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Finex Cast Iron Skillet

Martin Fisher

By Martin Fisher
in Kitchen Consumer

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted

This looks like a cool idea....especially the CNC machining of the cooking surface.

He's wrong about the cast iron skillet handle being unchanged for ages.

Burough Furnace has designed a forked handle to disperse the heat (a much simpler design), but the price of the skillet is insane, IMHO.

  • Like 2

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted (edited)

Burough Furnace has designed a forked handle to disperse the heat (a much simpler design), but the price of the skillet is insane, IMHO.

Insane indeed. Interesting design to keep the handle cooler. Lodge and a pot holder makes for a more practical approach to me.

The octagonal pan seems counter-intuitive to me. A pan with "corners" does not appeal to me.

I don't cook with cast iron pots and pans. Personal preference only. However, when my daughter and SIL moved in with us my daughter asked about cast iron. I dug out my 10" pan, cleaned it up, spent bits of time over a day seasoning it and she is happy as a clam to have it available.

Edited by Porthos (log)
  • Like 1

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I'm not overly excited about the octagonal part of it either but a square cast iron pan has "corners" so it's nothing out of the ordinary.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted (edited)

Square makes sense to me. The ones I've seen there is a bit of a radius to the corners. What I saw on the octagonal pan looked like much tighter radius corners. It will be interesting to see if he can get the capital to go into production.

Edited by Porthos (log)

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I quite like the diamond design of the old Griswold No.768 in terms of pouring.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

I have read of Griswold pans but have never seen one.

I have a "circuit" that I follow once a week for thrift shopping looking for goodies, mostly for my Ren Faire stuff. Cast iron rarely shows up in the stores I go to but I think I will keep my eyes open to see if I ever can spot any of the Griswold pieces.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

;

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Yes, definitely look for Griswold, it's much more refined than, say, Lodge...the casting is much smoother and the iron finer-grained yielding an all around better product.

I had some ideas for cast iron cookware design back in the 80's and actually built a small iron melting cupola in anticipation of pouring some castings but I got scared off because of the potential risk of utilizing cast iron scrap in the production of a cooking utensils.

In addition, Petrobond sand will produce a smooth casting with a finish that's close to machined, much the same a Griswold's castings, but I could not determine if it was safe to use for that specific purpose.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

It's made for folks with lots of dollars but no sense!!! :biggrin:

  • Like 1

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

pyrguy

pyrguy

Posted
Posted

I have a cast iron waffle iron with those spring handles. I STILL have to use potholders to use it. The springs get WAY too hot to touch. They do take a little longer to come to temp than the handles on my other cast iron.

Dwight

If at first you succeed, try not to act surprised.

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

Reasonably priced vintage cast iron from a thrift store or yard sale and the like is the best value.

I've bought nice pieces for as little as $3.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
  • Like 1

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Unpopular Poet

Unpopular Poet

Posted
Posted

I feel like one could put that money to better use...say 1 nice cast iron and 2 nice mineral pans...and still have plenty left over for anything else.....but then again, I am not saying that I am immune to the charms of the new toy or kitchen gadget.

  • Like 1
Hassouni

Hassouni

Posted
Posted

I feel like one could put that money to better use...say 1 nice cast iron and 2 nice mineral pans...and still have plenty left over for anything else.....but then again, I am not saying that I am immune to the charms of the new toy or kitchen gadget.

Or a trip to the metal shop with a lodge to get them to sand down the inside...

Alchemist/mixologist/proprietor at the Green Zone, serving craft cocktails with the flavors of the Middle East

 

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Unpopular Poet

Unpopular Poet

Posted
Posted (edited)

Or a trip to the metal shop with a lodge to get them to sand down the inside...

One question -- are people's complaints with the inside of Lodge pans mainly the complaint with the "pre-seasoned" ones? Cause those are total crap. My "me-seasoned" Lodge is a thing of beauty. No water has touched it since Clinton's last term and it is as smooth as can get. I did get a giant lodge pre-seasoned pan and it is horrid -- but a nice gesture from someone trying to be nice.

Edited by Unpopular Poet (log)
Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Yes, Lodge pre-seasoning sucks, but even worse, the castings are rough....no doubt usable, just not well finished.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Jon Savage

Jon Savage

Posted
Posted

Square makes sense to me. The ones I've seen there is a bit of a radius to the corners. What I saw on the octagonal pan looked like much tighter radius corners. It will be interesting to see if he can get the capital to go into production.

Well he's raised over $150,000 so far vs. a goal of $25,000 so I expect the project is funded anyway.

I saw that pan in Wired the other day I think - I too agree it is likely just a solution in search of a problem. I have and regularly enjoy using several cast iron pans that have been in either my wife's family for well over a century. They just work.

Jon

--formerly known as 6ppc--

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Yeah, apparently some gimmicky and pricey products need not be groundbreakingly innovative to easily appeal to some people. :biggrin:

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

Norm Matthews

Norm Matthews

Posted
Posted

I used a square cast iron skillet as my primary skillet for many years. I had no problem with it. I can see a problem with square corners in the oven where the square corners might cause them to bake something faster than the center but on top of the stove isn't a problem as far as I am concerned.

http://normmatthews.blogspot.com/

Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Lodge should take a hint and introduce a reasonably priced premium line of cast iron on par with vintage Griswold or Wagner and the like.

It's obvious that there's a market.

I'd love to see them produce a clone of the Griswold 43 Chef Skillet which is my favorite skillet of any type.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

Wow. you got me looking at the back of two CI pans that were my mothers, and older than I am:

Wagner Ware, Syndey Ohio, where she was from.

and a waffle iron that rotates on the holder you use to place it on the stove top.

also Wagner :biggrin:

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