Although it is over 120 years old this skillet is in pretty nice shape and is very collectable and a worthy piece to own. If you are not familiar with Erie and Griswold cast iron cookware there is lots of info about it online and it is considered by many to be the finest cast iron cookware ever made. I personally like the Boonie Hicks website where you can learn a lot about the history of Erie/Griswold cast iron and the six series of Erie skillets made before they added Griswold. I also love deep fried chicken and fish and frequently use my two deep skillets that are also both over 120 years old. Let’s face it, it’s just cool cooking with these old skillets. This skillet is three inches tall known as a deep skillet and if you want to deep fry fish or chicken this is a great skillet to have. No cracks or repairs to be found. The markings on the bottom of the skillet are in great shape, I have seen deeper more pronounced markings but not that much nicer than what we have here. There are slight blemishes in the metal that are remnants of where light surface rust used to be but I cannot feel a difference between where those are and the surrounding metal. These marks will easily disappear once it gets some use and builds up a bit more seasoning (I rub a very thin layer of oil on the bottom and sides of my skillets on a regular basis after use although not every time). Being newly restored it has relatively little seasoning on it which is the only reason you can see the blemishes/discoloration in the metal. There are very minor casting imperfections and none of which are all that noticeable. All can be seen in the photos. You almost always expect some casting irregulariities like this on these old skillets, knowing how they were made. There is an average amount of utensil marks from the 120+ years worth of use but when I run my fingers over the cooking surface I hardly can feel them, it’s actually pretty smooth, and again, any additional seasoning they will disappear all together. This skillet lays pretty near flat with a very minor tic of movement. I could not slide an average business card under the heat ring. Many would say this skillet lays flat. The cooking surface is also pretty close to flat with a very minor irregularity as seen in the photos with the straight edges. Separate from where there may have been some light surface rust you can see some color variations in the metal but for an old skillet this is absolutely normal and most have it. Once you build up just a bit more seasoning this won’t be noticeable anymore. Heat ring is in great condition with no noticeable uneven wear. After cleaning this down to bare metal I gave it at least four coats of seasoning. It is a relatively dark chestnut brown and with more seasoning and/or use it will turn black. I did my best to show everything I have described above with photos. Feel free to message me with any questions. Suppose I will add, I used to pack horses and mules in the mountains and don’t remember having too many eggs break on the way to camp. If you are wondering, that is a tabletop from the little table I bought for my wife where she sits, looks out into the trees and drinks her coffee in the morning. Nothing like getting a dose of nature and caffeine to kick start the day.
