What started you on CI, sorry if this a repost

[Janis Berzins]

My first CI pan was one I found while walking by a student rental that was being cleaned out. I found a #9 Griswold pan in the pile by the street and for some reason my 20 year old self picked it up and thought "this is cool". At the time I was working at a pawn shop and told one of the other guys of my find. He told me, "Griswold is worth some money". That was 25 years ago and it has been a passion ever since. Although it has not been until the last 10 years or so that I have really started to collect. What about the rest of you folks? :-?

[Nick Niacaris]

I found this site and the rest is history.

[C. Perry Rapier]

This question has been asked a few times actually. But folk have come and gone so to bring it up again is good. As for me, my interest began when my mom gave me a couple three of her old skillets. I grew up seeing her use them. When she gave them to me I liked them and wanted to learn more about them. It was then I realized the pieces she gave me were just junk and so that set me in search of some good cast iron. There was one good piece, a National by Wagner, rest, junk.

[Dwayne Henson]

We have an older neighbor that found out my one daughter like hinting, and that we cooked outdoors. One day he showed up with his pickup. He gave us a few Coleman stoves, a few COs, a Griswold Chicken Fryer with lid. One of the COs was obviously older, so I started to look for more information, and found this site, and never left. Here's a pic of that COs lid.

[Janis Berzins]

We have an older neighbor that found out my one daughter like hinting, and that we cooked outdoors. One day he showed up with his pickup. He gave us a few Coleman stoves, a few COs, a Griswold Chicken Fryer with lid. One of the COs was obviously older, so I started to look for more information, and found this site, and never left. Here's a pic of that COs lid.

What a great start. I love those old Coleman stoves as well. I have sort of started to collect some of the lanterns as well.

[Ken Davis]

I remember back in the '50s ... my mom and grandma cooking in cast iron ... mostly skillets. I did my first cooking in one at age 6.

Somewhere over the years, I acquired a 12" skillet but had no knowledge of makers or values, other than cooking. I used that skillet for years but cannot tell you what, if anything, was on the bottom of it. One day about two years ago, someone poured too-cold water into the too-hot sweet thing and she cracked in the prettiest spiral you ever did see. I was heartbroken.

When my mother-in-law heard, she bought me a replacement at a yard sale. She almost never pays more than $2 for anything, so I know she got it cheap. It was a crusty old thing but quite smooth inside. The only detail visible was 10 on the top of the handle and the outside heat ring. Out of curiosity, I cleaned it in a trash bag with oven cleaner, something I learned right here. Not a speck of rust on it. It seasoned up to perfection.

Turned out to be a WWSO 1060 c with a ghost of 10 c at 6 o'clock and one flow mark across the bottom (looks more like sand slippage, actually). That ghost and the flow mark, along with the treasure trove of info here, piqued my curiosity even more and I here I am.

After restoring the skillet from my mother-in-law, I retrieved my favorite camping skillet from the grub box. Turns out it's a Griswold No. 6 SB with grooved handle. It also cleaned up to perfection. Don't recall just where I got that one, but suspect it was grandad's.

I began "collecting" in about Sept of last year and am already up to more than 3 dozen pieces, including the 8", 10" and 12" Lodge COs I've had for a while but used relatively little. Everything I now have is used pretty regularly, except for the Griswold No. 10 muffin pan and three or four small skillets, all of which I'm still working on.

Everything CI now catches my eye and I've had to put myself on a strict CI budget.
    :'(

[Keith Rumgay]

4 years ago I kept seeing CI at Sales, I found this site and that was it for me a year later I joined and now. ;D :-/ where do I put all of it BUT what FUN :)  the cars live in there too   

[C. Perry Rapier]

Wow Keith. You sure got some cast iron goin on there. Thanks for sharing.  :)

[Jim Glatthaar]

Keith, I'd say you've done rather well in 4 years   8-)

My story is I started looking for alternatives to non-stick cookware after reading about cancer links.  More research identified seasoned cast iron as a good alternative.  Even more research taught me that many people prefer vintage iron over newer iron.

So, I bought myself 2 Wagner stylized logo skillets, #8 & #10 on ebay.  Then I bought my first Griswold and I was hooked.  Many pieces later ... but not as many as Keith ... ;)

[Trevor Lawrence]

Sorry for the long rant..

I lived in michigan for 16 years (until i was 16), then moved to NC because of my mom's job. My godfather lives in Michigan only a few miles down the road from my grandparents. When I was young I didn't spend a ton of time with him, just at the holidays.

He has been collecting antiques for 60+ years. He knows all the old trades (Chair Caning, How to Fix Clocks, How to Fix Organs/Piano's, ect). His whole house is covered top to bottom in antiques.

After we moved, I really started getting interested in Antiques. I  started with wrist watch's. I would goto thrift shows and antique shows looking for old watch's. When I went to the antique shows, i became interested in a lot more than just watch's. I knew my godfather knew a ton about antiques and I started talking to him a lot on the phone, trying to get as much info as I could. I kept wanting to go upto michigan and spend some time with him, but it never worked.

I ended up getting laid off.... and decided I wanted to spend some time with him. I planed on going for 2 weeks, but got called back to work after 1 week. While i was at his house... I think he showed me every last item he owned and told me a story about it and all the info he could. I was basically a Sponge at this point! He has a old coal stove in his kitchen that he cooks  on and uses to heat his house in the winter. He has a stack of griswold's sitting on top along with a few griddles. I remember walking through his house for a couple of days and not paying any attention to the cast iron. One day I noticed them and asked about them. He told me the story about griswold, why they are better, ect. He said he found them and cleaned them up. I think i was immediately hooked! I love to restore items and this really hit home being able to see the transformation from old to new.

I think that day we headed out for 5 hours, hitting all the antique stores we could find. I ended up coming home with a #9 small logo. I didn't really know much about it, so I started looking online and found this forum. I am actually on a forum for all my interests lol (probably 40).

The End.

[Claudia Killebrew]

I grew up seeing my mother and grandmother cook with CI. When I got married, I wanted a "starter" set of CI for myself. Back then you could get 3 pieces for about $10. Over the years, I sort of stopped using them, but got back to them after reading all the warnings about Teflon and birds. I had forgotten how wonderful they were to cook with. I started raving about CI to my father. He found a really gunked up Wapak Z at a yard sale and gave it to me. I had never heard of that brand, so I started searching. That led me here. I also found out my "starter" set was a set of 3 notch Lodges.

I now have my family's CI (mother, grandmother, aunts, etc.), along with a few other pieces I have picked up here and there.

[C. Perry Rapier]

These are neat stories everybody. Thanks for sharing them with us. It is true that this question has been asked a few times but we have had members come and members go so there is always stories to be told. And its nice hearing them.  :) :) :)

[Janis Berzins]

I agree Perry.
It is also interesting to see how many people just sort of "fell" into collecting cast iron. I have to say, before finding this forum, I had no idea the extent many collectors have gone to. I still find it funny when I talk to someone and say I collect cast iron and they get that weird look on their face and say, "you mean like old skillets?". :)

[Mark Zizzi]

Well, I just joined in January, and most of you have already heard what led me here. I was at a good friends house watching football. He was cooking some sausage and peppers in an extremely crusty old skillet. I admired the pan as I told him I used to have one but don't know what happened to it.
When it was time to go he gave it to me..said he had a couple others. I used it like that once or twice, surface was nice, but the sides and bottom were thick with burnt on crud. My first thought was a wire brush on my drill. Thankfully, I googled about cleaning cast iron first, which led me here.  And I've been a pest here ever since, lol.  But I've come a long way in a short amount of time, I think.  That first skillet turned out to be a 2nd series Erie. It has grown into 8 more skillets, 2 DO's, a deep fat fryer, a muffin pan, an old bacon press..and a lye bath and electro setup. My latest addition is a 3rd series #10 Erie that just came today...it's a beauty!
Best part of all?... meeting new friends with a common interest!    :) ;)

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Mark. We are so glad that you found us. And yes, you have been a PIA.  ;D ;D

Just kidding of course. Its folks and new members like you that keep stirring the fires and bringing up information and getting others to think as well. So keep stirring the embers.  :)

[Mark Zizzi]

Thanks Perry, I know I've been here most everyday being a PIA.  ;D Some days it's a little slow, so I admit I'll stir the fire a bit with a controversial topic or two just to give you all something to do. What would y'all do without me!  ;D

[Claudia Killebrew]

Best part of all?... meeting new friends with a common interest!   

That was another draw here for me. I wanted to find other people who loved cast iron the way I did. And actually knew how to take care of it. 

[Douglas Ballard III]

I found this pan in my basement. At that point I already owned some CI(Lodge), but wasn't "into" it. I ended doing a lot of research to identify the pan, and how to clean it right. I ended up making an electrolysis tank, and cleaning it.

I now have a fair sized collection. Can season a pan until it's "shiny", and I can cook an egg on without grease, and still have it slide around the pan.   

[Frank Burkhead]

We have an older neighbor that found out my one daughter like hinting, and that we cooked outdoors. One day he showed up with his pickup. He gave us a few Coleman stoves, a few COs, a Griswold Chicken Fryer with lid. One of the COs was obviously older, so I started to look for more information, and found this site, and never left. Here's a pic of that COs lid.

What a great start. I love those old Coleman stoves as well. I have sort of started to collect some of the lanterns as well.

I have been collecting and restoring Coleman lanterns and stoves for around a decade now! My late grandfather was a certified Coleman repairman back in the 60's-80's, and I inherited his collection of parts and literature. I also inherited his CI...

What started me collecting CI was driving past a trash pile and spotting a huge skillet (A BS&R #12) sitting on top. I turned around and picked it up, thinking "These things never go bad, why is this pan in the trash?" I began reading up on the proper way to clean and season cast iron pans, and roughly 300 pieces later, here I am.  ::)

[James King]

After a day of panning for gold up in the Olympic Mountains, I was on my way home when I randomly stopped in consignment shop. When I entered the door I wiped my feet on the mat. The owner noticed this and commented that I was the first person she had ever seen do that at the store and asked me if I would be willing to rent a few shelves to sell items at her store. Despite not understanding the connection between wiping the mud off my boots and being a consignor at her shop I took the bait. I asked her what she would have me sell and without batting an eye, she said, "Cast Iron!"

Well, I agreed to do so. At first I would buy pieces that seemed to be ready to use, but I quickly noticed there was a much larger choice of dirty, rusty, crusty iron to find. So I started to search for ways to restore the cast iron to sell a better product. In that research, I learned about Wagner, Griswold, Lodge, Favorite, Wapak etc... and I learned how to clean and cure iron. Soon, the pieces were flying off the shelf faster than I can clean and cure.

Eventually, regular trips to this remote shop was too taxing on the gas money, and I moved my booth of wares to a local store in Port Orchard, WA. That move boosted sales substantially and I have started keeping a request book at the shop.

Somewhere along the way, I started using the product I was selling and fell in love with the non-stick feature of well maintained cast iron. I really caught the collecting bug when I was digging around an old antique shop and was on my hands and knees, headfirst and waist deep into a cabinet when I found a #947 Griswold Brownie Cake Pan variation #6. It had been setting in that dark corner for years. The ink had faded on the price tag. I was able to procure it for $34.00. I took that pan home and somehow it started to reproduce into a few other pans, #140 Turk head, #262 Corn stick and a #866 Lamb Cake among the various skillets that I use on a regular basis.

Though my collection is small, I have purchased, cured and sold over 100 pans through the shop and I keep buying more. I love this hobby, the income it has produced has helped me get through some tight times. The food tastes better, and it is easy on the eyes and easy to talk about.

The attached pictures are the before and after of the one that started it all!