This Man Owns 2,000 Pieces of Lodge Cast Iron and Gifts These 5 Most

Harold Henry estimates he has around 2,000 pieces of Lodge cast iron cookware. The 89-year-old farmer from Hamilton, Missouri, may well be Lodge’s biggest fan. Why Lodge? He calls it art.

“Every piece of cast iron until around the year 2000 was made by an individual. It wasn’t made by machines,” says Henry. “So, it is a handmade piece of art. That’s why people are trying to buy these old peculiar pieces they can’t get anymore.”

Henry, who lives on the same Missouri farm where JC Penney was born, has been cooking with Lodge cast iron for 60 years and collecting it for 30. “My experience in cooking with cast iron goes much further than my collection,” says Henry. It’s hard for Henry to remember his first piece of Lodge, but he guesses it was a skillet gifted to him for cooking fish. Though Henry collects other things, “Lodge has been my main one forever.”

He visits the Lodge Foundry and factory store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, a couple of times a year. During his visits, he buys many products, including multiples, of which he has many. He’s a true diehard Lodge fan: “You won’t find a product of this quality at that price or even close to that price anywhere else in the world. Nobody can make them as efficiently as they do because they make so many.”

I tried to get Henry to tell me his favorites, but that would be like picking his favorite child. He did, however, mention he likes to give Lodge pieces to friends and family — these are five of the pieces he gifts the most.  

The Best Lodge Products to Gift, According to One Of Its Biggest Fans:

Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet

Henry loves and uses his 10-inch Lodge Skillet the most. “I’m more of a skillet person. I have a number 10 Lodge skillet in my kitchen that I use almost daily,” says Henry, who lives alone and does all of his cooking. “I’m not a real good cook, but I survive.” Henry loves the skillet so much that he gifts it to everyone.

Lodge Dutch Oven

Dutch ovens are another Lodge staple Henry gifts from his collection. He likes them for frying. “I’ve had a few of them forever,” says Henry. “I’ve given away a lot of Dutch ovens because people like to camp, and they want to cook family dinners and cook chili and spaghetti. I do that a lot and love that.”

Lodge Cast Iron Reversible Griddle and Grill

Henry loves a reversible griddle, which is a great piece to have for breakfast specialties and burgers. “The griddle is versatile,” says Henry. “You can set it on the stove, the griddle, and you can set it on two burners and cook your pancakes or whatever right inside it. I’ve had several people even ask for those, and I’ve given several of those away.”

Lodge Cast Iron 10.25-Inch Blacklock Skillet, Triple Seasoned

Lodge’s current Blacklock line is slightly different from its standard skillet. Founded in 1896, Blacklock was Lodge’s precursor until the factory burned down in 1910 — only to be reborn as Lodge. Henry owns quite a few of the original pieces made during that time. In fact, they’re the oldest in his entire collection. Lodge still makes Blacklock pieces, but those from the Depression fetch a pretty penny and have a complete community of collectors. Lodge’s Factory Museum also has some pieces in its collection.

Lodge Ace Hardware 100-Year Anniversary 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet 

He is always looking for new pieces and likes to buy them for his collection, which means he also snagged all the latest Dolly Parton collection. Since Henry is always buying Lodge, I was curious about the last piece he acquired. “Ace Hardware had a 100-year celebration skillet that they put out this year,” he says. ”I went up to Ace Hardware in St. Joe’s — a big store 50 miles from here — because they ordered a couple, and they called me and said they were in.” Naturally, he drove all the way there to get them.  

Legacy Series Cast Iron Fish Pan

As Henry mentioned, he is a big fan of fishing, so he loves Lodge’s Fish Skillet — which is, sadly, now sold out — and its story. The story was told to him, so he doesn’t know the names, but whoever was charge of products at the time got the idea for the fish skillet from a kid’s toy. “Lodge had been making one that was kind of an oval-shaped skillet. Then they said it needed to be about so long and deep,” says Henry. “This little kid was playing with a little red wagon, and he said, ‘There’s about the right size right there.’ So they just took the wheels off that wagon and measured it up. And that’s where they came up with the fish skillet.”