swt61

Not sure how that happened. The other thread has all of the pics, so if the mods can combine the cast iron post on this thread with the original on the other thread, that'd be great!

It's not only about smoothness. The Lodge has hot spots. Most likely due to variations in thickness. Most of the modern pans heat much more evenly.

She has been one of my favorite female vocalist since the 80's! Definitely in my top five.

Next projected purchase is a new 12" cast iron skillet. Older cast iron cookware, including Lodge, used to come with a smooth interior. That changed along the way due to cost. The sandy texture of modern Lodge cast iron is straight out of the green sand molds, with no finishing. Back in the day they would smooth the pans out on the interior, but this added labor cost. Today there are several companies making artisan cast iron cookware, retaining those old methods of interior finishing. Even the nobby textured Lodge will eventually season up to be very non stick, but the smoother the finish to begin with, the faster the non stick surface can be created. Many of these newer companies are also putting emphasis on creating a product that heats up more evenly. More even heating correlates directly to better cooking. I've settled on the Stargazer Cast Iron 12" skillet. I chose this over other new models for a few reasons. First reason is cost. At $145 this skillet is about $50 cheaper than it's closest competitor, Field Cast Iron at $195 for the 11 5/8". The Smithy 12" skillet retails for $220 and that is cheaper still than the similar skillet from Finex, that retails for $300. Reason #2 is that from every reviewer I've come to trust, it's the best rated of the three companies. The Field is highly rated, but has the typical short handle, and really stubby, little helper handle. A helper handle on a heavy 12" cast iron skillet shouldn't be an afterthought IMO. The Finex, while beautiful, has some unnecessary details IMO, that add to the cost but don't actually equate to better cooking. Such as the octagon shape and beefy coiled stainless handle. The Finex is also only machined smooth on the bottom, and not the sides, and is a bit smaller than it's competitors, holding 1.7 gallons compared to the Field at 2 gallons, the Stargazer at 2.3 gallons, and the Smithy at 2.5 gallons. Finex skillet. Smithy skillet. Field skillet. Stargazer skillet.

I posted about purchasing a new carbon steel pan recently. I thought that member's choice of cookware might be a interesting thread. For my self I have and use a set of non-stick cookware that I like. However most people missuse non-stick cookware. It's not made for high temp cooking, and will offgas at higher temperatures. That's not good for your health or for the pans non-stick characteristics. I also have a stainless set of Cookware that I love. That cookware, as many others require a certain method of cooking. Pre-heating is a must, but it's quite easy to learn and quite good once you do. Mine is a 5 ply clad set with a copper core as well as aluminum cores. Stainless, aluminum, copper, aluminum, stainless. It's very nice, but as with many things, there's not one type of pan that does everything well. I like cast iron for searing and making corn bread, among other things. I stand to inherit my Mother's cast iron, which belonged to her Grandmother. A few years back I decided to try carbon steel. I bought a cheap 11 inch pan. I think I paid around $30 pre pandemic. I love that pan! And with proper care and seasoning it can rival non-stick for releaseabilty. Mine is a relatively thin guage of carbon steel, which makes it quite light weight. This is both a positive and a negative. It heats up quite fast, but it can tend to burn foods easily. It is absolutely fantastic for searing meat. IMO it sears as well as cast iron, but is at temp much faster. I have noticed that it builds up carbon deposits pretty quick, especially after searing meat. This is the enemy of release ability. With this in mind I decided to buy a second 11.25" carbon skillet for non-stick, lower temp cooking. Eggs etc... I decided to go upscale and purchase a more expensive, quality pan. After much research I settled on DeBuyer. It's a French company and the pan is about 3 times the thickness of my inexpensive Guy Fiere. It arrived today, and using my knowledge after extensive research, I put my first layer of seasoning on the pan. This will be followed up by 10 additional layers before cooking in the pan. That's a bit overkill, but as I stated I intend this pan to be as non-stick as possible. The process I've settled on is first cleaning off the beeswax used for shipping purposes, with warm water and a mild copper scrub pad. Then I dry it completely on the burner of my gas range. While the pan is warm I use a cloth towel to rub on seasoning paste. The paste I'm using is Buzzywax (a combination of beeswax and seed oils). The solid paste makes it easier to get an extremely thin layer on the pan. Most people make the mistake of putting on too much oil. A micro thin layer does a much better job of polymerization. Too much oil will become sticky and never become a hardened layer. I'm also planning to let each of the eleven layers cure fully overnight. So it will take me a full eleven days to arrive at the base seasoning. After that daily use will just add to the season. The seasoning can be done in the oven at 450 degrees for one hour, then allow to fully cool down in the oven. My pan happens to be too big to fit in my tiny oven, due to the helper handle at the front of the pan. Therefore I'm seasoning mine on the stove top. I set the burner to high at first, then once the paste starts to smoke in the pan, I turn it down to medium-high and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the burner and leave the pan to cool. Proper care does require cleaning and then rubbing down with a thin layer of oil after each use. Cleaning is as simple as whiping down in most instances. Though if that doesn't remove any leftover residue, simply adding some water and bringing to a simmer usually makes it quite simple to then carefully scrub out any residue. There are specific cleaning utensils recommended for both cast iron and carbon steel. A large chain mail scrub pad, a small chain mail scrubber, soft copper scrubber and a nylon brush are the commonly recommended items. The chainmail scrubs without scratching due to its rounded links, but some care is still needed. Don't put a lot of pressure into the scrubbing process. Seasoning paste. Cleaning utensils. The large chainmail scrubber has a nice silicone core.

I posted about purchasing a new carbon steel pan recently. I thought that member's choice of cookware might be a interesting thread. For my self I have and use a set of non-stick cookware that I like. However most people missuse non-stick cookware. It's not made for high temp cooking, and will offgas at higher temperatures. That's not good for your health or for the pans non-stick characteristics. I also have a stainless set of Cookware that I love. That cookware, as many others require a a certain method of cooking. Pre-heating is a must, but it's quite easy to learn and quite good once you do. Mine is a 5 ply clad set with a copper core as well as aluminum cores. Stainless, aluminum, copper, aluminum, stainless. It's very nice, but as with many things, there's not one type of pan that does everything well. I like cast iron for searing and making corn bread, among other things. I stand to inherit my Mother's cast iron, which belonged to her Grandmother. A few years back I decided to try carbon steel. I bought a cheap 11 inch pan. I think I paid around $30 pre pandemic. I love that pan! And with proper care and seasoning it can rival non-stick for releaseabilty. Mine is a relatively thin guage of carbon steel, which makes it quite light weight. This is both a positive and a negative. It heats up quite fast, but it can tend to burn foods easily. It is absolutely fantastic for searing meat. IMO it sears as well as cast iron, but is at temp much faster. I have noticed that it builds up carbon deposits pretty quick, especially after searing meat. This is the enemy of release ability. With this in mind I decided to buy a second 11.25" carbon skillet for non-stick, lower temp cooking. Eggs etc... I decided to go upscale and purchase a more expensive, quality pan. After much research I settled on DeBuyer. It's a French company and the pan is about 3 times the thickness of my inexpensive Guy Fiere. It arrived today, and using my knowledge after extensive research, I put my first layer of seasoning on the pan. This will be followed up by 10 additional layers before cooking in the pan. That's a bit overkill, but as I stated I intend this pan to be as non-stick as possible. The process I've settled on is first cleaning off the beeswax used for shipping purposes, with warm water and a mild copper scrub pad. Then I dry it completely on the burner of my gas range. While the pan is warm I use a cloth towel to rub on seasoning paste. The paste I'm using is Buzzywax (a combination of beeswax and seed oils). The solid paste makes it easier to get an extremely thin layer on the pan. Most people make the mistake of putting on too much oil. A micro thin layer does a much better job of polymerization. Too much oil will become sticky and never become a hardened layer. I'm also planning to let each of the eleven layers cure fully overnight. So it will take me a full eleven days to arrive at the base seasoning. After that daily use will just add to the season. The seasoning can be done in the oven at 450 degrees for one hour, then allow to fully cool down in the oven. My pan happens to be too big to fit in my tiny oven, due to the helper handle at the front of the pan. Therefore I'm seasoning mine on the stove top. I set the burner to high at first, then once the paste starts to smoke in the pan, I turn it down to medium-high and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Then turn off the burner and leave the pan to cool. Proper care does require cleaning and then rubbing down with a thin layer of oil after each use. Cleaning is as simple as whiping down in most instances. Though if that doesn't remove any leftover residue, simply adding some water and bringing to a simmer usually makes it quite simple to then carefully scrub out any residue. There are specific cleaning utensils recommended for both cast iron and carbon steel. A large chain mail scrub pad, a small chain mail scrubber, soft copper scrubber and a nylon brush are the commonly recommended items. The chainmail scrubs without scratching due to its rounded links, but some care is still needed. Don't put a lot of pressure into the scrubbing process. This is the DeBuyer in it's raw, unseasoned state. This is after the first seasoning. I'll post pics after each successive layer. This is my 5 ply stainless cookware.

It's really not that big for a house in Texas.

Have an incredible day!

Sorry Colin, you're always going to look like a Toole.

Watched the first episode last night. The timeline has changed. The supporting characters are similar, but have been tweaked to fit modern times. But overall a very similar storyline. Interesting cast. Wayne Brady plays a character not that far removed from his famous Chapelle Show skit. Rosy O'Donnell plays the cop. Good first episode and I'm hopeful it doesn't go downhill.

Please tell us that you didn't let him drive!

Well done Nate!

Found these reviews to be quite interesting. I will certainly try out the Bremen.

Interesting.

We call them tomatoes.

I really like the clamp on the DeWalt palm router. Super easy depth adjustments and bit changes. It also feels really good in the hand. I still use the corded version, that now lives in Al's shop. That Tibetan guy makes his own "natural" finish. And you don't want to know what's in it!

All the cool kids use Bow and Makita. So there's that. Plus, I love how Jeff asks what tool to buy, then narrows it down to one in the next sentence. You're not going to go wrong with Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt or Bosch. It's just a matter of what flavor you want. They're all very well made.

In my last few projects I've been using this new featherboard system I purchased sometime back. This think is really good. Very well designed, in that it easily allows stock to move forward, but is almost impossible to move backward. This will definitely negate any kind of kickback. Also, I've had the plastic fingers of standard style featherboards break off and try to imbed themselves in my face, while cutting stock. Not a pleasant experience. These are a sturdy foam, and would be a lot less menacing if they did break loose. The foam feathers are also a replaceable insert, so can be replaced when needed at a minimal cash outlay. They also make one specific for bandsaw. Al has one, but not sure if he's tried it yet.

Beginning coma in 1 : 2 : 3....

Trying to compute this statement in a gender neutral world, but I still can't make it work.

Leftover veggie omelet, bacon, fried taters, toast with fig jam and iced coffee w/Irish cream.

Unfortunately I'm working with a Maxidisc.

I'm from the old days, when we just let our "CDs" go wild. Before we even had a term for Metrosexuals. All of the "CD" grooming just seems a bit ridiculous. Sure, I've had a few "CD" strands get caught in my teeth now and then, but I didn't whine about it. I just persisted 'til the task was finished. And trust me when I tell you that I've definitely known some over shaved CDs in my day. There aren't enough sequins in the world to cover that kind of shaving rash!

I think Doug is going to need to talk to his Analyst after reading the nail comment. It's OK Doug. Pretend you never read that.