Several years post divorce, I can forget and to a certain extent forgive the 'sins' of my ex husband. All but one. He crept into the house while he still had a key and took the cast iron skillet that was passed down to me through three generations. Perfectly seasoned from 75 years of use and proper care. Not to mention sentimental value (just like the rolling pin and rectangular grater I use that were bridal shower gifts to my Mom. Sorry, I get sentimentally attached to stuff.) I had long suspected why the skillet disappeared, but always thought I would either eventually get it back or our son would inherit it when his dad died. Our son disclosed a couple of years ago that his Dad left it sitting in the weather for several months on the fire pit at our farm until it was covered with rust, then tossed it rather than clean it up.

More than grrrrhhhh.

I have several Lodge cast iron skillets of assorted sizes, some purchased within the last 10 years that were supposedly preseasoned. Nothing seasons cast iron like usage and proper care.

I have learned through research and then experience that it is important to use solid, non dairy fat, not oil, to wipe the skillet after drying it on the stovetop. Oils lead to gumminess. Lard, shortening or cold, unsalted bacon grease. No butter or margarine.

Took me awhile to figure that mattered. Experimented with seasoning new skillets at long, slow, very low temps and higher temps with mixed results. However, the last time I bought a new skillets I still had not figured out that oils are not suitable for seasoning, didn't keep track of which I used at the time, and the results were so varied when only looking at high temp seasoning vs low temp seasoning that I still don't know which is best, and have an assortment of cast iron skillets of assorted sizes, some of which are well seasoned, and some of which are not, and I don't know what made the difference.

I do know smooth is better and newer skillets are not smooth. How much sanding or steel wool does it take to get the interior smooth? I didn't realize there was a difference in production. The old skillets I have (hand me downs or purchased at yard sales or thrift shops) are smooth and I just assumed they had been worn smooth over time.

I'm gonna go back and read the thread more carefully when I have time. Appreciate the sharing of experiences and opportunities to learn.