Holmes Auction Center

This is my first in what I hope to be many reviews of auction houses around the country and online probably concentrating on Maine and New England. Holmes Auction Center is located at 605 Middle Rd in Skowhegan, ME, although I don't believe they are in Skowhegan proper, as that address can't be found using online maps. The head auctioneer is Harold S. Holmes, he maintains a moderately paced auction with a very friendly atmosphere.

Food and drink are available on site for a moderate price, leaning toward coffee and muffins in the morning and then to hot dogs and popcorn in the afternoon. Restrooms are available right in the auction hall, they are clean and well maintained. Parking is ample and there is a good size loading area for when you win one of the larger items auctioned. Fairly comfortable seating is provided and the hall is handicap accessible.

There is a buyers premium of 13% discounted to 10% for cash or good check. Master Card and Visa are excepted as well. And of course there is Maine State Sales Tax of 5% unless you have a valid resale certificate. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and willing to help! Phone questions will be answered in a friendly courteous manner.

This auction attracts a few antique dealers with pockets full of cash so be prepared! Auctions are generally held twice a month on thursdays starting at 11 am. Some good deals can definitely be had but Harold can be persuasive and talk you into items that you might not otherwise buy. In an effort to try to get you to stay until the end of the auction they do 2-$50 drawings at the end.

My only complaints which are minor about Holmes Auction Center is that they don't get pictures up on their website until a few days before the auction and they have no set auction order. Holmes web site is at www.holmesauction.com Check them out online or in person, you won't be disappointed especially if you are new to the auction game.

Griswold Slant Logo Cleaned Up

Here it is! I promised that I would show off my Slant Logo (SL) once I had it cleaned up. I was going to list it at my etsy store but I think it is sold already! This pan cleaned up beautifully! Have a look and you decide. The inside cooking surface is perfectly smooth!

Seasoning Cast Iron - My Way!

After cast iron cookware is cleaned (I'll go into cleaning in a future blog) it is time to season it. I have tried numerous methods I have found online and none of them worked properly until I discovered my method by accident! When I say they didn't work properly the seasoning failed regularly (wasn't non-stick) and/or it was that sickly brown color.

How I discovered this method is that I bought a dutch oven at a yard sale, it looked relatively well seasoned although it was that ugly brown seasoned color. I cleaned it up with soap and water then dried it up nicely. I bought the dutch oven to make Bittman's no knead bread and the dutch oven I had, Le Creuset was too big and the knob on top won't withstand the 500 degree temperature required by the recipe. I made my dough, coated the inside of the dutch oven with olive oil and cooked away. When the bread was done the inside of the dutch oven was the most beautiful black color.


Enough of the history, here is my method. I warm the cast iron in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. Then take the pan out of the oven and coat it with melted Crisco using a basting brush so I don't get too much Crisco on the pan. Put the pan back in the oven at 350 degrees for another 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and wipe it down with a cloth. Put the pan back in the oven at 500 degrees for an hour and a half (you probably could use less time). When time is up turn off the oven and leave the pan in there to cool down. I double season each pan using this method. The final results should be a nice dry not sticky black color, the appearance will be dull black.

Visit my store and you can actually buy the dutch oven for $39.95 that made the no knead bread and helped me discover the proper way to season cast iron. 

Review of "GRISWOLD MUFFIN PANS"

This book "GRISWOLD MUFFIN PANS," published by Schiffer in 1997, is simply the best book available in cast iron collecting. This book is what all other cast iron cookware collectors' books should aspire to be. Muffin Pans contains so much concise information, set up in a terrific format, with the best photographs I have seen in any cast iron collectors' book.

The author Jon B. Haussler had only five years of cast iron collecting experience when he wrote this book but you would never know that by what he has accomplished. Haussler provides detailed drawings of virtually every variation of Griswold muffin pans ever made. Haussler also provides ways to start collecting muffin pans that won't have you mortgaging your house.


Muffin Pans is 148 pages packed full of information on Griswold pans and the multitude of variations of those pans. Included is a brief history of Griswold muffin pans and some interesting background on collecting. Another interesting chapter that Haussler includes is one about muffin pans made by Griswold for others. The appendix is made up of Griswold pattern numbers.


All right, the book isn't perfect; my criticisms are few but I do have some or I just wouldn't be me. The one major problem I have with this book is the sheer arrogance of the writer a cast iron collector for five years but he declares "It is suggested that the terminology used in this book be considered as the standard among collectors when they refer to the various Griswold muffin pans. This would minimize misunderstandings and provide a clear consistent language to describe Griswold muffin pans since there presently is no standard." Griswold named their pans whatever was popular at the time and probably used different names in different parts of the country in order to sell their products just as a submarine sandwich is called a sub, grinder , torpedo, hoagie, hero and on and on. This arrogance is not Haussler's alone as there are many snobs within the cast iron community who want to be the expert much like wine snobs who tell you about the clarity or floral notes in a wine. Then Haussler invites a major question; why is a #3 Golf Ball looking pan called a Gem Pan and A #9 and a #19 are both called Golf Ball Pans?


Nothing major is wrong with the book itself, it simply isn't more than it purports to be. I wish that other manufacturers were represented, as I constantly pick up the book to check on a Wagner Ware pan and can't find it within the glossy pages. Maybe I'm just too dumb to remember that this wonderful book contains Griswold and Griswold only. Another handy item that should have been added is the height or depth of the pans. I believe that Haussler should have omitted Plett pans, Munk pans and Danish Cake pans as none of them are truly muffin pans as they are generally used on the stove top. Another problem is that aluminum and other finished pans are mentioned very briefly but not priced. Unless Haussler believes that all finishes are priced the same but there is no indication of that or further mention beyond the very end of chapter one. "The Book of "Griswold and Wagner" indicates that the prices are greatly reduced for items that aren't cast iron finished. My last complaint is that the prices are high even though the book was published in 1997. I think human nature is that we all want to believe that what we have is worth more than it probably is. I have done extensive research tracking and cataloging prices on ebay and other sites and I don't necessarily see these prices approached even 13 years after the book was published.








My Store is At:

Basics of Cast Iron Care

Basic cast iron care


Storage of Cast Iron

The best place to store cast iron is in the oven although that isn't really practical - upside down with the lid off. Most people want to display their cast iron because it is so beautiful which means with the lid on. If storing with the lid on place a paper towel inside to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

Another rust preventive measure is to use a light coating of mineral oil on your cast iron - this also prevents the seasoning from going rancid and smelling bad. Coat once or twice a year with a light coating and wash off with a stiff nylon brush before use.

Cleaning Cast Iron is Generally Considered Easy

Do not place cast iron in the dishwasher as this will remove the seasoning.

Do not immerse cast iron in cold water or place cold water in cast iron when it is hot as it may crack.

Purists insist that cast iron should never be cleaned with a detergent or soap. This is utter nonsense as many commercial kitchens use cast iron and by law have to clean it with soap or detergent. Use a little soap or detergent and clean pan with a stiff nylon brush, this will not ruin the seasoning, simply dry pan over low heat on stovetop and give it a light coating of vegetable oil.

Cleaning stuck-on food - allow pan to cool and rub stuck-on food with salt and a paper towel. Another method of cleaning stuck-on food is to put water in pan and heat it over low heat on stovetop until stuck-on food can be scrubbed off easily with a stiff nylon brush, again dry over low heat and give it a light coating of vegetable oil.

Cooking Precautions When Using Cast Iron


Care should be used when cooking with acids as they can remove the seasoning and possibly pit the pan. Acids include such things as tomatoes, vinegar, pineapple and orange juice. I cook with tomatoes a lot and have found that with proper seasoning I don't have much trouble, I don't let the acids sit in the pan long. I rinse the pan as soon as it cools down or wipe it with a paper towel when still hot and then rinse when it cools. I have met a guy who just leaves his spaghetti sauce in the pan and claims no problems with the seasoning, he has a Griswold and says it seasons right back up for any use he has.

Cast iron cookware gets hot and stays hot for a long time. You will find that you can cook at lower temperatures on the stove top than you would with other cookware. As the saying goes; never use more heat than you necessary.

Cooking utensils should be of plastic or wood so that the cast iron cooking surface does not get damaged.

Finding Cast Iron

On saturday went to a flee market that is the first saturday of the month. Got a #10 Wagner Ware skillet, a Griswold dutch oven with no lid and 2 muffin pans no names. Then went to a second hand store and got another muffin pan. Today easter sunday went to an auction advertising cast iron and had a look - it was all junk. Drove around a lot went to one of my favorite junk stores - there found a #8 Favorite Piqua skillet, a very large muffin pan and a bread stick pan, no names again. I can clean them all up and sell them.

On the way into the junk store had an interesting little conversation with the owner, typical old tyme Maine person (he's probably well into his 70's). I asked, "How are you doing today sir?"

He replied, "I'm doing good, I have to."

I inquired, "You have to do good?"

He said, "Sure don't you have to do good?"

Then I said, "I guess I do, there are state and federal laws that say I have to."

He said, "Don't they make the rules for you?"

I thought he meant my daughters because they were coming up the stairs at that time so I said, "No they are to young, in a few years I'm sure they will be making rules for me. Doesn't you daughter make rules for you?"

"My daughter, naw, not my daughter," he pondered.

"If not your daughter then who," I asked.

"Everyone else," he said.

I left it at that everyone else makes the rules. I walked away shaking my head.

Review of "The Book of GRISWOLD & WAGNER" 4th edition

I believe "The Book of Griswold & Wagner" 4th edition is the newest edition of this book, published by Schiffer 1995 with the 4th edition published in 2005. The authors are David G. Smith, also known as "The Pan Man," a collector of muffin pans, and Chuck Wafford,  whose specialty is cast iron miniatures and muffin pans. This book is variously called "The Bible" and "The Blue Book" by cast iron collectors or so called experts. The reason the book is called the blue book (the book is blue) is because the authors added another book that is red, so if collectors refer to this as both "The Bible" and "The Blue Book" this must be the old testament or the Hebrew Bible.

Le'ts get straight to the point: while this book may be the best book on the market for Griswold collectors, it leaves a lot to be desired. The photography is adequate — David G. Smith is the photographer — and the color section is much better than the black and white. Well over half of the items I have found, for either Griswold or Wagner, can't be found in either of the books, blue or red. The listed pattern numbers don't always match up to what they claim as far as plated and bare cast iron. There could have been much more done with the pattern numbers, such as including the years they were used or perhaps cross referencing them with prices. The index is poor at best. A skillet chart with pricing, maker's marks, sizes and years made would have been handy. More and better or more accurate information on pieces would have been good. There are pans for which the authors don't list measurements or listing inaccurate measurements. A better job of editing would have caught the fact that Wagner's catalog numbers are in the book twice.

While I understand that Griswold is the gold standard of cast iron collecting, I wish that more space had been dedicated to the other manufacturers in this book. Not only is this the book of Griswold and Wagner but also Favorite, Wapak, and Sidney Hollow Ware. Approximately 226 pages of a 328 page book are dedicated to Griswold, with their poorer cousins—all four of them—getting 102 pages between them. If so much space is dedicated to Griswold, why not cover more of their aluminum products? Even Wagner, which shares the main title, gets only 52 pages of coverage; there should have been more room for Wagner because, after all, they did eventually buy out Griswold.

The authors are biased as far as prices are concerned, the prices listed for toys and miniatures favored by Chuck Wafford and the muffin pans favored by both authors are extremely overpriced, while at the same time the prices for skillets and dutch ovens and such are undervalued by perhaps 20% or more. I have tracked the prices of cast iron items for a few years now and found this bias on the part of the authors.

The authors themselves know that their pricing is biased, by the fact that if you follow David G. Smith's web site The Pan Man, you will notice little things like his claim that the book pricing is based on "pieces in excellent condition" yet he occasionally sells cracked pans at the low end of his book price range. How can a cracked pan be anywhere close to excellent condition? Other pans Mr. Smith sells are above his own pricing. Collectors use this book as gospel for pricing, especially when dealing with inexperienced people. Even the collectors will even claim that the prices are too high in the blue book and that is why I started tracking prices.

By now you must get the impression that I hate this book and or the authors, yet nothing could be farther from the truth. I use this book on almost a daily basis if not multiple times a day and feel that "The Book of Griswold & Wagner" is a must for any collector casual or serious and it just might be the best book on the market for cast iron collecting. However, if a new edition is ever in the works, I'd like to see the items from my "wish list" in this review included.