Excluding the Griswold, which was machined differently, I think you just lucked out in terms of weight.

I have cast iron going as far back as the 19th century. Some of it is lighter. Some of it incredibly heavy. And some just like the current Lodge. I never noticed that Wagner and Lodge were appreciably different, weight & heft-wise.

My favorite, on many levels, is a chicken fryer that dates back to the 1930s. Talk about lightweight. It doesn't weigh much more than a comparable SS pot.

On the other hand, I've got a 14" Dutch oven that takes two men and a boy to lift. The cover, alone, weighs more than most of my pots.

DH recently brought home 3 Lodge Logic pre-seasoned pans: 14" wok, 15" skillet, and 12" skillet. Yes, they are heavy, but we are both enjoying them tremendously. The factory seasoning was fine for the first use, and I have continued to season them.

Definitely, cast-iron is my PREFERRED cookware. Probably the only exception is a thin steel wok (different heat).
I'll stick with the cast-iron. It just cooks beautifully!
-Junkmanme-

Hi all. I'm new here and very happy to find a forum on this subject. I absolutely love my cast iron. It's a mix of Wagner, Lodge, "no brand" and even an Old Mountain or two. Some cheap, some cheaper and some pretty decent pieces.

I have one piece that I bought at a flea market in Kentucky. It was in very bad shape, lots of rust in the bottom, lots and lots of black smut, or carbonaited oil I guess on the outside, and no lid. I just really wanted it you know? I've not seen a piece like it before, and I'm not sure what it's primary use would have been. I have been trying to find a lid on line, but no success so far. It's 18" long, 10" deep and 10" wide with 4 short legs. I don't see any markings on it, but it really needs to be cleaned up before I can tell if there are any. Whomever used it prior to my buying it must have used it a lot!

Some of the pieces I have were found behind an old shed when we lived in Kentucky. Some were bought off a couple who pulled up beside us at a store in Florida. They had a load of stuff they were taking to the local metal recycling place, and my husband, ever the treasure hunter, looked the load over and saw an old kettle, skillet, and a lid that fit both of them. God bless him! One of my pieces was actually bought brand new! As for the "found and rescued" peices, my husband took the rust off of them with a wire wheel, (while I stood behind him and fretted!) I was afraid he would ruin them, but he was very careful and didn't. I re-seasoned them and have been using them ever since.

I would post a picture of this peculiar piece, (to me anyway), but don't see anyway to do that. Any ideas on what it's use could be or how to find a lid?

Thanks for any ideas, and what a great forum.

Could it be a hibachi-type thing? Like an older version of this (random, non-endorsed vendor):

Here is a link that might be useful: lodge grill