# Lodge Blacklock



## Luftmensch (Sep 10, 2019)

Has anybody out there had a look at or used the new Lodge Blacklock line:



and


(strange choice of aspect ratio...)

Seems like a response to the new hipster smoother/thinner cast iron options. 

Thoughts?


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## Bill13 (Sep 10, 2019)

Looks interesting, and I like the longer handle.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 10, 2019)

Apparently smoother and lighter...

The appeal for me is that they are cheaper and more available (depending where you live) than the new fandangled cast iron offerings


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## ian (Sep 10, 2019)

Didn’t realize that Lodge made carbon steel either.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 10, 2019)

ian said:


> Didn’t realize that Lodge made carbon steel either.



Neither... or enamel for that matter...

I stumbled upon all this by visiting their website in search of a 5" skillet.


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## Paraffin (Sep 10, 2019)

If it's thinner and lighter, doesn't that affect the main reason you'd use cast iron, which is heat retention? I know some of the expensive boutique cast iron pans being made by small shops are also lighter in weight that traditional Lodge cast iron, so maybe that isn't a major issue. 

Anyway, I doubt I'd get one of these due to the "embossed" outer ring and logo on the bottom. I need a flat surface like the traditional Lodge pans for the conductive hobs on our Aga stove top. Especially if the pan is thinner, I think that might lead to hot spots.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 10, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> If it's thinner and lighter, doesn't that affect the main reason you'd use cast iron, which is heat retention?



Perhaps yes... perhaps no...

A skillet cannot be hotter than the burner. Skillets act as capacitor in the system - introducing a lag both heating up and cooling down the food. Less material reduces the lag. I suppose in the limit a zero-thickness pan would have a heat pattern the same as the burner... As you add thickness it will blur over a larger area. I dont think cast iron has any magic properties that make it heat _more_ evenly than other materials... even thick cast iron skillets have hot spots. But cast iron does have a high heat capacity and emissivity.

At the thickness they manufacture Blacklock skillets they are more comparable to older Griswold and Wagner cast iron. I doubt they would act significantly differently to the thicker Lodge offerings. The reduced wall thickness might make them more prone to cracking or warping but I wouldnt consider that a problem unless it is demonstrated en masse.



Paraffin said:


> Anyway, I doubt I'd get one of these due to the "embossed" outer ring and logo on the bottom. I need a flat surface like the traditional Lodge pans for the conductive hobs on our Aga stove top.



Fair call!


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## boomchakabowwow (Sep 10, 2019)

I don’t think thinner and lighter is hipster. At all. 

My old Griswold is thinner and lighter. In your defense they probably had beards (back in the day) as well. 

Nice marketing for sure. Looks like a nice pan in a sea of other nice pans. Nice to have options


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## McMan (Sep 10, 2019)

Yup, thinner and lighter is older. The old Griswold's are thin and light--and awesome. As production increased so did thickness... likely because it's more difficult to cast thin than thick. The ring around the outside is called a "heat ring" and is was a feature on pans from a time when they were used on the flat-tops on top of wood and coal stoves. This was another detail that fell by the wayside with production increases.


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## ian (Sep 10, 2019)

boomchakabowwow said:


> I don’t think thinner and lighter is hipster.





McMan said:


> Yup, thinner and lighter is older.


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## Dave Martell (Sep 10, 2019)

From what I've seen on some FB groups this new line isn't any smoother than their standard line has been for the last decade or so, but it is thinner. Lodge is trying to cut into the market share of the small USA producers of cast iron by doing this line but they didn't go the full monty with making them smooth like the small guys do.

The Blacklock line is being produced in their original factory location that burned down many years ago.

On their enamelware, I think, is off shore produced.


PS - I HATE Lodge's seasoning...only thing that could be worse is 3x the amount!


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## Jville (Sep 10, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> From what I've seen on some FB groups this new line isn't any smoother than their standard line has been for the last decade or so, but it is thinner. Lodge is trying to cut into the market share of the small USA producers of cast iron by doing this line but they didn't go the full monty with making them smooth like the small guys do.
> 
> The Blacklock line is being produced in their original factory location that burned down many years ago.
> 
> ...



Agree, the smoothness is where it's at. If they don't understand or care about that, it just seems like marketing jibberish, like McDonald's trying to sell "artisan" sandwiches.


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## podzap (Sep 10, 2019)

ian said:


> Didn’t realize that Lodge made carbon steel either.



Yeah, they sell them here in Finland at Motonet (a car parts store chain, no less). I considered them once but didn't like them as they come with a seemingly non-removable orange silicone handle grip which I thought was butt ugly.


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## podzap (Sep 10, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> PS - I HATE Lodge's seasoning...only thing that could be worse is 3x the amount!



I think it is simply something they use to keep their product from rusting until somebody buys it. First thing I do when I buy a piece of cast-iron, new or 100 years old, is to take it outside and put it on top of my gas burner for about an hour or so. Until it releases the ashes (that's when you know that it is quantitatively clean). Then I season it in the oven with either canola or flaxseed oil.


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## parbaked (Sep 10, 2019)

podzap said:


> I considered them once but didn't like them as they come with a seemingly non-removable orange silicone handle grip which I thought was butt ugly.



In America the silicon grip is optional...
https://shop.lodgemfg.com/prodcat/seasoned-steel.asp


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## podzap (Sep 10, 2019)

parbaked said:


> In America the silicon grip is optional...
> https://shop.lodgemfg.com/prodcat/seasoned-steel.asp



Right. I didn't really try very hard to pull it off while being in the store, but it seemed to be attached.

https://www.motonet.fi/fi/tuote/8500336/Lodge-hiiliteraksinen-paistinpannu-O30-cm


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## Luftmensch (Sep 11, 2019)

boomchakabowwow said:


> I don’t think thinner and lighter is hipster. At all.





I'm being provocative... Im all for it... but you gotta admit... it is a bit hipster 



Dave Martell said:


> Lodge is trying to cut into the market share of the small USA producers of cast iron by doing this line but they didn't go the full monty with making them smooth like the small guys do.



Bingo... But the advantage is... They are a big enough company to have better developed distribution chains. While the 'small guys' have very appealing options, try purchasing them from the other side of the world! Supposing you could, you would probably swear like a sailor (assuming you dont already) when you saw the shipping charges (after all this is cast iron).



Dave Martell said:


> PS - I HATE Lodge's seasoning...only thing that could be worse is 3x the amount!



Why? I dont own any Lodge so I haven't experienced it.... does it flake off?


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## Luftmensch (Sep 11, 2019)

Jville said:


> Agree, the smoothness is where it's at.



I watched some YouTube videos on the new pans. They seem marginally smoother than the current Lodge pans. Clearly not dead flat like some of the other manufacturers.

While I prefer smooth (to the extent of sanding pans)... Slight texture does not stop a well seasoned pan from being non-stick. But agreed... if they really wanted to compete with neo-post-vintage cast iron they should have given the cooking surface a better finish.


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## lowercasebill (Sep 11, 2019)

Japanese knives > Japanese cast iron.
Check out iwachu.
I have the omelette pan. The same attention to detail form and function as we expect in our knives. Seasoning puts lodge to shame


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## Dave Martell (Sep 11, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> PS - I HATE Lodge's seasoning...only thing that could be worse is 3x the amount!





Luftmensch said:


> Why? I dont own any Lodge so I haven't experienced it.... does it flake off?




Yes it flakes off.


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## Paraffin (Sep 11, 2019)

lowercasebill said:


> Japanese knives > Japanese cast iron.
> Check out iwachu.
> I have the omelette pan. The same attention to detail form and function as we expect in our knives. Seasoning puts lodge to shame



Interesting! I might try one of those, thanks for the info. Amazon carries them, and the prices aren't boutique-crazy.


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## Andrew (Sep 11, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> Interesting! I might try one of those, thanks for the info. Amazon carries them, and the prices aren't boutique-crazy.


We have a square pan set from Iwachu and think very highly of it. It took a great seasoning easily (maybe it was unseasoned from the factory) and has been a joy to maintain so far. Not as smooth as the antique options out there, but much better than basic lodge stuff. I was a dummy and brought it back to PDX in luggage from Singapore... didn't think to check amazon first!


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## inferno (Sep 11, 2019)

Paraffin said:


> Anyway, I doubt I'd get one of these due to the "embossed" outer ring and logo on the bottom.



yeah #MeToo i'm on glass stove so this fancy crapola just seems weird. Not gonna help with heat transfer.

Imo the good cast pans are are always turned in a lathe on the bottom. and they should be concave when cold too. and then when at working temp then they turn flat.


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## podzap (Sep 11, 2019)

Lodge has started doing all sorts of fancy **** to the bottom of their pans - US Flags, 12 point bucks, you name it. As most folks move to induction cooktops nowadays, this is not really helpful.


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## WildBoar (Sep 11, 2019)

Most folks? Not here in the US that I have seen. Too expensive to put into new construction.


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## podzap (Sep 11, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> Most folks? Not here in the US that I have seen. Too expensive to put into new construction.



Oops, sorry. Didn't realize that they were a luxury item in the USA. Here in Europe, you can get them all day long for 300 EUR (Bosch, for example). Most folks HERE have moved to them, would be more precise, then.

Thanks for the correction.


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## inferno (Sep 11, 2019)

I actually dont have induction, i have orange glowing coils underneath a glass plate. dont know whats worse really.


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## WildBoar (Sep 11, 2019)

podzap said:


> Oops, sorry. Didn't realize that they were a luxury item in the USA.


Not a luxury item per say, just a bit more expensive than the super-cheap electric cooktops/ ranges that builders can purchase in bulk. They can get ranges for $400, so that's a cooktop plus an oven. And for 'high-end' homes, it's usually whatever looks the nicest, which will be anything from GE Monogram line, although possibly a gas Viking or Thermador cooktop plus a separate electric oven.


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## podzap (Sep 11, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> Not a luxury item per say, just a bit more expensive than the super-cheap electric cooktops/ ranges that builders can purchase in bulk. They can get ranges for $400, so that's a cooktop plus an oven. And for 'high-end' homes, it's usually whatever looks the nicest, which will be anything from GE Monogram line, although possibly a gas Viking or Thermador cooktop plus a separate electric oven.




I try not to generalize too much, but ya gotta start somewhere. I understood that Lowes is one of your major consumer centers, and St Louis is pretty much in the middle of the country so I googled "St Louis zip codes" and chose 63101 as it was first on the list. I had already googled "lowes induction cooktop" and it had asked me for a zip code, so I entered 63101. The results were quite incredible to me - the lowest prices were about 800 bucks, ranging all the way up to 3000!!!

Unless I'm seriously drunk and mistaken, you all pay about double what we pay for the same basic induction cooktop. Or maybe St Louis and Lowes were not really that indicative of the current state of affairs in the US consumer economy. Correct me if I'm wrong!


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## erickso1 (Sep 11, 2019)

podzap said:


> Or maybe St Louis and Lowes were not really that indicative of the current state of affairs in the US consumer economy.



St Louis puts Provel cheese on their cracker crust pizzas. They trim the cartridge tops of their spare ribs to make "St Louis Style" ribs. They bread and fry their ravioli.

Plus my wife is from Kansas City, Missouri. So I try not to use St Louis as a proxy for anything US based.


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## podzap (Sep 11, 2019)

erickso1 said:


> So I try not to use St Louis as a proxy for anything US based.



What would you suggest, then, sir?


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## erickso1 (Sep 11, 2019)

I think your lowes proxy and prices seem to be spot on. They are the same as down here in Texas. Sorry about the St Louis slam. It's an involuntary reaction.


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## WildBoar (Sep 11, 2019)

Ha ha

Appliance pricing in St. Louis is in line with the rest of the country.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 13, 2019)

By the by...



Dave Martell said:


> they didn't go the full monty with making them smooth like the small guys do.



Interesting thing I stumbled across yesterday. Lodge has acquired Finex:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1HJ_4ZHCZX/

I guess they are doing the full monty - albeit indirectly (through M&A). Not sure I care for Finex's aesthetic choice - but it will be interesting to see if Lodge does anything with Finex's know how...

@ian surely this lends more credence to the Portlandia hypothesis


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## Luftmensch (Sep 13, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> Yes it flakes off.



Thanks... thats disappointing!


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## K813zra (Sep 13, 2019)

Dave Martell said:


> From what I've seen on some FB groups this new line isn't any smoother than their standard line has been for the last decade or so, but it is thinner. Lodge is trying to cut into the market share of the small USA producers of cast iron by doing this line but they didn't go the full monty with making them smooth like the small guys do.
> 
> The Blacklock line is being produced in their original factory location that burned down many years ago.
> 
> ...



If seasoning was the only thing that flaked off it wouldn't be so bad. Locally when you look at the standard lodge cast iron line they are often chipped, heavily, like hunks of missing material. I mean, I have picked through them and got good ones and have had zero issues with them but I'd sure not want to order them blind.


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## lowercasebill (Sep 13, 2019)

podzap said:


> I try not to generalize too much, but ya gotta start somewhere. I understood that Lowes is one of your major consumer centers, and St Louis is pretty much in the middle of the country so I googled "St Louis zip codes" and chose 63101 as it was first on the list. I had already googled "lowes induction cooktop" and it had asked me for a zip code, so I entered 63101. The results were quite incredible to me - the lowest prices were about 800 bucks, ranging all the way up to 3000!!!
> 
> Unless I'm seriously drunk and mistaken, you all pay about double what we pay for the same basic induction cooktop. Or maybe St Louis and Lowes were not really that indicative of the current state of affairs in the US consumer economy. Correct me if I'm wrong!


You are not wrong!
Gas or ceramic with coils under are the norn here (S.E. Pennsylvania)
Induction only in custom built homes $$$. Where the owner get to chose appliances cabinets etc. 
The local big box (Lowes) does not even have an induction display model


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## parbaked (Sep 13, 2019)

I am a big fan of induction but it also doesn't work with mainstream American cookware e.g. teflon coated aluminum or clad stainless.
That and the American appliance industry is wacky!!


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## Dave Martell (Sep 13, 2019)

Luftmensch said:


> By the by...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Woh, that's news to me, thanks for posting it.


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## dwalker (Sep 13, 2019)

Luftmensch said:


> Lodge has acquired Finex:
> 
> I guess they are doing the full monty - albeit indirectly (through M&A). Not sure I care for Finex's aesthetic choice - but it will be interesting to see if Lodge does anything with Finex's know how





There is nothing that Finex does that Lodge hasn't done 100 years ago. They don't need know how. It was the availability of cheap aluminum and non stick coatings that made Lodge change their product. The cast iron pans went out of vogue and they had to figure out how to compete (lower prices made possible by automation). This meant no polishing or machining of the cooking surface and that pans couldn't be cast as thin (one of the consequences of automation in the forming molds).

The vintage pans that are lighter and smoother started becoming collectable in the past couple of decades and the boutique companies started popping up. Lodge is simply responding to the changing market. People are much more willing to drop serious coin on cast iron now. I have an original Blacklock Lodge that I came across 15 years ago that is at least 109 years old and I guarantee Finex is not superior in any way except if you value the coiled wire handle. The main difference is I paid ~$20 each for most of my vintage cast iron and a Finex will set you back $200. I know because I bought one and sold it shortly thereafter.


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## podzap (Sep 13, 2019)

lowercasebill said:


> You are not wrong!
> Gas or ceramic with coils under are the norn here (S.E. Pennsylvania)
> Induction only in custom built homes $$$. Where the owner get to chose appliances cabinets etc.
> The local big box (Lowes) does not even have an induction display model



Wow, just wow!

So if you have a ceramic cooktop and it dies, you can't just replace it with an induction? Pretty easy in Europe since all appliances are 60cm (23.6 inches) wide and usually less than 60 cm deep. Lift out your cooktop, unplug / unwire it, replace it with a new one.

I also heard that in USA people have a single appliance that contains both oven and cooktop. To me, that is so strange of a concept. Here, they are almost always separate devices and can be replaced independently of one another, even though the cooktop is generally installed directly over the oven. Ovens fit into standard sized kitchen cabinets and are never installed standing directly on the floor. Replacing your oven is as simple as pulling the old one out, unplugging, and plugging into the electrical socket and pushing the new one into the cabinet. People buy and sell used electric cooktops and ovens all day long on facebook marketplace. 50 EUR seems to be the going rate for used induction cooktops of normal width.







Gas is extremely rare here and I am always so jealous of those who have it. Given the choice of a gas stove over induction, gas would always win hands down.


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## podzap (Sep 13, 2019)

parbaked said:


> I am a big fan of induction but it also doesn't work with mainstream American cookware e.g. teflon coated aluminum or clad stainless.
> That and the American appliance industry is wacky!!



It's a choice you make when you buy an induction. I think everything IKEA sells is induction-compatible. Lodge and De Buyer are induction compatible. Same with Le Creuset. I don't use other than those, but there are also mediation devices that allow you to use non-ferrous cookware on induction cooktops.

For example:


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## Luftmensch (Sep 14, 2019)

dwalker said:


> There is nothing that Finex does that Lodge hasn't done 100 years ago. They don't need know how.



Hehe... don't get me wrong... this isn't deep tech. It is a soft material... There are no great secrets or magic.

That said, manufacturing _has_ changed in the past century. What Lodge did 100 years ago isn't necessarily cost effective today. CNC machines as we know them (digital) are only ~40 years old - so it is "new" technology if you haven't been using it. If Finex have this tooling and in-house knowledge, Lodge could conceivably have a 'smooth' line manufactured in the Finex plant.




dwalker said:


> I have an original Blacklock Lodge that I came across 15 years ago that is at least 109 years old and I guarantee Finex is not superior in any way except if you value the coiled wire handle.



What if you value octagons? 

Part of the reason I started this is that access to cheap vintage pans is not global. So a manufacturer with international distribution that offers smooth pans is of interest to me. The Blacklock line looks like a close match to this - I just did wish they went the whole hog...


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## Michi (Sep 14, 2019)

Luftmensch said:


> I just did wish they went the whole hog...


Nothing that you can't fix with a grinding disk and a wire brush in half an our or so. There are people on YouTube who are really into getting cast iron pans with an almost mirror-polished surface.

But I'm not sure it's necessary. I have a (standard, not Blacklock) Lodge cast iron pan. It's a little rough, as they are. But it works fine. Stuff doesn't stick.

I did add my own seasoning (in the oven, four coats, with rice bran oil). So far (after nearly a year), nothing has flaked off, failed, or shown degraded performance. It's my favourite pan.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 14, 2019)

Michi said:


> Nothing that you can't fix with a grinding disk and a wire brush in half an our or so. There are people on YouTube who are really into getting cast iron pans with an almost mirror-polished surface.
> 
> But I'm not sure it's necessary. I have a (standard, not Blacklock) Lodge cast iron pan. It's a little rough, as they are. But it works fine. Stuff doesn't stick.
> 
> I did add my own seasoning (in the oven, four coats, with rice bran oil). So far (after nearly a year), nothing has flaked off, failed, or shown degraded performance. It's my favourite pan.



I remember! Thats how we "met"... 

I did the same. A grinding disk and flap wheel will get you most of the way. I went even further, just 'because', and hand polished to 1200 using wet and dry. It was approaching a mirror surface and very smooth. In the long run I found that to be _counter_ productive. The seasoning had a tough time adhering and accumulating. A year or two later I decided to 'reset' and rough the surface with 180 or 320 (I cant remember) to give the seasoning more texture to grip on to.


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## Michi (Sep 14, 2019)

Luftmensch said:


> In the long run I found that to be _counter_ productive. The seasoning had a tough time adhering and accumulating. A year or two later I decided to 'reset' and rough the surface with 180 or 320 (I cant remember) to give the seasoning more texture to grip on to.


Thanks for pointing that out! With hindsight, it's actually not that surprising. The polymerised oil needs something to "hang onto". If the surface is too smooth, it'll peel off, probably in small sheets.

120 sounds reasonable to me. To a human, that's "very smooth". To the oil, that's probably "quite rough".


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## WildBoar (Sep 14, 2019)

podzap said:


> So if you have a ceramic cooktop and it dies, you can't just replace it with an induction? Pretty easy in Europe since all appliances are 60cm (23.6 inches) wide and usually less than 60 cm deep. Lift out your cooktop, unplug / unwire it, replace it with a new one.
> 
> I also heard that in USA people have a single appliance that contains both oven and cooktop. To me, that is so strange of a concept. Here, they are almost always separate devices and can be replaced independently of one another, even though the cooktop is generally installed directly over the oven. Ovens fit into standard sized kitchen cabinets and are never installed standing directly on the floor. Replacing your oven is as simple as pulling the old one out, unplugging, and plugging into the electrical socket and pushing the new one into the cabinet. People buy and sell used electric cooktops and ovens all day long on facebook marketplace. 50 EUR seems to be the going rate for used induction cooktops of normal width.


A 'range' or 'stove' is a single appliance with a cooktop over an oven. The advantage is it is a single unit that gets tucked in between two base cabinets, and only needs one electrical wire, or one electrical wire plus one gas line. Separates are available as well -- cooktops and wall ovens. Going that route means two special cabinets and a counter cut-out, plus two separate power and/ or fuel sources. So that means it is more expensive, so you do not see separates much in new home construction.

I have a gas range, plus a separate electric oven. But we installed those when we renovated the kitchen.


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## aboynamedsuita (Sep 15, 2019)

K813zra said:


> If seasoning was the only thing that flaked off it wouldn't be so bad. Locally when you look at the standard lodge cast iron line they are often chipped, heavily, like hunks of missing material. I mean, I have picked through them and got good ones and have had zero issues with them but I'd sure not want to order them blind.



I know what you mean, it’s as if excess oil collects and doesn’t season then flakes off. I soak all my CI in NaOH (lye) solution then scrub with steel wool, neutralize the lye then season from raw iron. 

I don’t think I’ll get any of these new ones as I’m happy with the current modern Lodge CI I have. 




Luftmensch said:


> I remember! Thats how we "met"...
> 
> I did the same. A grinding disk and flap wheel will get you most of the way. I went even further, just 'because', and hand polished to 1200 using wet and dry. It was approaching a mirror surface and very smooth. In the long run I found that to be _counter_ productive. The seasoning had a tough time adhering and accumulating. A year or two later I decided to 'reset' and rough the surface with 180 or 320 (I cant remember) to give the seasoning more texture to grip on to.



I found the same. I sanded out one of the lodge chef skillet (with the sorta sloped sides) using a flap wheel and sand paper (think a progression of 40-60-100 grit) and didn’t do a great job. You can almost see “facets” from the flap wheel being aggressive on the curved sides and there’s a lot of scratches, plus some lodge has little divots or casting inclusions. 

At any rate I find the seasoning doesn’t stick as easily in the pan doesn’t get as dark. When giving a hard sear to a steak over high heat I find it doesn’t release as easily as the rough surface versions.


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## podzap (Sep 15, 2019)

Guiding this back on topic (slightly), I have a 15 inch (38cm) Lodge cast iron skillet whom I refer to as "Ozzy Osbourne" (it, like Ozzy, is heavy metal). Lodge measures from outside rim to outside rim across the top of the cookware, not the bottom. The bottom of the skillet is 13.5 inches (34cm). The largest "burner" on my current induction cooktop is 21cm, which means that there is quite a bit of "overhang" that does not get nearly as hot as the center of the skillet. This pisses me off when I am trying to fry 4 pork chops at the same time.







The solution is to buy a newer induction cooktop that has multiple heat zones that can automagically be combined into one. I found this one at a local appliance store for 567 EUR, not bad for a "high end" induction cooktop. Time to pull the trigger here real soon now.


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## Michi (Sep 15, 2019)

Nice design approach. The technology makes it possible, but someone has to think of actually taking advantage of what it can do, such as make several seamless rectangular cooking areas. Very nice!


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## lowercasebill (Sep 15, 2019)

podzap said:


> Wow, just wow!
> 
> So if you have a ceramic cooktop and it dies, you can't just replace it with an induction? Pretty easy in Europe since all appliances are 60cm (23.6 inches) wide and usually less than 60 cm deep. Lift out your cooktop, unplug / unwire it, replace it with a new one.
> 
> ...








larger than average american stove but this is what is most common here


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## WildBoar (Sep 15, 2019)

podzap said:


> Guiding this back on topic (slightly), I have a 15 inch (38cm) Lodge cast iron skillet whom I refer to as "Ozzy Osbourne" (it, like Ozzy, is heavy metal). Lodge measures from outside rim to outside rim across the top of the cookware, not the bottom. The bottom of the skillet is 13.5 inches (34cm). The largest "burner" on my current induction cooktop is 21cm, which means that there is quite a bit of "overhang" that does not get nearly as hot as the center of the skillet. This pisses me off when I am trying to fry 4 pork chops at the same time.
> 
> The solution is to buy a newer induction cooktop that has multiple heat zones that can automagically be combined into one. I found this one at a local appliance store for 567 EUR, not bad for a "high end" induction cooktop. Time to pull the trigger here real soon now.


Maybe I am being dense here, but why wouldn't the solution be to use two pans?


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## podzap (Sep 15, 2019)

WildBoar said:


> Maybe I am being dense here, but why wouldn't the solution be to use two pans?



Because the 24cm DeBuyer pans which I have, which have a bottom diameter of 18cm and fit perfectly on the two 18cm burners on the left hand size of my cooktop are not big enough to each hold 2 pork chops flat.

The 24cm DeBuyer pans are already touching rims when they are on the 18cm burners, which means that using the 26cm DeBuyer pans is already out of the question as the pans would again be hanging over the edge of the "burner". See my diagram above to know what I mean.


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## aboynamedsuita (Sep 16, 2019)

podzap said:


> Guiding this back on topic (slightly), I have a 15 inch (38cm) Lodge cast iron skillet whom I refer to as "Ozzy Osbourne" (it, like Ozzy, is heavy metal). Lodge measures from outside rim to outside rim across the top of the cookware, not the bottom. The bottom of the skillet is 13.5 inches (34cm). The largest "burner" on my current induction cooktop is 21cm, which means that there is quite a bit of "overhang" that does not get nearly as hot as the center of the skillet. This pisses me off when I am trying to fry 4 pork chops at the same time.
> 
> View attachment 61143
> 
> ...



I have the same 15” pan and use it on my largest “burner” which is about 28cm. I let it preheat for a long time and don’t have issues. But going down to 21cm is a lot. It sounds like the perfect fit for the 10.25” (old #8) size

Side note… I also dream of upgrading to induction, but only if I get something like a Gaggenau which I can setup gas and induction side by side.


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## Luftmensch (Sep 16, 2019)

Michi said:


> Thanks for pointing that out! With hindsight, it's actually not that surprising. The polymerised oil needs something to "hang onto". If the surface is too smooth, it'll peel off, probably in small sheets.
> 
> 120 sounds reasonable to me. To a human, that's "very smooth". To the oil, that's probably "quite rough".



Exactly... this was my reasoning. Taking it to the polished extreme was very much a waste of time - but I was honestly curious how shiny I could get it. Pro tip... it oxidises quickly (duh). I tried to be artful with the rough sandpaper - I got a strip and rotated it about the centre (so the scratch marks look approximately circular). I have also been experimenting with burning off some of the residue after cooking (including remnant meat/sauce/veggies) and then scraping it clean with a paint scraper. It is ugly but the surface that is accruing does seem durable...




aboynamedsuita said:


> At any rate I find the seasoning doesn’t stick as easily in the pan doesn’t get as dark. When giving a hard sear to a steak over high heat I find it doesn’t release as easily as the rough surface versions.



I think this is one of those on going cast iron debates (smooth or rough). I tend to agree with you.. I think a well seasoned pan can be made 'non-stick' with a rough or smooth surface. Your comment reminds me of this:


(any beautiful science nerds out there? Enjoy! Watch the whole thing through... you'll be treated by the cello)


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## Michi (Sep 16, 2019)

Luftmensch said:


> I think this is one of those on going cast iron debates (smooth or rough). I tend to agree with you.. I think a well seasoned pan can be made 'non-stick' with a rough or smooth surface. Your comment reminds me of this:


Thanks for that link, that's a great video!

As far as my Lodge is concerned, it has the original slightly rough surface. It's well seasoned, with a good film of polymerised oil. Stuff doesn't stick, it's simple as that. So, I'm not worried about the pan not being perfectly smooth on the inside.

If I cook an egg in that pan, I do see some very small and finely-spaced spots on the underside of the egg occasionally, especially if I've used no or almost no oil. The peaks of the rough surface seem to heat the egg just a little more, so each peak creates a slightly darker spot. Seeing that I rarely serve my eggs upside down, I don't mind


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## Luftmensch (Sep 16, 2019)

Michi said:


> Thanks for that link, that's a great video!



My pleasure! apart from the cello having an unfair advantage in pulling my heart strings, the effect is quite pretty. 



Michi said:


> It's well seasoned, with a good film of polymerised oil. Stuff doesn't stick, it's simple as that. So, I'm not worried about the pan not being perfectly smooth on the inside.



My experience is similar. Objectively I have no reason to seek a smoother surface.... aesthetically? Well... I can't really defend it! But at least I know its is not borne of rationality...


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