BTW if you spend upwards of $50 on a used cast iron skillet, it'd better have belonged to Napoleon or something because otherwise you're doing it wrong.
@vestige it's fine to, but... part of the experience should be watching your own grow, not just buying someone else's
(IMO)
There is nothing about that 1800's cast iron that your $20 pan cannot achieve with some work.
I have some saws like that. They are pre-ww2 Disstons.
I may eventually sharpen them (I've done basic repair on them, but not the sharpening step yet) and they will be nice when I do that, but until then they are mostly decorative because they are pretty and I like the history.
When I sharpen them I'll then be able to use them for woodwork and, even if I could get a modern substitute that would work as well, it would lack the aesthetics and history of the old tools