My Wapak Skillet

[TentHunteR]

I used electrolysis while back...

This is the web site I followed for this experiment:
http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/miscellaneous/rust_removal.htm

That is some great info!

[africanmeat]

I used electrolysis while back...

This is the web site I followed for this experiment:
http://www.rickswoodshopcreations.com/miscellaneous/rust_removal.htm

That is some great info!

thanks from me too .

[slaga]

In all seriousness, the difficulty of using electrolysis on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being really difficult), was a 1.5. It seems the vast majority of the people that do it are removing rust from cast iron pans, old tools they got at auctions or car parts being refurbished. Unlike sanding, using a wire brush, sand blasting, etc., it removes absolutely no metal, just the rust. What is left after the electrolysis is a black residue (iron dust if you will) that rinses off with very minor elbow grease and a nylon brush. It is a technique I will surely use again, without hesitation. It was a fun experiment to do with my middle school kid too.

[TwoPockets]

Good looking skillet and great job of re seasoning it. I think I have a couple of Wapak's in my stacks of cast iron but most of it is Wagner Ware or Griswold.

[Smokin Don]

Oct 24 2013

I finally seasoned the skillet the sixth time and I am happy with it. I have some bacon to fry in it tomorrow and will start using it after a few batches of bacon. The 8 inch is a nice size for cooking for two. I mentioned the hollow ware being a lot lighter than the modern cast iron skillets. I weighed my new lodge 8 and it was 5.25 lbs. The Wapak 8 hollow ware weighs 3.75 lbs.

Thanks to Slaga for the good info on rust removal. If I ever do another cast iron piece I will try the electrolysis. With the Wapak skillet I didn’t try to remove all the rust but did some sanding on the inside after the first seasoning. I think some of the rust occurs during using the self-cleaning oven, not sure on that.

I did end up with a nice black color on the two skillets I have done. The few times I have used the Lodge 12 inch it has been non-stick and cleans up nice. When thinking about it I wonder if it is necessary to remove the rust. Rusting was used for years on gun barrels and parts for a long lasting finish. Browning is basically rusting the outer surface of metal until you get the desired color and then stopping the rust.

 In the 80’s I was into shooting and building black powder rifles. I built three rifles from kits, a 32 cal., a 45 cal., and a 50 cal. I bought an extra nice tiger striped maple stock to build an authentic Hawken style 45 cal. Rifle. I had all the right parts and barrel bought but got away from shooting and they all lay in my workshop until I retired in 2003. I finished the rifle then and following are a couple pics of the browning.

Maybe someone can tell us if it is better to remove all the rust from cook ware before seasoning or not.
I am hoping Pappy will post some photos of the skillet he is working on and the processes. It will take a little time using my Wapak 8 inch to see how good I actually did seasoning it. The Lodge 12 inch I retired to the garage, that thing is about too heavy for me. It weighs 13.5 lbs. with the lid!

Inside after six seasonings


Bottom


Hawken, lockplate and hammer


Barrel, nose piece, and ramrod inlet tube


Smokin Don

[drholly]

Skillet looks good - look forward to hearing how well it cooks for you. The rifle looks great. Many years ago, I too enjoyed black powder shooting. I'd forgotten about the concept of "browning." Thanks for the reminder.