I loved watching this video from Finex cast iron skillets. It looks well designed and built. Pricey though.
http://youtu.be/xJZl1w0-f2Q
They are pretty nice! He was on Kickstarter about a year ago. He addressed one of the things I have noticed with new CI...the surface finish quality. The video make you want to buy...
They are on the pricey side, but not much out of line when compared to All Clad professional cookware. I may have to give the smaller skillet a try. Sure is a great looking product.
Thanks for that link, given what some of the brands charge for the cookware I've been wondering if someone would try to do a higher end machined cast iron piece. Looks like they have.
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This is one of the times when you can say, "Yeah, they make stuff like they used to and even better"
I see these as future wedding gifts that get passed down for generations.
Thanks for sharing.
8)
Very nice...makes you want one. Thanks for sharing.
Wow. Good to see stuff being made like this in our day and age.
This video makes me want to buy more Griswold.
...but those Finex handles are pretty sweet!
I wonder how well you'll be able to both clean the handle and stop the CI inside the handle from rusting.
I would imagine you'd have to take them apart every time you clean it.
It's a cool video, and it's good to see some one still passionate about cast iron. I'm going to be blunt here when I say, I think his prices are fucking insane. What makes their skillet cost/worth more than 5x the same size Lodge? Listen I get quality over something cheap, it's why I have and love my Weber grill. That quality brings advantages over other companies more cheaply made products. So what I'm asking is what makes their skillet worth such a high price tag?
I might pick one up in 20-30 years at a yard sale :)
I may have to try the 8 in skillet. I have 3 12 in skillets. I like the smooth, machined surface. This is similar to the old wagner/Griswold CI.
John, I understand your skepticism, and shared it right up until the point that I first cooked on a Griswold griddle. The carefully machined surface is like glass, and far more non-stick than modern Lodge, and a lot nicer than my trusty 20-year old Wagner griddle. That said, the price of used Griswold is climbing too much for me, so I'm sure I won't be buying the Finex. But I can sure appreciate why someone would want some of it (and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it at yard sales and estate sales).
Not very hard to smooth out a cooking surface on a cast iron pan. I did notice in the Finex pan that there were grooves in the cooking surface where the edge of the endmill travelled, for that price tag and a lot less I would expect there to be none.
@lumpy coal you are right. Very right..but that surface beats other currently on the market.
Quote from: mike.stavlund on September 23, 2014, 04:47:00 PM
John, I understand your skepticism, and shared it right up until the point that I first cooked on a Griswold griddle. The carefully machined surface is like glass, and far more non-stick than modern Lodge, and a lot nicer than my trusty 20-year old Wagner griddle. That said, the price of used Griswold is climbing too much for me, so I'm sure I won't be buying the Finex. But I can sure appreciate why someone would want some of it (and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it at yard sales and estate sales).
You're talking about an antique though. I would believe that the Griswold wasn't priced almost 5x higher than every thing else when it was new. It was probably priced competitively to everything else out at the time. Finex is charging 5x for their stuff, and I'm not seeing what makes it a 5x better product. This would be like some upstart saying they made a new Kettle and they want 500 dollars for their simple 22.5 kettle, but not explaining what that 5x price gets you over a regular kettle.
Another place making CI cookware - still pretty pricey.
http://boroughfurnace.com
I'm not sufficiently motivated to actually do it, but I know some of you are:
You can take an average used CI or a new Lodge and attack it with a coarse and then maybe fine wire brush on your drill and MAKE it baby smooth. Presumably steel and not brass bristles. A drill press set at a constant depth while you move the pan around might be easiest, but I'm no expert here.
Yeah Finex is the bargain brand you get when Borough is out of reach.
I also think the price is exorbitant .......and like John , I don't see the reasoning behind the price. I feel they have no history to back up the pricing.
I first heard of Finex a while back after catching this guy's YouTube videos on cleaning up CI.
https://www.facebook.com/theculinaryfanatic
Personally, I do not like the handle at all.
Supposedly the purpose of the rough surface on the new CI is because of mass production of preseasoning. Lodge in an attempt to keep up with today's easy non stick life style decided that preseasoning was the answer. In order to get the seasoning to stick when it is sprayed on with a spray gun they had to make the surface more rough.
I can appreciate the guys effort in wanting to bring back the way cast iron is supposed to be but its not the same. I will stick to my Wagner and Griswold pieces.
Quote from: jimmy_dong on October 20, 2014, 04:12:59 PM
I can appreciate the guys effort in wanting to bring back the way cast iron is supposed to be but its not the same. I will stick to my Wagner and Griswold pieces.
agreed. if you shop properly, you can get Griswold and Wagner at a fair price. i got two skillets #8 and one unmarked bigger pan for $40 for both. scrubbed them clean, wiped them with flaxseed oil and baked them in my gas weber.
they are now slick as snot. i have a 14" lodge that has done so much cooking..pan frying, searing..it is my camp pan, and i cook for a lot of folks. it is nowhere near as slick as the old pans. sanding a lodge? i am not a material expert, but the grain of cast iron would make it a challenge, no?
i love how a vintage pan is simply thinner, lighter, more elegant than any crusty lodge.
and btw..i hit my old pans with soapy water on occasion. never hurts the seasoning. ever. they are like waterproof.
Quote from: heart of coal on October 21, 2014, 11:38:45 AM
Quote from: jimmy_dong on October 20, 2014, 04:12:59 PM
I can appreciate the guys effort in wanting to bring back the way cast iron is supposed to be but its not the same. I will stick to my Wagner and Griswold pieces.
agreed. if you shop properly, you can get Griswold and Wagner at a fair price. i got two skillets #8 and one unmarked bigger pan for $40 for both. scrubbed them clean, wiped them with flaxseed oil and baked them in my gas weber.
they are now slick as snot. i have a 14" lodge that has done so much cooking..pan frying, searing..it is my camp pan, and i cook for a lot of folks. it is nowhere near as slick as the old pans. sanding a lodge? i am not a material expert, but the grain of cast iron would make it a challenge, no?
i love how a vintage pan is simply thinner, lighter, more elegant than any crusty lodge.
and btw..i hit my old pans with soapy water on occasion. never hurts the seasoning. ever. they are like waterproof.
I have seen some people talk about grinding or sanding down the surface of the newer cast iron but I had similar concerns as you. I would be worried about the fine dust particles filling the pores of the cast iron and thus having an ineffective season coating. I like my enameled cast iron for some things but I prefer older cast iron for non enameled cast iron.
I read something recently that made me think. Take two skillets that are seasoned alike. One machined, one non-machined. Firmly place a sticker on each one. The non-machined always releases the sticker easier.
I tried it for myself and it my modern day Lodge released the sticker easier than my Griswolds every time. Both were e-tanked and seasoned with flax oil.
I'll still never get rid of my Griswold set. I only use them indoors. The Lodges get thrown on the grill.
Quote from: dwnthehatch on October 23, 2014, 04:38:03 AM
I read something recently that made me think. Take two skillets that are seasoned alike. One machined, one non-machined. Firmly place a sticker on each one. The non-machined always releases the sticker easier.
I tried it for myself and it my modern day Lodge released the sticker easier than my Griswolds every time. Both were e-tanked and seasoned with flax oil.
I'll still never get rid of my Griswold set. I only use them indoors. The Lodges get thrown on the grill.
I don't think the physics of cooking something like an egg would relate to placing something flat like a sticker on a cast iron pan. I would guess the sticker on the Lodge isn't attached over as much of its surface area as it is on the Griswold ( due to the slight irregularity of the Lodge surface). Trying to think of a good analogy for this, but it's not coming to me right now.
Quote from: dwnthehatch on October 23, 2014, 04:38:03 AM
I read something recently that made me think. Take two skillets that are seasoned alike. One machined, one non-machined. Firmly place a sticker on each one. The non-machined always releases the sticker easier.
this makes perfect sense to me.
a sticker isnt the best analogy. the egg is. a sticker will lay across the "peaks" and seem easier to peel off. Even on a machined piece.
an egg will lay in the "valleys" and across the "peaks". a skillet that is very well seasoned has valleys that are not as deep. hence the non stick ability.
i'm not so sure i could get any sticker to stick to my cast iron. lodge or GW.
i think the sticker technically only sticks to the high points on the ridges, therefore less surface area. maybe. just theorizing.
everyone seems to be on the same page. :D
Quote from: jimmy_dong on October 23, 2014, 05:01:00 PM
a sticker isnt the best analogy. the egg is. a sticker will lay across the "peaks" and seem easier to peel off. Even on a machined piece.
an egg will lay in the "valleys" and across the "peaks". a skillet that is very well seasoned has valleys that are not as deep. hence the non stick ability.
+1
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/finex-cast-iron-skillets
$200 for the 12" - anyone have any experience with the brand?
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Quote from: Transit98 on March 03, 2019, 01:59:22 PM
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/finex-cast-iron-skillets
$200 for the 12" - anyone have any experience with the brand?
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@noreaster @Creep Life how do you guys like your Finex pans? Would you still buy them today given that there are other premium options out there such as Butter Pat, Stargazer, Field, etc.?