After a recent adventure with my Maryland friend Jen in antiquing and thrifting, 5 new cast iron skillets were added to the collection. (Read about the adventure plus how to make a lye bath here. Or check out the before & afters!)
Cast iron skillets aside, there was another piece of cast iron that landed in the collection: a waffle iron!
At first, I almost bypassed the waffle iron (I think I saw it on my birthday and passed it then), but decided it was a bit too cool to let go, especially since the theme of the weekend had been cast iron. The price was fair, especially since it had a gnarly chunk missing on one of the sides on the edge and a wire through the bolt / hinge. Figured it gave the piece tons of character (plus the batter would be filled from the middle, so the chunk missing on the edge most likely wouldn’t be a problem.)
The second hesitation was… how in the world did it flip?
Classic cast iron waffle irons I had seen previously each had a ball joint. The joint interlocks so the paddles stay together (plus they come apart for easy cleaning). The joint sits in a notch in a base and the handles of the waffle iron allow the user to lift and rotate the waffle iron to cook each side evenly. Like this:
The waffle iron in my hands definitely didn’t look like this.
Hmm… I didn’t want to snag this waffle iron if I couldn’t actually figure out how to use it. As cool as it was, it still needed to hold functionality if called upon as part of the kitchen staff.
Let’s see…
Two tiny juts on the side of the waffle iron. A hinge at 6 o’clock, with a “beak” at 12 o’clock on each side. The hinge rested on the base’s edge. Pushed gently on the side opposite the hinge, it began to flip like a secret door! Oooooh!
Continued the push and the waffle iron completely the flipped. The hinge now rested on the base’s edge by the handle. Flipped it back, totally delighted. Realized with a bit of a giggle that the wire in the hinge wasn’t a fix, but a makeshift turning handle!
The waffle iron was placed into the cart along with the other finds. Jen and I wrapped up with success and continued on our adventure.
Back home, the adventure concluded, I spent a little time researching the waffle iron.
Seems it hails from the late 1880s into the early 1900s. EEEEEEEK!
The diamond pattern (vs the classic square pattern) is a main identifier for the age but there seems to be little in the way of who manufactured this awesome piece. The only markings are an 8 & 9, indicators on the size of the waffle iron as it was designed to go over the openings on a wood stove called eyes. No maker marks on either waffle iron or base.
Found in an 1895 advertisement as a “Common” waffle iron.
Eager to get the waffle iron cleaned up for a maiden waffle voyage, I negated before pictures and plopped the waffle iron into the lye bath.
Oh shit… it doesn’t fit while open! The plates fit, but the hinge poked out of the water. (This is also why ball joints became more common – easier to clean due that they come apart and lay flat! Plus I think my waffle iron smacking closed is what caused the missing edge chunk at some point in it’s life. Watch your fingers…)
Hmmm…
Within the darkness of the lye bath was the the Griswold #4, & Lodge #5. Working carefully one handed I managed to slighltly prop open the waffle iron, it’s edge resting on the edge of the Lodge skillet. And it was completely submerged! Huzzah!
The final result:
Plans for waffles were delayed for the collection of the Columbia Heights set. Tucked into the batch was the 2nd waffle iron of the collection! It was in “shed” shape – crusty, rusty, cobwebs and bits of dried grass and such. Bit yucky to touch.
Before:
Into the lye bath and the crust on the outside disappeared, then the crust inside the paddles began to disappear until the waffle iron looked like a whole different piece!
Into the vinegar bath for the rust, then into the oven for conditioning.
The end result:
Time for some history on this waffle iron. The Fanner Manufacturing Company was started in the 1870s, formally organized in 1898… and… manufactured hardware, bedsteads, stoves, stove decorations and were also a foundry.
Noted history on the company is a bit vague, especially when it comes to the waffle irons. The founder George Fanner founded Fanner manufacturing in 1897. His son George J. Fanner went to work for W. C. Sly of W. W. Sly Foundation in 1909 (the pair met their death during a robbery in 1920). This notation comes up when looking into The Fanner Mfg Co, but this wasn’t the downfall of the company (it seemed like it lived into the 1970s). Not really any information about the company is notably found.
In digging, I did find a blurb in 1918 about a new catalogue that featured waffle irons amongst the variety of offerings they had prior. EEEEK! Though the actual catalogue doesn’t exist in the digital world so there isn’t a way to tell which version of waffle iron was first. (There is a wood handled Fanner, the “cold” handle like I have and a square version.)
No other mentions that I found about waffle irons or additional cast iron pieces, only some patents for sad iron handles in 1921. It seems like the company pivoted in the 1930s to producing chaplets and hardware. Awnings are mentioned to have been made since 1909 though the first mention I found of them was in 1938.
With an age range of 1920s or earlier it makes this waffle iron 92 years old or older!!! Eeek!
** I did find a base for this waffle iron at a later date. They’re matched but not quite the perfect match (slight rub from the base). Haven’t cooked with it yet but soon! **
Let’s make ALL THE WAFFLES!!!
Want to learn a little history on waffle irons? Head to this post!
Fantastic!