Another Cast Iron Thread

[RPCookin]

Anyone ever looked at this brand? https://shop.tastemade.com/products/smithey-cast-iron-skillets?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=smitheyvideoadtotmstore

I think the price is more than outrageous... it's utterly ridiculous when you can buy a pre-seasoned Lodge for $15!

 

[Andy M.]

Designer CI has become the latest darling for foodies. (along with the Instant Pot).

Not sure how much better than Lodge it could be and if that difference is worth the incremental price.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

They want HOW much for those pans???

Wouldn't be efficient on a glass-top stove, either. I noticed a raised ring around the perimeter of the bottom, with the rest of the bottom recessed. For top efficiently, a pan needs to sit flat on the surface - you know. like a $15 Lodge pan does.

 

[taxlady]

Isn't this a counter to the roughness I keep hearing about with the Lodge pans?

 

[Bigjim68]

Isn't this a counter to the roughness I keep hearing about with the Lodge pans?

I won't buy Lodge because of the unfinished interior and the so called pre seasoning, but for the same $160 you can purchase 8 or 10 quality non collectible Griz or Wag. Seems a wee bit overpriced to me.

 

[Farmer Jon]

No way I'd pay that. We have plenty of household auctions to buy used iron on. I have a pile of it. Got 5 assorted sizes for $7 each. All Wagner and grizwald and a couple no name. Just says made in USA.

 

[jennyema]

Designer CI has become the latest darling for foodies. (along with the Instant Pot).

Not sure how much better than Lodge it could be and if that difference is worth the incremental price.

I really love my Instant Pot .... but it is a weird cult

 

[Aunt Bea]

Looks like another new suit for the Emperor!

I'll stick with my inexpensive old flea market cast iron pans.

My old cast iron pans are sort of like rescue dogs, they never seem to forget who gave them a little love and appreciation!

 

[Just Cooking]

Looks like another new suit for the Emperor!

I'll stick with my inexpensive old flea market cast iron pans.

My old cast iron pans are sort of like rescue dogs, they never seem to forget who gave them a little love and appreciation!

That is an outstanding statement...

Ross

 

[roadfix]

I can probably spend a few minutes with my finishing grinder on my Lodge skillet.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Does anyone remember what P. T. Barnum said about suckers?

 

[Steve Kroll]

Looking at it from the other side of the fence, I can definitely see where there would be a market for this product. From what I can see, the pans are all hand made by someone who obviously takes a lot of pride in what he does. It's almost a lost art, and there's something to be said for that. I've paid more for other cookware items in my kitchen.

You also have to keep in mind that not everyone is willing (or able) to go scour flea markets and auctions to find vintage cast iron pans, let alone put the work into restoring them.

If I wanted to buy a nice cast iron pan as a gift for newlyweds or someone special, I would certainly consider one of these.

 

[Andy M.]

I have Lodge CI and haven't used any other brand. My two skillets are fully seasoned and I regularly cook a complete breakfast in a skillet with sausages and potatoes then two or three over easy eggs. I have no issues with food's sticking. I also use them for one pan skillet meals that are a combination of starches, proteins and various sticky stuff such as cheese. They clean up easily.

Is the pan surface a little grainy? Sure, but so what. It may not be as pretty as a smoother surface, but it's functional. It's the seasoning that makes the skillet slippery, not the texture of the surface.

 

[RPCookin]

I have Lodge CI and haven't used any other brand. My two skillets are fully seasoned and I regularly cook a complete breakfast in a skillet with sausages and potatoes then two or three over easy eggs. I have no issues with food's sticking. I also use them for one pan skillet meals that are a combination of starches, proteins and various sticky stuff such as cheese. They clean up easily.

Is the pan surface a little grainy? Sure, but so what. It may not be as pretty as a smoother surface, but it's functional. It's the seasoning that makes the skillet slippery, not the texture of the surface.

From what I read on FB where I first saw the ad, the cooking surface appears to have been machined on a lathe or similar machine, leaving tool grooves in it (it was described as looking like the grooves on a record). So although its not just the casting finish, it's not polished either. It seems to me that you are paying a lot of money for not much added value.

Hand made just doesn't mean anything to me for an item like this. I spent 33 years working as a journeyman machinist, and generally speaking, I could make this for a fraction of the cost in any reasonably equipped small machine shop.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I have Lodge CI and haven't used any other brand. My two skillets are fully seasoned and I regularly cook a complete breakfast in a skillet with sausages and potatoes then two or three over easy eggs. I have no issues with food's sticking. I also use them for one pan skillet meals that are a combination of starches, proteins and various sticky stuff such as cheese. They clean up easily.

Is the pan surface a little grainy? Sure, but so what. It may not be as pretty as a smoother surface, but it's functional. It's the seasoning that makes the skillet slippery, not the texture of the surface.

Nothing against Lodge at all, and I'm not doubting that it works. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that this appears to be a fine handmade product that I wouldn't mind owning myself. As I get older, I find myself drawn to things that have a real person or story behind them.

Maybe I'm just being more sentimental than practical, but, to look at it another way, you can buy a nice vase from Target, or you could buy a handmade vase at an art fair. Both are functionally the same thing, but if I were buying something to give as a gift, I would probably opt for the handmade item, even if it cost more. Well, depending on who it was. I'm thinking along the lines of something I would buy for my daughter when (or if) she gets married. If I'm lucky, maybe she would pass it down to her kids.

By the way, I have an old Griswold pan that was my dad's (I don't know where he got it originally). I've gone to carbon steel pans in the last year, so I don't use it that much anymore. In fact, I can't recall the last time I took it out of the cabinet. But I still hang on to it, because that pan, along with some old knives, were among the few things I ever got from my dad that I know he cared about.

 

[Andy M.]

Steve, my post was not intended as a comment on yours. I was just trying to comment on practical differences vs. 'artistic' differences. There are places for both. As you mentioned, they would make lovely gifts or collectors' items.

 

[Stock Pot]

I used to work in a cast iron foundry so I think I know something about this. Lodge is leaving too much slag in the iron. I don't think you are going to be able to grind your way down to a smoother surface; you will more likely just uncover the next layer of pitted metal. So the older pans are better if you can get them.

 

[roadfix]

I was at Walmart last night and saw a Lodge 15" skillet marked at $9.97 in their camping dept so I got it. That was the only one on the shelf. The rest were Walmart's own Ozark Trail brand of CI cookware, marked even higher. I think I scored on this one.

 

[Just Cooking]

+1... well done...

Ross