Identifying Old Cast Iron Pans: Part 2

Makers of cast iron cookware changed the designs of their pans gradually as the 20th century changed our technology, but there are some clues that can be used to instantly spot a vintage cast iron pan. Most cast iron pans made in the 1800s to the early 20th century had a mark on the bottom that's called a gate mark. This isn't a crack or a weld, it's the mark where the pan was literally broken off the casting during the manufacturing process. Pans from the 19th and early 20th century were designed to fit into wood burning stoves, which is why they had angled bottoms and a round heat ring, while pans from the later 20th century, for the most part, had rounded undersides. In the 1960s they began putting a MADE IN USA mark on cast iron pans as a way to compete with the flood of imported pans from Asia, and of a pan has this mark, it's certain to have been manufacturered in the 1960s or later.

[cynthiawesley]

I see you CIC. Showing off your new Field. CONGRATULATIONS again on both new irons, vintage & modern. Awesome.

[Ongo-Gablogian-]

I’ve watched a bunch of your videos, very informative and I appreciate it. Do you have any advice on a National-curved lettering with no star and a heat ring?

[christineborgatti]

I love this info. Maybe you will show one of my pans and then I will know something about it.

[Bugman]

How do I Measure a skillet for a lid .

[williamhurt]

this kind of data is only one of the things your fans love about you

[blakeusry]

Love your videos. Accurate information.