Pretty much like the title says. Please excuse the dirty stove. This is my A team. I've used them all at least once this week.
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#8 Wagner (lower right), still rocking the vintage seasoning I bought it with. It just needed a little chain mail to get some crusties off.
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#8 unsigned, single notch Lodge (Lower left). This is my number one guy. Perfectly flat, just the right texture, and the seasoning turned out absolutely perfect on it. So non-stick. I have a slide-y egg video of it somewhere. And it's just Crisco, nothing fancy.
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#10 unsigned Wagner (Center). The big guy, 11 3/4". My man for big tasks. Frying chicken tenders, cooking two steaks at once, searing a whole tenderloin. Seasoned with canola oil.
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#3 unsigned Wagner (Upper left). The only pan I have left that was seasoned with flaxseed oil. That was really big on the cast iron subreddit for a while, but this is the only pan I used it on that did not completely flake off. No idea why this one worked, but it's still in good shape so far. Perfect for skillet cookies, tiny cornbread, or just for melting a whole stick of butter quickly.
I also have a nice deep #5 Griswold in the backlog waiting for seasoning, and a couple of camping dutch ovens. Then, there's my enamel dutch ovens. One of which is my oval 7 qt Le Creuset which is my all-time favorite Christmas gift from my wife. But these guys are my work horses. My best pan boys. I tell them how good they are when I wash them. Tell them that they are good pan boys when I rub them down. After they are clean and dry, they get to spend the rest of the evening out on the stove for admiration before they go back in their drawer.
It does not look like they are used at all…
They are good boys. I like to keep them clean.
Idk I am pretty serious about clean for cast iron, i had many a diatribe on reddit about the difference between "soap" and soap and videos about how people keep their pans dirty.
That's said, I was going to comment that your pans look young and then I read they are Griswolds and I wonder if your cleaning regimen is also removing your seasoning? I'm no expert, but my skillets don't keep that brown color long after reseasoning. They also don't leave any discoloration on a clean cloth if I scrub them out with one.
I don't know why they are still brown, the last one I seasoned was probably 4 years ago. I also have a Dutch oven that I reseasoned, literally cooked in a campfire with it, and it is still brown. I don't do anything special with them to clean them, just baby bottle soap (because it is unscented) and a plastic scraper. I use chain mail if something is really stuck. I will occasionally add an extra coat to them on the range. They just stay brown!
I think that is probably a good problem to have. Maybe I just use more oil then you. The blackening (and general "seasoning") is from carbonizing oils. Idk. They look nice for sure.
It's called keeping them clean 😉