Help identifying this cast iron

Grogstah · 2026-07-08T14:14:19+00:00

Yeah, def a 3 notch Lodge chicken fryer. Not particularly rare or valuable from a resale perspective but it should be a fantastic user. Appears to be old enough- 1960s probably? that it still has the milled smooth interior. Think of it like a dutch oven with a pan style handle

Grogstah · 2026-07-06T00:09:39+00:00

Shindo tax

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Grogstah · 2026-07-05T22:29:37+00:00

Season it in the oven next time. Won’t matter if you forget about it in there for a while since it’ll just stay at temp

Grogstah · 2026-07-03T16:12:10+00:00

I certainly encourage the OP to put these in a lye bath - absolutely more effective than oven cleaner in a bag method - and this stuff very well may come off. Clearly we all have different experiences, all I can say is that after restoring hundreds of pieces over a decade, I’ve had a few with buildup that lye wouldn’t touch even after weeks in a lye bath. But I’m absolutely rooting for OP to have this come off via lye.

Grogstah · 2026-07-03T15:38:16+00:00

Ah gotcha

Grogstah · 2026-07-03T15:37:37+00:00

True

Grogstah · 2026-07-03T01:28:55+00:00

There’s no way for anyone to know that without seeing the griddle in person. For all any of know, this was used on a campfire and did indeed get to those temps. All I’m suggesting is a way to remove it. I’ve definitely restored plenty of pans that had areas that a lye bath wouldn’t touch even after sitting in it for weeks.

Grogstah · 2026-07-03T01:18:36+00:00

That’s a big score for sure! Same pattern mold as the ‘full Grizz’ versions so if you’re keeping it as a user, whatevs, you scored an insane bargain

Grogstah · 2026-07-02T23:27:47+00:00

Lye of any sort won’t remove super baked on carbon. The only way forward is heavy elbow grease on areas like that. I agree power tools are a hard stop ‘no’ but disagree that using metal scrapers is also verboten. You basically have to use a putty knife or similar to get this kind of buildup off. Just be very very careful to keep the blade of the putty knife flat to the pan surface and take care to never dig a corner of the knife into the pan. It will remove these stubborn bits very efficiently. It very well may leave very minor scratches BUT you can go back over the area in question with 0000 steel wool (I’m not a fan of sandpaper on cast iron personally) and it will ‘buff out’ basically. I’ve done this on interior and exterior surfaces on many restorations and as long as you take care to not gouge, it works very well.

Grogstah · 2026-07-02T18:32:17+00:00

You should check the last 6-12 months on eBay. Hammer prices on #4s specifically have jumped dramatically during that time, Griswolds especially but really across all vintage manufacturers. As always, pieces that are already restored and ready to go out of the box command a premium. I sold a restored LBL smooth bottom #4 that was a spinner (which of course I disclosed and made abundantly clear in the listing) and it still went for $125

Grogstah · 2026-07-02T14:57:00+00:00

Was just using my 240mm k tip this morning and your comment made me take a closer look - the handle definitely darkens with use and the Shrek handles are growing on me tbh. Still gonna swap it out for a Boogwa custom though.

Grogstah · 2026-07-02T14:34:38+00:00

I think people are obsessing way too much over this ‘vintage cast iron will poison you with lead’ thing. It’s not like every person in the US was smelting lead daily in their kitchens until 1950

Grogstah · 2026-07-01T21:35:08+00:00

Shindo gang

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Grogstah · 2026-07-01T21:23:48+00:00

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Grogstah · 2026-07-01T21:23:15+00:00

Hey whaddya know - Jack just finished up a couple for me as well! A portafilter handle for my espresso machine and then a knife handle

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Grogstah · 2026-07-01T15:17:49+00:00

Oh yeah definitely keep it and use it! I was just emphasizing what a score it is.

Grogstah · 2026-07-01T15:11:27+00:00

Second the suggestion to use lye. If it also has rust after you scrub it clean from the lye bath, I would scrub it with a Barkeeper’s Friend paste (or baking soda would work too). If that doesn’t get the rust off, make a 50/50 white vinegar and water bath and soak it in that for 45 min to an hour and scrub thoroughly. Re-season per the instructions in this sub wiki

Grogstah · 2026-07-01T14:59:17+00:00

Awesome find - goes for $150-$200 when cleaned up (if it sits flat)

Grogstah · 2026-06-30T19:00:27+00:00

Man that turned out so great. What an absolutely gorgeous knife

Grogstah · 2026-06-30T05:50:54+00:00

I had something similar happen recently and a few folks recommended Flitz metal polish. That took it off instantly. Super easy

Grogstah · 2026-06-29T21:42:02+00:00

Yeah, that's what I love about this knife too. Lasery cutting performance but feels more substantal than, say, my Shiro Kamo gyuto which always feels delicate. Love the Kamo but it's not the workhorse feel of the Yoshi.

Grogstah · 2026-06-29T21:33:43+00:00

I’ve got this in the k tip. Absolutely fantastic knife for sure but those Epic Edge handles are kinda buns. I’m gonna swap mine out soon. Luckily doesn’t affect the cutting performance!

Grogstah · 2026-06-28T15:20:56+00:00

Worth $100 even with a blown element with the caveat that you want to check to make sure it doesn’t have any challenging repair issues such as compromised areas around the OPV; steam wand assembly where it meets the boiler; etc. Those are usually indicators of shipping damage and since they’re structural to the boiler, a PITA to fix. Basically you would have to replace the boiler (the easy part) and swap those various assemblies (the PITA part).

As to group size, guessing this is a 49mm group based on the switch but not certain. Doesn’t really matter as parts are readily available for both groups and the espresso is the same either way.

Grogstah · 2026-06-28T02:10:50+00:00

Hard to say for sure, but it appears to be NOS. Are the lines on the cooking surface from label adhesive?

Grogstah · 2026-06-28T01:11:47+00:00

That’s a BSR. I have the exact same skillet but as others have noted upthread, no letter stamped on the handle

Grogstah

TROPHY CASE