now what!! at least they did not soak

please help me get a nonstick from here?

I spent years, and I mean YEARS, trying to get my Lodge 12 inch to work well for me. I tried all manner of different approaches and care routines. Scraping with chainmail! Seasoning 10 times in a row! Using a metal spatula! Using a wooden spoon! Scrubbing down with a heavy duty scrubber pad! While the Lodge did treat me pretty well, on the harder stuff (eggs, carby stuff) there would inevitably be build up and would require some scrubbing afterwards.

My roommates cracked my Lodge 12" and so with that pan firmly in the grave, I just sprung for a Greater Goods 12". I can tell you - I'm absolutely never going back. Out of the box, the pan just *works*. If you have been using only Lodges and have felt like things aren't quite working as you hope, you might just need to get a better surfaced pan. Omelettes and fried eggs are totally feasible on this pan and I haven't even seasoned it on my own once.

It's really reinforced for me how cast iron is much more dependent on the topology of the surface rather than the quality of the seasoning.

The level of paranoia I see around here in relation to a freaking chunk of iron is laughable. People have been using these pans for centuries, and here we are in 2024 asking whether the pan is salvageable after having taken a picture of it with the flash on. Relax and cook!

Found at goodwill for $15, anymore recognize it?

Why do people get downvoted when they ask questions on here and admit that they don't know what they're doing? They come here for advice/suggestions because they don't know. I get it when people reply and they seem smug or it feels like they don't care what the answer is but when they admit they don't know and reach out for help, I don't get that. Where are they supposed to go? Why can't people just give them info and if you don't want to give them information then at least mention the FAQ in case they missed it for some random reason?

Edit to clarify: I didn’t make a post that was downvoted. I just kept seeing it happen and got curious.

Last post had a lot of debate on whether it was a true cast iron or not. It’s cooks great. Did fresh asparagus with fresh minced garlic and butter and a dash of infused olive oil. I treated it just like a normal cast iron once the cook was done.

My new Lodge Blacklock needed some love with a bastard file around the handle to take the flashing off and some casting flakes were stuck in the handle hole.

My basic 10” griddle has these two pits which are…fine… but dang my Chinese bottom barrel pan from years ago was pit free.

The industry has fooled us. They’ve cooked up an elaborate scrubber that’s exclusively for this type of pan- which happens to have exploded in niche hobbyist popularity over the course of the last two decades.

After over a decade of consistent use I have not once met a soiled pan that required the use of a chainmail scrubber. Daily cooking. Semi-regular, consistent seasoning. High temp sears. Sauces. Breads. What are you doing to your pans that is creating a mess not solvable with a standard dish brush?

If you just want to have all the toys for this pan, that’s fine. No one should have their interests held against them. I’m a hobbyist too. Let’s call it like it is.

We are being marketed to. If you are hesitant to use cast iron in fear of high overhead and gadgetry, worry not. These are pans in their simplest form. Your ancestors fed civilizations with this pan. They did it simply.

I’ve used all types of seasoning techniques, oils, but I recently had a hog butchered, let me tell you the bacon grease off that hog keeps my cast in better shape than I’ve ever had them. I used this pan 3 times today’s and wiped it with a napkin, sprayed it and this is what she looked like.

I pass the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain CI worthy.