Posted 3 years ago
Elliott_Lo…
(5 items)
Lodge cast iron is notoriously difficult to date at times.
Does anyone have any input for the time frames that both the lid and skillet were manufactured?
I know they were two different time frames but can't find any answers either online or in reference books.
Hi, Elliott_Lonestar :-)
With regard to the lid, it's probably 1973 or newer:
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/story/history-lodges-skillet-egg-logo
However, I'm trying to make sense of your fourth picture of a metal surface with bumps. Is this a picture of a separate piece?
Hi again, Elliott_Lonestar. :-)
I also found these tidbits:
*snip*
If your skillet is unmarked and only has a heat ring with notches in it, then it is a Lodge skillet. These skillets were made by the Lodge Manufacturing Company and are considered genuinely vintage. They were made as early as the 1930s.
If the pan has notches in the heat ring and also features the text Made in USA, it is Lodge skillet that was made in the 1960s.
However, if the unmarked pan has raised letters at the bottom and a handle with a number on it, then it was made in the late 1800s to early 1900. It belongs to the Blacklock Foundry that paved the way for the Lodge Manufacturing Company.
*snip*
https://worldofpans.com/how-old-cast-iron-skillet/
*snip*
Lodge made the 'SK' marked skillets starting in the 1950's. After approximately 1960, "Made in USA" was added in the center. However, I thought that Lodge did not use their name on any of their pans between 1930-1987, but I'm not an expert.
*snip*
https://www.chowhound.com/post/lodge-stop-producing-smooth-finished-cast-iron-1060316
About Lodge:
https://bittersoutherner.com/lodge-cast-iron
However, I'm trying to make sense of your fourth picture of a metal surface with bumps. Is this a picture of a separate piece?
This is a picture of the underside of the skillet lid. Those bumps are the 'basting' points.
keramikos - Thank you. Awesome job helping me out. I neglected to show the inside of the skillet. It still has the marks on the inside from the grinding, or smooth finishing the inside. Those marks are almost factory fresh! This tells me that the Skillet originated from the 1950s to the 1960s but before the mandatory "Made In USA" came in to being. Or, roughly, 55 to 65 years old.
Elliott_Lonestar, You're welcome. :-)
Thanks for explaining the bumpy metal picture (I don't own any Lodge skillets).
Lodge still has that same lid with the self-basting tips
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/cast-iron-lid?sku=L10SC3