How to Identify Unmarked Cast Iron Skillets
An unmarked skillet is identified by combinations of features: the heat ring, where and how the size number is cast, the underside of the handle and the pour spouts. No single feature settles it. For some older pieces, especially those with a gate mark, the honest answer is that the maker cannot be known.
First, make sure it really is unmarked
Clean the base and look again in angled light; faint lettering often hides under build-up. Then hold the pan bottom up with the handle at 6 o'clock and note what you see at 12, 3 and 6.
What each maker's unmarked skillets look like
| Maker and line | Heat ring | Size number | Other clues | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodge, single notch | Inset, one notch at 12 | Raised, on the handle or at 12 | Small raised molder's letter at 6 | 1930s |
| Lodge, three notch | Inset, notches at 9, 12 and 3 | About ¾ inch, at 12 | MADE IN USA at center from about the mid-1960s | 1940s–1987 |
| Birmingham Stove & Range, Red Mountain | Inset, unbroken | About ¾ inch at 6, often underlined | Large pour spouts; handle ridge does not flatten at the side wall | 1930s–1940s |
| Birmingham Stove & Range, Century | Inset, unbroken | At 6; late pans add inches | Smaller pour spouts; MADE IN USA at 12 from about 1967 | Early 1950s–late 1960s |
| Griswold, Iron Mountain | Inset | Italic, about ½ inch, at 12 | Four-digit number at 6; untapered oval handle opening | 1930s–early 1940s |
| Wagner, unmarked | None (smooth) | Incised on top of the handle | Later pans add wording such as 6½ INCH SKILLET at 6 | Not given |
| Vollrath | Usually at the outer edge | Sideways, at 3 | Hollowed handle underside with a long rib | Not given |
| Chicago Hardware Foundry | — | Inside a diamond outline, at 6 | Some pieces have a hammered finish | Not given |
Dates are approximate. Makers changed features gradually, so treat every range as a generalization.
Gate marks
A gate mark is a raised line or scar across the bottom, left where iron entered the mold. Bottom gating often indicates late 18th or 19th century production. Pieces this old are usually identified only by molder's marks, handle design or region, and for many of them “we'll never know” is the standard answer among collectors.
Two cautions
Copied features. Other makers imitated well-known features such as Lodge's three notches. Always confirm a match with a second feature, ideally the handle.
Unproven attributions. Some labels in common use are educated guesses. The early Lodge pans collectors call Blacklock are an example: no marked Blacklock skillet is known. Our library marks such entries as conjecture.
Sources: The Cast Iron Collector: Identifying Unmarked Iron · Cast Iron Collector forum: three notch with no markings
Updated 2026-11-10. How we check and correct this site.