offense to hamsters.)

2. Their surface is naturally no-stick (once properly seasoned) and scratch-free.

3. They don’t contain environmentally- or health-hazardous substances like Teflon does. (Yes, we like to pick on Teflon. Unlike hamsters, we don’t mind offending Teflon.)

4. They’re often much thinner (thus lighter in weight) than comparably sized modern cast iron or ceramic cookware.

5. Once heated, they stay hot and radiate heat further above the cooking surface (especially helpful for things like baked goods and cuts of meat).

Now that you know a bit more about the benefits of antique cast iron pans, let’s take a deeper dive into these unique historical treasures!

What is an “antique” cast iron pan?

An antique cast iron pan is one that was made prior to the s and features a glass-smooth cooking surface.

Lodge Logic is the only brand of cast iron still operating that has been making cookware since the late ’s. However, a new Lodge pan is nothing like their old ones.

Lodge’s current models are based on design changes invented around the s in order to appeal to people charmed by the new convenience of Teflon. Modern consumers didn’t want the extra step of “seasoning” a cast iron pan after purchasing it.

In response, newer cast iron pans have a deliberately pebbly or sandpapery texture so that their surface can be misted with oil and heated at the factory, creating assembly line, “pre-seasoned” pans.

The smooth surface of the old designs wouldn’t stick to the oil mist long enough to make it through the heating process, and the foresight of this design is why Lodge is still around today. Teflon’s success put the other cast iron brands out of business.

What does it mean to “season” an antique cast iron pan?

Perhaps the greatest misperception when it comes to cast iron pans is “seasoning.” No, seasoning is NOT “the accumulated gunk built up on the pan that adds the right flavor to the food,” as someone once told Eliza. Yuck!

So what is seasoning? Seasoning is a thin layer of oil that has been heated until polymerization occurs, essentially bonding it to the metal as an inert, nonstick surface that is much stronger and more difficult to damage than Teflon.

Once polymerization happens you can’t even wash the seasoning off with dish detergent since it is no longer oil, though it’s a popular myth that this is a no-no. If your cast iron seasoning comes off in your food when you cook or clean it properly, you aren’t doing it right.

(We’ll discuss proper antique cast iron restoration, cleaning, and maintenance below.)

How do you season a cast iron skillet/pan?

Here’s how to season an antique cast iron pan:

1. Completely clean the pan BEFORE seasoning, e.g. no gunk, food debris, rust spots, etc.

2. Once you are left with bare gray metal, apply a tissue-thin layer of oil (such as grapeseed oil) over the entire cooking surface (bottom and sides). You can use a washcloth or rag to get an even surface coat of oil with no pools.

3. Bake the pan bottom-side-up (so the oil doesn’t pool in the bowl and make the surface uneven) in a 425°F (218°C) oven for 1 hour. Put something under the pan to catch any oil drips (cookie sheet or foil work well).

4. Repeat this oiling process 3 or more times for a strong layer of seasoning that will only get better with use). Touch up with additional seasoning layers after boiling water or cooking acidic foods.

Do you have to season modern/new cast iron pans?

If you ever bought a new “pre-seasoned” cast iron pan and immediately tried to cook an egg in it, you almost certainly ended up with a giant mess. Chances are, there was more egg stuck to the bottom of your pan than ended up on your plate. 

That’s because modern “pre-seasoned” cast iron pans will need 6+ layers of new seasoning added before they will truly perform as non-stick.

How to find, identify, and purchase antique cast iron pans

We can’t speak for other areas of the country, but the south is awash in old, superior quality cast iron that is better made than the most expensive modern pan on the market. Yet if you know where to look, it’s usually priced for less than a movie ticket or a lunch out.

Flea markets and junky antique shops are usually your best bet for finding neglected, antique cast iron cookware at bargain prices. However, yard sales, estate sales, and even online shops like Facebook marketplace and Craigslist can all yield hidden treasures.

Antique cast iron brands – do they matter?

Eliza says, “When I do meet someone ‘in the know’ about cast iron, they usually think antique pans of the “Griswold” or “Wagner” labels outperform all the other old brands, but the truth is that all of the American brands of cast iron cookware made prior to the mid-s are nearly indistinguishably comparable and fantastic.”

The main reason Griswold and Wagner pans are more expensive nowadays is because collectors fixated on them and are trying to collect all the different makes and marks. To be fair, if you ever find a rare “spider logo” Griswold (worth several thousand dollars) at the bottom of a rusty heap, buy it immediately. However, know it won’t actually cook a caramelized upside down cake any better than grandma’s ’s unmarked Lodge.

If you’re an on-a-budget foodie looking to stock your kitchen with the very best cookware available, you should be looking at unmarked antique cast iron. That said, a massive quantity of the beat up, unmarked pans found in junk shops or flea markets for $10.00 or less often are Griswolds and Wagners manufactured without the logo so that they could be sold in less fancy department stores without damaging their elite brand name.

The main variation in old cast iron cookware is in the thickness of the pans, which can influence how you use them in the kitchen.

• The thicker the pan, the longer the heat will be maintained (if your burner is heating it unevenly you can turn the skillet or simply place it in the oven for a bit).
• Your thinnest cast irons are best for dishes that require a slight of the wrist (example: garden green crepes) and your thickest ones are best for one-pot meals or baking (example: one-pot roasted turkey with wild rice).

Becoming a serious cast iron collector

If you’re like Eliza, you’ll get a bit obsessed with collecting antique cast iron pans. At that point, you’ll become interested in the different iron foundries and the methods and marks they used to produce their lines of pans.

For instance, pans created prior to the year can be quickly identified by a “gate” or “flash” mark that looks like an appendectomy scar, usually on the bottom of the pan. This is because cast iron is literally named for being cast of a molten metal injection into a fine sand mold and the resulting piece is broken off from the injection site after it cools.

After , most foundries had switched to a newer side-gate pour before grinding down the scar to make it invisible. Eliza finds gated s pieces on a regular basis at flea markets, but they tend to have endured more damage than the early s pans.

What do numbers and marks on antique cast iron pans mean?

Later cast iron cookware foundries were associated with corresponding brands of cookstoves. Much like clothing sizes, the large numbers stamped on cast iron pans (5, 8, 14, etc.) were slightly variable and meant that the pan would fit into the same number “eye” (burner) size of an affiliated brand’s wood burning stove.

When a recipe says you need a 10” skillet, you actually might need a #9 or #11 antique cast iron pan. Take a ruler with you when you go shopping if you want to know the actual size of a pan, though most recipes work out just fine even if you don’t match pan size recommendations exactly.

Additionally, cast iron foundries used other marks on their pans to keep track of patterns and molds, or for individual molders who worked at the factory to tag the pieces they’d made. You can purchase books or find sites online that will help you identify these other pan markings.

(Book recommendation: James P. Anderson’s Cast Iron Journey.)

In the mid 20th century, manufacturers began the practice of labeling pieces with size and item descriptions. After , pans started to carry a “Made in USA” or other country of origin stamp — and many still do today. 

Unmarked pans can also have their foundry and production year identified by:

• handle shapes;
• the shape and location of a “heat ring” on the bottom (pans prior to usually had small circles of metal on the bottom to help the pan fit into the eye of wood burning stoves, but this feature was phased out when gas and electric burners became popular);
• the pan thickness; and
• when store catalogs historically began to advertise various styles and shapes of a pan.

A couple of examples:

• Lodge pans (marked or unmarked with their brand name) with a smooth surface and a heat ring bearing a single notch opposite the handle were made in the s.
• Birmingham Stove and Range pans always have a peaked ridge underneath the handle that does not flatten out at all when it meets the bowl of the pan. Even if a pan has no other mark, Eliza and other serious collectors can instantly tell a s Lodge or a BSR pan by these indicators.

You can also dive down a rabbit hole of marks, foundry font styles, unique brand abbreviations, coveted rare pieces, and even the identifiers of various matching lids.

For more information, please visit Cast Iron Straight Ruler.

However, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all this information, rest assured that none of it is necessary to choosing a great “user” piece for your kitchen!

How to make sure you buy undamaged antique cast iron pans

If you’re new to shopping for antique cast iron pans, you might be anxious about what to look for in the pile of pans in the wheelbarrow at the back of the flea market — especially if those pans are rusted and/or covered in ancient food gunk (which is not seasoning!!).

Here’s how to make sure you buy antique cast iron pans that aren’t damaged and will polish up like new with a little TLC:

Step 1: Do a quick visual inspection.

Check that the pan surface is smooth, unpainted, and undamaged. (Yes, some people paint a pan for folk art or to make it look extra shiny and black. No, these pans are no longer safe for food.)

Step 2: Check for warping.

Damaged pans are easy to identify as long as the iron surface isn’t too caked with gunk or rust. The first thing to check for is warping, which is when the pan has been heated unevenly and the bottom bows slightly (this usually only happens to cast iron pans placed in a fire or left empty on a hot burner).

A credit card or driver’s license are perfect makeshift straightedges to check for pan warping. Simply place the card edge against the center of the pan and make sure it lies flush. If you can see underneath the card edge, the pan is warped.

You can also do the “spin test” (ideal method when the pan surface is rusty or dirty). Place the pan on the floor and attempt to spin it like a top. If it spins easily or rocks back and forth, it’s warped.

Step 3. Check for chips and cracks.

Next, check for chips and cracks in the sides, bottom, and handle.

It’s a good idea to find a bright light or window and hold the pan in front of it in order to see if light shines through any hairline cracks. The thinner a pan is, the more common warping and cracks are.

Be wary of heavily crusted pans since it is hard to see if there are cracks, though a well-seasoned pan can be used if the cracks are tiny and filled in with seasoning. Cracks don’t always render a pan unusable, but it greatly reduces the collector’s value.

Step 4. Check the finishing.

Finally, take a look at the finish of the pan. A little rust or old seasoning is no problem at all; both can be removed so that the pan can be re-seasoned like new.

Make sure rust discoloration has an orange tint, NOT a dark, dull red to mahogany tint which is an indication of heat damage (seasoning won’t stick well to mahogany tinted metal).

If an unmarked pan passes all these tests and is less than $20.00, take it home!

How to restore rusty, dirty antique cast iron pans

If you’re only restoring a handful of pans, the best method is as follows:

1. Coat the pans with Easy Off oven cleaner. (*Warning: Some oven cleaners use aerosolized lye, so use a face mask and heavy duty gloves in a well-ventilated spot if using a lye-based cleaner.)

2. Immediately wrap the Easy Off-covered pans tightly in trash bags for 24 hours.

3. After 24 hours, scrub off the loosened seasoning with steel wool, then rinse and dry the pans completely. It may take more than one try to get them fully clean, so repeat as necessary.

Once you are left with bare gray metal, you’re ready to season your pans using the methodology detailed above. Now you can start cooking with your restored antique cast iron pans!

Too much work? Want to buy antique cast iron pans that are already in good condition? 

If finding and refinishing antique cast iron pans sounds like too much time and work, but you or someone you know REALLY wants antique cast iron cookware, don’t fret.

There are plenty of sellers of antique cast iron cookware online. Search the web or look on sites like Ebay and Etsy for sellers with good customer reviews, then stock up!  

Cast iron pan FAQs

1. Can you wash cast iron pans?

Despite myths to the contrary, you can and should wash cast iron pans when they get dirty. Hand-washing a cast iron pan with a bit of soap and non-abrasive materials will NOT rub off the seasoning — assuming your pan has been properly seasoned as detailed in this article.

2. How do you wash cast iron pans?

For lightly dirty cast iron pans, a little soap, hot water, and a sponge are all you need to thoroughly clean them.

You do NOT want to soak your cast iron pans overnight. You also do NOT want to put your cast iron pan in the dishwasher or use steel wool (or similarly abrasive materials) to clean it. If you do, you can cause other parts of the pan to rust and/or remove the seasoning from the cooking surface. While you can always re-season a cast iron pan, it’s best to avoid causing damage in the first place.

If you have a particularly gunky cast iron pan to clean, the best way we’ve found is to boil water in the pan while scraping off any remaining gunk with a wood spoon/utensil (not metal).

As soon as you’re done cleaning your cast iron pans, towel them completely dry. Water left on them can cause rust. After a heavy cleaning, we also put a small amount of oil in the pan and lightly coat the cooking surface and sides by wiping it in with a paper towel or dry wash cloth. This helps keep the pans in tip-top shape.

3. Will you ingest iron if you use cast iron pans?

Are there any health risks with eating from cast iron pans? Can you cook acidic foods in cast iron pans? Can you supplement dietary iron by cooking in cast iron pans? 

These are common questions/concerns. For instance, a friend of ours once told us he didn’t use cast iron because he was afraid he’d get too much iron in his diet due to the iron from the pan going into his food. 

The good news: a well-seasoned cast iron pan shouldn’t leach any appreciable amount of iron into your food. (An unseasoned cast iron pan is a different story and can leach fairly high amounts of iron.)

If you were to cook a high-acid food (example: tomato sauce) for a long period of time in a well-seasoned cast iron pan, the sauce would end up with slightly higher amounts of iron in it than sauce cooked in an enamel or stainless steel pan.

You probably wouldn’t want to cook high acid foods in an unseasoned cast iron pan if you’re concerned about getting a high dose of iron. (Frankly, you shouldn’t cook with an unseasoned cast iron pan in the first place, regardless of the acidity of the food.)

It’s also important to note that not all iron is created equally from a bioavailability standpoint. Just because you eat a certain type of iron, doesn’t mean your body can or will absorb it all…

Heme iron (the type of iron found in meat) is much more highly bioavailable than non-heme iron (found in veggies and other non-meat sources like cast iron pans). That means that if some additional iron does manage to get into your food from a cast iron pan, it won’t necessarily be absorbed by your body.

4. What’s the hottest temperature cast iron pans can withstand?

A standard home oven does not bake at temperatures higher than about 500°F (260°C). That means your home oven can not get hot enough to damage a cast iron pan, unless:

a) the cast iron pan already has a crack in it, or
b) you leave your pan(s) in the oven during self-cleaning mode (which goes up to ​​800°F/427°C).

Even at 800°F, your cast iron pans will likely be structurally fine (although the seasoning will be burned off of them over ~700°F). That’s because cast iron is stable up to about °F (816°C) and has a melting point of °F (°C).

A more likely way to warp or crack a cast iron pan (especially one with an existing structural defect) is on your stovetop. Left on high temperature without food in it, a pan on an electric or gas stovetop/range can reach much higher temperatures than in an oven, potentially going over °F.

Bottom line: normal usage of non-defective cast iron pans at home will not warp or crack them.

5. How frequently do you have to re-season a cast iron pan? 

It depends… If you’re boiling water (or boiling recipes like soups) or making high acid sauces, it’s a good idea to add at least one additional layer of seasoning before using the pan again. This is why we typically boil water or make spaghetti sauce in stainless steel pots, not cast iron. 

Other types of cooking that don’t involve boiling liquids or high acid foods will not damage the seasoning on your cast iron pans. That means you can potentially go many months or even years without having to re-season your cast iron pans. 

Case in point: we have multiple antique cast iron pans that we haven’t had to re-season in 3+ years and their seasoning is still perfect, despite regular use.      

The type of oil you use to season your pans may also impact how frequently you have to re-season them. Use the wrong fat, and your seasoning might not last as long.

6. What’s the best oil to season or re-season cast iron pans?

Debates rage in kitchens and internet chats about which type of oil is best for seasoning and/or re-seasoning cast iron pans.

Our take? Pretty much any plant-based oil you have in your pantry will due since they contain highly unsaturated fats which polymerize easily, plus fairly high (or very high) smoke points. If you want a simple, single answer: go with grapeseed oil! 

7. Should you butter or oil a well-seasoned cast iron pan before using it? 

Yes! Just because your cast iron pan is well-seasoned doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put some butter in the pan before frying an egg, olive oil in the pan before sautéing onions, etc.

Adding a liquified fat to your pan before cooking helps to further preserve and protect the underlying seasoning.

We hope this article helps you create a kitchen full of gorgeous antique cast iron cookware that you and your family cherish for generations.

Have more questions about antique cast iron cookware? Want to brag about a recent cast iron treasure you snagged for pennies at a flea market? Let us hear about it in the comments! 

KIGI,

Are you interested in learning more about Leveling Jack? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Ready to get cooking in your cast iron? Here are a few recipes you’ll love: 

• Cast iron corn on the cob with lacto-fermented fruit rub
• Recipe: How to make cast iron pan roasted chestnuts 
• One-pot roasted turkey with kumquats and wild rice