I recently came across a Revere Ware use and care guide from 1987.
Some notable points from this guide:
1. The guide claims that Revere Ware cookware is oven safe up to a temperature of 425 degrees F. We don’t recommend putting your Revere Ware into the oven for a couple of reasons. First, ovens often heat very unevenly, so even with a temperature setting less than 425, the broiler can heat the Bakelite parts to a higher temperature and melt them. Second, with replacement parts getting harder and harder to find, it just isn’t worth risking them with oven use.
2. The guide talks about phenolic handles. It isn’t clear to use whether Revere started using a material other than Bakelite at some point or whether phenolic is simply a more general term for the category of materials to which Bakelite belongs. If anyone has any information on this, please contact us.
3. The guide also claims that the cookware is dishwasher safe but the handles may eventually become dulled from dishwasher cleaning. See point #1. Don’t risk your non-metal parts with excessive wear. Wash your Revere Ware by hand.
As for point 2 – Bakelite is a phenolic based plastic… pretty much the first of them, in fact.