Some new forum visitors have commented in the past that they just can't find or have a difficult time finding cast iron in their area. Well, I'm here to tell you to keep looking. I was sorting through a stack of skillets at an antique mall recently. All the skillets were made in Asia. The search looked hopeless. I picked up the last skillet at the bottom of the stack and said to myself, "this handle looks familiar." Sure enough, in addition to an inscribed 8 at 12 o'clock, the number 1033 was at 6 o'clock. It was a Griswold made Iron Mountain skillet. Fumbling for the price tag, I turn it over to find a price of $5. It was the cheapest skillet in the stack, and the only one worth buying. Other than some light utensil marks, the skillet is in great shape.
The next time you find yourself searching ebay, go take a drive. Go somewhere new. Go somewhere old. Keep looking.
Here is the $5 skillet:
