How to Restore Cast Iron Cookware?

There's no way I know of to "straighten" a cast iron skillet. I'm wondering if it warped over time due to stress in the original casting and it 'relaxed' over the years, in which case I doubt you can eliminate it.

Most warping of cast iron is due to heating it too quickly over too high heat, or heating it partially, such as on a burner that is too small thereby only heating the center of the pan. Griswolds were known for their extremely high quality, which is why they are so sought after today. I'm thinking of using a heat diffuser under the pan, that way I can use it on the flat stovetop without uneven heating. I don't want to risk destroying the pan trying to fix it. It dates from 1920 to 1937, so even hanging on the wall it is pretty darn cool (to me).

I would think that red hot would be hot enough, readily achieved with a Rosebud on a torch .Using the press would be the touchy part on that old Griswold. I would cringe.

Yeah, but heating the whole pan evenly to prevent cracking is almost impossible with a torch.

Find an art teacher or a shop teacher and use their kiln and press respectively.

An old fashioned auto body man who knows how to stretch and shrink metal using a torch and wet rags might be able to fix it,

But if it were mine, I would just use the heat diffuser and not worry about it.

one of my best skillets is full time camp cookware, never leaves the camping gear. i think thats the best place for that one, when you wont be on a perfectly flat surface very often. you could even use the skillet to compensate for a slanty left rock that your camp stove is sure to find itself sitting on.

Also, I sandblasted a chicken fryer than my mom neglected too long outside, she's usually a diligent cast iron caretaker but this one was overlooked, bad rust. . . enough to make me pull out the big guns. Seasoned it initially on my dads smoker all day, then went to the trusted crisco method. seems to be just fine after a couple years of use. just my 2 cents.

Grease corner sounds reasonnable. Why aggravate an old Griswold anyway?

Kenny_McCormic wrote: In reply to Enyar: Get it smoking hot, then rub olive oil into it, make hash browns and other high heat stuff. Also, use a metal spatula.

I'll try the metal spetula, thanks.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Enyar, how long are you letting the pans preheat before you add the food? Do you wipe a little olive oil over the surface before you heat them up? My cast iron is old and therefore lighter than the newer stuff, but it still takes about 10 minutes to preheat thoroughly. I preheat on low to medium low, even if I will be cooking on a higher heat, just to make sure the pan is brought up to temp gradually. This helps prevent warping and hot spots. Wiping the pan with a bit of oil will make sure the surface is slick, not thirsty, and therefore less likely to have food stick to it. In the case of bacon, I flip it a LOT, like a whole lot, when I am cooking it on the stovetop. I often use the oven for bacon, it just depends on what else I have cooking at the same time. What kinds of foods are you having the worst issue with? Is the surface of you pan (inside) a smooth, even dark color or is it blotchy looking? If blotchy, it may be that the seasoning was not thorough enough or that it got damaged with the initial food sticking issue and it may need to be reseasoned. I have had to reseason some pans several times before they are truly non-stick.

It is slightly blotchy now, since the last batch of cornbread I made. I left it in there for a couple days while I finished it off and it did make it slightly blotchy.

Yes, wipe it down before and after cooking. I think I let it preheat enough but maybe ill try a little longer next time. Seasoning method is crisco everywhere, wipe with paper towel. I put it in a cold oven upside down, then heat to 250 for 20 minutes. Then crank it up to 400 for like 45-55 minutes. Then I turn the oven off and let it cool over night. Usually I'll cook bacon for the first time after seasoning. I've tried this twice with this pan and once with my grill grates and both don't seem very non-stick,