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Will the hardware set fit your cookware

All of our handles ship with the appropriate replacement hardware.  But we do sell quite a few hardware sets separately, which customers use to replace older hardware that no longer works.  A common issue with the older hardware is that the slotted screw heads strip.

With regard to determining which size hardware set was required, a customer recently asked:

When I remove the existing one and screw it together and measure the length I get 1/2 inch. Will this be the right size or too long?

We sell two hardware sets, the one for small handles, and the one for all the rest (medium, large, x-large).  The small handles fit very very few Revere Ware pieces, so the likelihood of needing the small hardware set, which is made specifically for those small handles, is slim.  So, a default choice would be the M/L/XL hardware set.

But, if you need the measurements, here they are.

The hardware set comes with two different length barrel nuts. The short of the two, with the screw all the way down, measures about .46 in between the inside of the barrel nut head, and the head of the screw. The longer one .61. The washer makes them a little bit smaller. Typically, the front and back of the Revere Ware handles will need different nuts; the front a shorter one, the back a longer one.

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Stainless steel non-stick seems to be a thing now

A few months ago we wrote about the concept of seasoning stainless steel.  It seems that this idea has become more widespread, which website Epicurious writing about it last year, and now Overstock.com has a big splashy page that instructs on stainless steel seasoning.

They also include this useful cooking tip, which I’ve noticed to be true even with my ceramic non-stick pans:

The best way to avoid sticking when cooking with stainless steel is to thoroughly preheat the pan before adding any ingredients. Preheating will help prevent hot or cold spots on the pan and will allow food to cook more evenly.

For instance, when I cook fried eggs in the morning, adding eggs to the pan before it is up to temperature, or if the cooking temp is too low, will almost always make them stick, even on a non-stick surface.

I’ve gotten so used to using the ceramic non-stick pans for all my non-stick needs, I haven’t yet tried seasoning a stainless steel one myself.

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Some new cleaning tips

We came across this article entitled How to Clean Pots and Pans You Thought Were Ruined the other day, and found some techniques that look promising.

Here are the ones we like the best:

Use ammonia to remove burnt on great on the bottom of your pans

Burnt on bottom grease is one of the most difficult things to remove, and I’ll admit, this looks simpler (if not more toxic) than our method of boiling a piece in a large pot with baking soda.

Use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to clean baked on grease on your cookie sheets

Spray hydrogen peroxide on the baked on grease stains on your cookie sheet. Sprinkle with baking soda. Let mixture sit for a few hours and scrub away with brush.

Just yesterday I was scrubbing away with a Scotch Brite pad making little progress, so this seems really interesting.

Use a Magic Eraser to clean baked on grease on glass bakeware

A Magic Eraer works wonders when cleaning baked on grease from your glass dishes and bakeware. Must try!

I tend to use a Scotch brite pad here as well, which definitely can scratch the glass, so the Magic Eraser method is much better.  I can’t help but think that this would work well on the outside of a tea kettle as well, which gets a lot of grease splatter.

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Removing old 2-screw handles

Consider the handle above, which has clearly been on that pan for quite some time.  You can see that lots of grease has crept between the handles over time, and gotten baked on by the heat of stoves.  Such crud makes it very had to get old handles off sometimes, and these are by no means anywhere near the worst I have seen.  Additionally, despite being stainless steel, the screws and barrel nuts are known to rust together, or get stuck on with thick grease.

Our own recommendation for the removal of suck stubborn handles prior to replacement has been to simply break the handles off if they won’t come off by gentler methods.

Reader Phil has some better suggestions on this topic.

I’ve been restoring pre-1968 revere ware so i can have a set of amazing cookware, without spending thousands of dollars. I have been using a few tricks to get seized handle screws out, without destroying the handles completely.

#1. Use heat. I use a stick type soldering iron, tinned so you get good heat transfer to the nut and bolt sections of the handle hardware. The solder wont stick to the hardware because its not fluxed, but it will heat it up and boil any grease holding the hardware together. Also if metallic corrosion is present it will expand the hardware to hopefully free it up.

#2. While hot, use a precision flat tip screwdriver (similar to eye glasses screwdriver) to wedge between the ‘head’ of the nut hardware part and the handle hole it sits in, and lightly turn the precision screwdriver to hold the nut section, while using a standard size screwdriver to turn the bolt section of the hardware and separate the two.

If done correctly, you can save the handle without damaging it, and be able to inspect and clean the ‘tang’ (the metal that the handle bolts to). Be warned though, ive removed handles that appeared good on the outside, only to find the inside was overheated and dish-washered numerous times and the Bakelite was brittle and cracked on the inside. If that’s the case, buy new handles from RevereWareParts.

We certainly appreciate the last part.  🙂

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Using eBay saved searches to find rare items or get a deal

Some Revere Ware piece are very rare.  For example, the square skillets.

As you can see, they are expensive and there aren’t that many listed.  What I do when I am looking for something on eBay that is expensive, and I want to find a deal, or is very rarely listed, is to save a search, such that I get notified by email whenever new items appear.  Notice the Save this search link at the top of the search results.

Once you click the link, you get a confirmation, and are automatically subscribed to emails when new listings are added that match your search.

When are looking for a long item, sometimes it takes playing the long game, being willing to wait as long as it takes to get what you want, at the price you want.  I’ve gotten some great deals on all kids of stuff this way, as long as I’m not in a hurry to get them.

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Sizing sheet for single screw handles for post 1968 skillets and sauce pans

Our 1-screw handles fit the type of newer (post 1968) skillets and sauce pans that have a single rivet or screw through the metal part of the handle.  The connection of the handle to the pot is the same on all handles, so, in theory, you could use the smallest handle in the largest skillet or sauce pan, but it won’t look right.

While we do include measurements of all of our parts in the part details, we recently came up with something simpler, this sizing sheet.

You can can download the PDF version of this sheet here.  If you download the PDF file and print it in portrait mode on an 8 1/2 x 11 (letter size) sheet of paper, you can just hold it up to your old handle to determine the proper size replacement.

If your existing handle has a rivet, you can find the guide to removing the old rivet here.

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Other sources for vintage Revere Ware

About 10 years ago, when I started looking into making parts for Revere Ware cookware that I couldn’t find elsewhere, I built up quite a collection of pieces to use as samples and to test the fit of the new parts.  At the time, my wife and I loved going to thrift stores, which turned out to be a great source of Revere Ware (and Pyrex and other neat vintage cookware pieces).  I think in all we ended up with about 80 or so pieces, all bought on the very cheap.

While they appear to be getting somewhat rarer (possibly because  buying stuff from thrift stores to resell on eBay has become a popular activity), I still do see some good finds to be had when I visit thrift stores for used children’s books (those care free days are over, for now).

The point is, if you are resourceful, there are lots of other more local places to get Revere Ware that are cheaper than eBay (where you can find most anything admittedly) and won’t cost you to ship.

In addition to thrift stores, sometimes entire sets are sold on Craigslist, like this one.

I’ve looked at a lot of sets for sale on eBay; let me tell you, that is a great deal.

So, if you are looking at replacing some Revere Ware, or building a collection, consider your local sources.  Many towns have thrift stores, secondhand stores, or stores that specifically consign items like cookware.  Also, setting up a Craigslist RSS feed that you can check occasionally in an RSS reader is pretty easy.  You may be surprised what you find, and you may just find a wonderful rare piece, or find what you need on the cheap.

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What to do when the handle falls off your Revere Ware skillet

One of the most frequent questions we get asked is how to reattach a handle that has separated from a pan, right where the spot weld attaches it.

Unfortunately, there is no good solution.  A machine or weld shop may be able to braze it back on for you, but it probably won’t look that great and might be expensive, if you can even find someone willing to do a small job like that.

However, we recently came across this unique Revere Ware piece for sale on eBay:

That is a tarte tatin, or quiche pan.  Turns out, when the handle falls off your pan, you can easily turn it into a win-win situation by just getting a set of grabbers.

Something like this will work even if you want to continue to use your pan on the stove top (some of us are nostalgic like that).

I call this a win-win because Revere Ware pans with Bakelite on them do not do well in the oven as the Bakelite can degrade from the heat and emit a very foul odor; but people seem to love using them in the oven nonetheless.  If your handle falls of, why not embrace it and turn it into a tarte tatin or quiche pan?

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Determining which size 2-screw style replacement handle you need

In an attempt to make it easier to determine the proper sized replacement handle of the 2-screw variety, we’ve expanded the detail in all our 2-screw handle product listings.  This seems to give people a lot of difficulty, so it is worth pontificating on it here.

We sell small, medium, large, and x-large size of the 2-screw style handle.  It is fairly straight-forward to determine the proper size handle based on the height of the metal spline (the metal part the two handle halves go around) , the distance between the centers of the two holes, and the overall length of the Bakelite part of the handle.  If you check your measurements and cant’ find a match, please contact us to ask for help before purchasing.

Size Metal spline height Distance between hole centers Overall Bakelite length
Small 3/8″ 2.75″ 4.5″
Medium 5/8″ 2.6″ 4.6″
Large 3/4″ 3.1″ 5.25″
X-Large 3/4″ 3.7″ 5.7″

If you aren’t sure what the quote (“) means to the right of the numbers in the above table, it is shorthand for inches.

If you aren’t sure what the spline is, or how to measure the height, here is a graphic that should help.

It should be noted that cookware requiring the small handle is very rare in the wild.  If you think you need the small handle, make sure.  This is our most frequently returned part. 

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Order ahead for holiday delivery

Just a reminder that if you want to order from us for delivery by Dec 25th, make sure you order early enough.  We ship primarily by USPS First Class Mail, which typically takes 2-3 business days to anywhere in the continental US.  However, as we get closer to December 25th, everything takes longer.

We can’t make any guarantees, but suggest ordering December 18th at the latest for delivery by Christmas.

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