Another newbie question-pinholes

[Steve French]

I'm looking for a nice prewar #9 Griswold or Wagner for cooking. Most of the ones I'm seeing have small pin holes and utensil scratching etc. My question is-do these imperfections cause a sticking problem when cooking? How about rust pitting? Thanks again in advance.

[Cheryl Watson]

Hmm Before WW I or WWII???  :)

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hmm Before WW I or WWII???  :)

Or maybe the Spanish Amercian War of 1898?  :-/

[Cheryl Watson]

Or the Korean War...  :)

But anywho.... Steve, the pinholes and utensil marks on inside cooking surface should fill in nicely with use and the seasoning should fill them in nicely.  Ditto for fine to medium pitting.  Sticking may occur a bit until the seasoning builds.  If I have user pieces with imperfections, then I will add more layers of seasoning, initially.  Instead or 2 rounds, I may do 4 or 5 repetitions.  (I may also start with a different oil e.g. Grapeseed or Crisco rather than PAM.)

[Steve French]

Sorry-WWII-I've read that pre 1940 metal is "better"? Remember, I'm learning......Thanks for the replys.

[Michael Carson]

I've got a round #9 griddle and someone, before me, actually put scrapes and gouges into the cooking surface. I believe they would have needed a metal chisel to do the damage. It looks absolutely horrible to see the nice finished cooking surface with these gouges in it.  The griddle cooks great.
Got a square skillet from a yard sale. Cooking surface was smooth as glass but the bottom under the WagnerWare logo had started some surface rust. I cleaned it up before using it and after the lye bath the cooking surface looks like 100's of tiny pin holes. Once again the cooking surface looks horrible but the food cooks perfectly.
I have a nice #6 WagnerWare with a deep pit in the cooking surface. Looks like a casting flaw to me. The whole skillet is so nice except this hole big enough I have to dig food out of it with a tooth pick. It is one of my better cooking skillets.
I am still new and that is some of the experience I have with imperfections in the cooking surface. Good luck,
Michael

[Jeff Parsons]

I have a single-spout skillet with severe gas or sulfur/coal pitting on the bottom. When I cleaned it, an actual hole showed up, toothpick sized. I went ahead and seasoned it a few times, then cooked a hamburger in it. The carbon from the hamburger sealed off the hole, and I'm still cooking in it. Way too much character to give up on.