Carbon Steel Frypan?

[70chevelle]

The wife & I decided we needed a large skillet/fry pan. I was pretty much sold on the Emerilware 14" skillet due the price and it being made by AllClad, albeit in China. Anyway, as I was researching, I found some negative comments about the responsiveness in general for skillets/frypans with the thick, multiclad disk on the base. That led me to look at the copper skillets. All I had to do was look at the price and I was done. Then I started looking at the Carbon/Black/Blue steel pans. Our cast iron pans are our go to pans anyway, so seasoning and care are not an issue, but the 12" is about as much as my wife can handle. I'm hoping the carbon is about the same weight as the CI 12" or less. Anyway, again from my research, they seem to be pretty responsive and relatively inexpensive in comparison to SS. So, of the three major brands I've found, Matfer, World Cuisine, and De Buyer, which is best? The Matfer pans are most appealling to me. The De Buyers have a few different models, but their heavy duty 2.5mm thick seem to be very well thought of. The World Cuisine seem very nice also. Are they all about on the same quality level, or is one head and shoulders above the rest? I'd appreciate any comments from those that have any or all of these. Thanks!

 

[gadzooks]

I have a world cuisine carbon steel 28 cm. I like it. It is almost as heavy as a comparably sized sci pan. I have a w.c. 11-1/2 inch black steel pan that is light, heats fast and EVENLY, and gets used a lot. A little too light for searing, I think, but the carbon steel is a perfect searing pan.

 

[70chevelle]

Well, I sat down with my wife and showed her the carbon steel pans. "Not shiney enough!" So I ordered myself a Matfer-Bourgeat 10 1/4" fry pan and 9.5" crepe pan. (For pancakes, panini's & tortillas) Shipping was $10 whether I ordered 1 or 2 pans. Then I ordered my wife the 14" Emerilware Fry pan. (She was happy) In addition I couldn't control my spending and ordered a Fujiwara 270mm Sujihiki from JCK. Now I have to go, before I spend more. You're all welcome for my small spark for the economy!