Noiseynana

Ok my southern buddy, go to your nearest hardware store like Ace , or Lowes, or maybe Home Depot. Tell them you want Lodge cast iron ware and anyone of them should be able to put you in touch with a place that sells it. Look online for Lodge cast iron cookware . Try Craigslist, thrift stores, run an ad in the paper. I just gave away about $2000.00 worth that had belonged to my family for years because my kids would not take iit anyof it and with my strokes i couldn't lift it any more. I'm still in tears. If only I'd known you could have had some of it.I'm so sorry I only found out.

norahs

My husband and I belong to a cast iron collectors club and as others have said Griswold and Wagner are two of the older names and they are not made any more. One of my favorite brands is called Favorite is also is not made anymore. The older pans can often be found at estate sales.

earthwalker

I love cast-iron cookware, but on a bad day it takes my two hands to lift the frypan. Beware cast iron and stone benchtops, I now have two small chips on the bench edge. My husband does most of the cooking, he loves it, but he does get a little over-enthusiastic and bangs about a fair bit.....

Vridar

We have mostly, I believe 4 sizes from 8 to 13 inch, Griswolds. We also have the Griswold Dutch oven with Lid. We are aged as are our skillets and have collected these over the years at estate auctions. Griswolds are our choice and seem to be collector's choice, but, we feel are the best. The larger skillets may cost a first born if a collector is at an auction, but like anything else, you might get lucky.

As as others have mentioned, they are heavy. My wife is beginning to have trouble with arthritis and now prefers the lighter non-stick skillets, but you will have to take my Griswolds "from my cold dead hands."

lovelyl

Lodge used to have a great reputation. I have several friends that love theirs. I have vintage "no name" cast iron skillets that are great and a vintage Griswald that I love! Bought it at an antique shop for around $40 a few years ago.

Sewnoma

I grew up on cast iron but we don't have any anymore. My DH cannot fathom a pan that shouldn't be scrubbed with soap and water, so after him diligently spending a lot of hours and elbow grease "cleaning" several well-seasoned skillets my family had passed on to me and arguing endlessly about it, I gave them all back and we have mostly stainless steel now and no more "pan wars".

That was a good 20 years ago, he's probably learned since then (or learned how to listen, at least), but now I'm used to all my nice lightweight stainless pans and not looking to go back. My wrists aren't what they used to be (have ruined them with years of typing), I don't think I could cook with a heavy old cast iron skillet anymore.

My sister still uses them, though. I love seeing them in her kitchen - some of the same ones I had to give back all those years ago. Glad someone in the family is appreciating them!

madamekelly

Yes, cast iron pans do break. I had my grandmother's 15" cast iron skillet for years that I used constantly, then one day as I picked it up to pour spaghetti sauce over the pasta, the handle came off in my hand! What a mess! No burns thankfully, but it does happen.

ThayerRags

I guess that I’m the odd one out. We have a mix of Lodge and No-name cast iron skillets that we use every day. I guess my wife and I (and my forefathers that we got some of our cast iron skillets from) have just been lucky for some odd reason because we’ve all washed our cast iron in mild (Dawn) Dish Washing Liquid and warm water after every use. Same with our Dutch Ovens that we use outside in an open fire. They were dried with a cloth dish towel and put away, until a couple of years ago when we finally went “automatic” with a portable “Dish Rinser” (they call it a Dish Washer, but I haven’t seen one yet that actually gets things clean without knocking the chunks off first), we then stand them on end in the now unused dish drainer next to the sink to drip dry.

Now with that said, we do re-season them about once every two or three years, or if we start seeing little signs of rust, or whenever we pick up another piece in a yardsale or auction. Some of my oldest skillets must be 75 years old or better by now and they don’t seem to need re-seasoned as much as the newer ones. They belonged to family before I was born, so they may even be over 100. We don’t have a sticking problem with any of them except a little 8-inch No-name skillet that we picked up at a yardsale last year. We’ve seasoned it three times now, and even boiled water will stick in it. I’m not sure why it’s different. And another thing....

We intentionally cook tomato dishes in our cast iron skillets. The “old-timers” did that to get extra iron in their diets, and we still do it.

CD in Oklahoma

roguequilter

i have corn muffin pans, waffle irons (several), skillets from huge to few inches, dutch ovens. all antique from original brands made in aystralia, bought out by other companies like griswald down thru time. i cook everything in iron pans. i have washed w soap & water for all the decades i've used & acquired these treasures. i just don't let anybody know. i get a little tired of the "don't wash" litany. i read in one of my caste iron cooking cook books years ago that the jury is out on the question. one noted chef shared that one major southern fried chicken celebrity cook always washed the pans, said that w every fresh batch of hot oil for frying, the pan would reseal --season. i use warm not hot. i don't fry much anymore, but lotsa tomatoe dishes, chili whatever. and i don't care how heavy they are becoming as they get older ...i've always enjoyed a good workout )

nwm50

Lodge is good....there's cheaper good product other than LeCreuset that with proper care/cleaning works just as wonderfully. Hope u have better understAnding now from the board, we love to help each other out!