CLEANING IRON—QUICK FIXES

PROBLEM:     BUILT UP CRUD & GREASE

SOLUTION:     LYE

 For one piece:

You well need a plastic bag & easy off oven cleaner. Put your crud-covered iron
in the plastic bag. Spray liberally with easy off, tie close and let it "work" for 2
hours (or two days—it won't hurt iron). Scrub with S.O.S. and rinse with soapy
water. Dry & oil.

 Many crud-covered pieces:

You will need 20 plus gallon plastic garbage container, can of RedDevil lye (sold
near toilet cleaning supplies), rubber or latex gloves to protect your hands and
water. Use ½ can lye to ½ tub water (hot works faster, but cold works eventually).
It is caustic, so be careful. Put a piece of wire through hang hole and totally
submerse piece into solution with wire bent over edge of container for retrieving.
Leave it in Solution as long as needed to loosen crud. Scrub with S.O.S. and
rinse with soapy water. Dry & oil. Cover the solution and reuse with as many
pieces as you can totally submerse at once, each on separate wires for retrieval.
If the solution appears to be weak after a month, simply add more lye.

PROBLEM:     RUST
SOLUTION:     VINEGAR

 Cover the rusty item in vinegar/water solution of roughly one-pint of cider vinegar
to three-gallons of water in a plastic tub. The item needs to be totally submersed
for evenness of finish. Don't leave the item in long as vinegar is an acid and will
hurt the finish if left too long. Check it in ten minute intervals and remove each
time to rinse, wash in soapy water, scrub with S.O.S. and oil when satisfied with
results. You may have to wire brush for stubborn rust.

PROBLEM:     IT'S PLATED WITH PORCELAIN OR ENAMEL

SOLUTION:     TRICKY--YOU DON'T WANT TO DULL IT

 You can brighten stained porcelain by submersing in a Clorox/baking soda/water

combination: Combine 1 cup bleach, 3 tablespoons baking soda, and 1 gallon (or
less) of hot water. Check every 10 minutes as porcelain or enamel can dull if left
in solution too long. When it is as restored as much as is possible (some staining
won't be fixed), rinse, wash, and dry. Oil lightly.
 

PROBLEM:     IT'S PLATED WITH CHROME OR NICKEL

SOLUTION:     JUST TREAT IT LIKE CAST IRON

Handy "tools" for cleaning iron: Dremel drill w/variety of brushes, bench brush, long
rubber gloves, eye protection, hair dryer for tough to dry items like waffle grids where
blow drying will hasten the process, spray oil or a tooth brush for applying oil in tight to
reach areas, wire brushes for working on stubborn grease, lots of paper towels, and
many soft absorbent rags.
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GRISWOLD MANUFACTURING COMPANY
OF ERIE, PA, AS IT PERTAINS TO COLLECTORS OF CAST IRON
COOKWARE

In 1865, two Erie families associated by marriage, joined in a modest venture to

manufacture door hinges. The Selden and Griswold union paved the way for The
Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania, recognized world wide as
producers of fine cast iron products, especially cookware.

Between 1865 and 1957 when they closed production of the plant at the corner of 12 th
and Raspberry Street, their line of cookware had been sold and used around the world.
Their designers and engineers produced many patents spanning almost 100 years of
manufacture. Before the turn of the 20th century, they added cast aluminum products to
their line. In the 1920's they enameled some cookware and by the 1930's they offered
electric items to their product list. They produced commercial pieces for use in
restaurants.

The company was in trouble by the 1940's for a variety of reasons. Many products were
being introduced by other cookware companies that seemed more attractive to modern
cooks. Problems within the company between management and employees widened,
the quality of the products seemed to decline, and in 1957 the doors of GMC closed
leaving 60+ employees without jobs.

While most of the GMC cookware is a desired collectible, almost all collectors  avoid the
small Griswold logo era. The former quality and casting isn't there, for the most part.
There seems to be a much larger demand for cast iron, compared to those seeking cast
aluminum, enameled, electric, or plated pieces. Eventually, Griswold's strongest
competitor, The Wagner Manufacturing Company of Sydney, Ohio, ended up with
ownership of their molds. The "double stamped" Wagner/Griswold emblems are not
considered important collector's items, nor are the items that say Griswold but were
really manufactured in Sydney, Ohio by Wagner.

Some of the overlapping logos produced at the foundry included these:

1865-1883 Selden & Griswold

1865-1909 ERIE or "ERIE"
1874-1905 Spider and Web
1884-1912 GRISWOLD'S ERIE
1884-1909 Diamond (with ERIE inside the diamond)
1897-1920 Griswold Manufacturing Company (italic lettering, large cross logo)
1919-1940 Griswold Manufacturing Company (block lettering, large cross logo)
1937-1957 Griswold (block lettering, small cross logo)

Some other trademarks include:

Tite Top Dutch Oven
Tite Top Baster
Kwik Bake
Aristocraft
Colonial
Victor
Du.Chro
Classic
The Wapak Hollow Ware Company

On July 9, 1903, the Wapak Hollow Ware Company started business in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Little is known about this company. They are most recognized for their Indian Head skillets.

The company was in business for twenty-three years. They produced a complete line of hollow
ware which included the standard items, waffle irons, griddles, skillets, gem pans, irons and the
like.

Many collectors feel that most of Wapak’s items were copied from other manufacturers’
patterns. In fact, there are quite a few skillets and kettles with “ghost” markings from other
companies, Griswold and Erie seem to be the most common “ghosts”.

According to Country records the Wapak Hollow Ware Company closed its doors in 1926 by
going bankrupt.