Cast iron: who still pours it, and what a smooth finish costs
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Two of the three great American cast iron names ended as trademarks; the third has never been sold since 1896. This page shows who pours and who finishes today, how to read the bottom of a pan you already own, and the short list of things actually worth buying.
Lodge 10.25-inch skillet — the one still poured by the company that never sold
Cast in Tennessee by a company owned by the founder's descendants since 1896. Raw sand finish under the factory seasoning: it is not smooth, and that…
See it on Amazon →Lodge 5-quart dutch oven with a loop handle
Same foundry, same iron, the shape that does bread and braises. If you only ever own two pieces of cast iron, this is the second one.
See it on Amazon →Chainmail scrubber, stainless
The one tool that takes stuck food off without taking the seasoning with it. Cheap, lasts for years, and it is what replaces the scouring pad you…
See it on Amazon →If you are buying new
Three price levels, and the difference between them is mostly the finishing step — not the iron. All three are cast in the United States.
Lodge 10.25-inch skillet — the one still poured by the company that never sold
Cast in Tennessee by a company owned by the founder's descendants since 1896. Raw sand finish under the factory seasoning: it is not smooth, and that is the whole reason it costs what it costs.
Lodge 5-quart dutch oven with a loop handle
Same foundry, same iron, the shape that does bread and braises. If you only ever own two pieces of cast iron, this is the second one.
The machined ones: Field, Smithey, Stargazer
Between $165 and $220, and what you are paying for is the finishing step the mass producers dropped in the middle of the last century. None of them is sold through us: buy direct from the maker, where the page also tells you which foundry pours the castings.
For the pan you already own
An old pan needs almost nothing. These are the two things that actually help, and neither of them is a coating.
Chainmail scrubber, stainless
The one tool that takes stuck food off without taking the seasoning with it. Cheap, lasts for years, and it is what replaces the scouring pad you should not be using.
Seasoning oil and cleaning soap set
For a pan that has been in a cupboard for a decade. A thin coat, a hot oven, repeat: that is the whole method, and the rest of what you read online is argument.
What we are not linking
The pans in the episode that sold for thousands are auction objects, not cookware purchases, and the names that ended as trademarks have no current production we could verify. We are not sending you to either.
Anything sold as a Griswold or a Wagner today
The Griswold trademark and the Griswold foundry have not been in the same hands since 1957, and for the 2022 Wagner relaunch we could not establish where the pans are cast. When we cannot source it, we do not recommend it.
Read the bottom of the pan
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A raised ring on the base | a heat ring — common on pans made for wood and coal ranges, and on early electric |
| A mirror-smooth cooking surface | the pan was machined or polished after casting: a step dropped by mass producers mid-century |
| A sandy, pebbled surface | raw sand-cast finish, seasoned over: normal on a modern mass-market pan |
| No name at all | unmarked pans were made by many foundries, including ones that no longer exist in any form |
Prefer to listen? The books on Sears, Whirlpool and American manufacturing we read while researching these episodes are on Audible. Free 30-day trial: Audible Premium Plus.
If a product here has been discontinued or the description is wrong, tell us in the comments under the episode and we fix the page.