Why Are Lodge Cast Iron Skillets So Cheap?
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- Опубліковано 22 гру 2023
- Mr. Cast Iron discusses in this video why Lodge Cast Iron skillets are so cheap. Are Lodge cast iron skillets good quality or inferior to other cast iron manufacturers? Check out the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet 12-inch: amzn.to/3Txj1MI.
And, since they are now mass-produced, they are not as expensive as other cast iron. Some say it is the best skillet, but others don't. What do you think?
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Check out the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet 12-inch: amzn.to/3Txj1MI.
Hello Mr & Mrs C.I. MERRY CHRISTMAS 🤶 🎄 CHRISTMAS
Hello Cynthia! Merry Christmas, my friend!!
I just bought a 10 inch lodge skillet at target it was 26$ great video mike Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and Teresa 🎄🎁
That’s cool, Nate! Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you, too, my friend!
Lodge has made 9 inch skillets and grills exclusively for Dollar General. I do like #6 skillets. I think they were $15 at my Dollar General. They are a value line pan, a little rough. I don't need another #6 but, I'd like to see what the regular Lodge 9 inch skillet looks like.
I am a professional chef with allot more knowledge about pans than your average cook. The difference when they are new (between Smithey and Lodge for example) is finish smoothness and initial seasoning. The alloy Lodge uses is the same as pans costing 10x more. Lodge takes their cheap pans right from casting, to buffing and then a single mass seasoning process. The higher end pans grind and refine the surface untill tgere us no visible pitting and then puts ut through a multi stage seasoning process. If you take a lodge pan, sand it down (takes hours ti do right) to a very fine surface, and then season it SEVERAL times, you will have the same quality as a pan that costs MUCH more. You can actually cook fish and eggs in it right away if you do it right. Or if you have tge money, just buy a pan that already has had that work done to it.
Flavor is a whole other subject. Lodge pans that have cooked thousands of meals will have flavor from that cooking that cant be bought. It also puts layer after layer of carbon that makes tge sanding process irrelevant because the carbon over time fills in those holes and makes it flat and nonstick.
Ok here are my thoughts on some of the comments on this video
# 1 Lodge has been around since 1896 making it the oldest current CI manufacture in the USA
#2 Lodge is Family owned. Not a big corporation
#3 If you can get to one of their Factory Outlets you can purchase most of their CI cheaper and if you look around you can get some of their (Seconds) for half price or more.
#4 If you would only use that one brand new Lodge skillet every day 3 times a day (like my G Maw old skillet ) after a short bit it would be as smooth as one of the antique skillets
#5 Not everyone has the money to buy all the antique CI like some of us do
#6 Buy a Lodge and make an Heirloom for your kids. Not just a piece of CI that you collected and means nothing to them other than a pay check when you die
Sorry these are just my thoughts and seeing how we just made a Christmas Meal in one of my newer Lodge skillets and the Kids were asking when they could have that particular skillet I think I made my point on #6
Merry Christmas to all and have a fantastic CI Night
Thank you, Billy!! I sure appreciate you and all your feedback and input, but most of all, our friendship!! I pray you and Rhonda have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too!
Lodge is great. Supreme quality, low cost. Works great as-is. If you really need a "smooth" surface, you can do-it-yourself in any number of ways, easiest of which is just to use it properly and often, right out of the box.
Exactly! I’m with you on this. The best way to get a good-looking Lodge cast iron skillet is to cook in it!!
I agree 100% that the best way to season cast iron is cook with it.
They are the best too me.
I have a bunch of Lodge. Nothing wrong with it for me. Thank you for the video, Mike. Stay safe and stay warm
You’re welcome Sean and thank you my friend! Merry Christmas!
Fun fact from Lodge website: "We ship more than 1 million pounds of iron product every week ...". All made in S Pittsburg TN (except their low end enamel).
Yeah that is a ton lol!! 😂😂
Good video mike , lodge cast iron is good enough for me , l like all cast iron my biggest problem is can't afford some of the other ones , its funny when a company goes under what ever they sell goes for more money. Look at Studebaker no one wanted them , now you almost need to remortgage your home to get what no one wanted back then... PS. Hope y'all have a good Holliday season . THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA.........
Thank you, Frank! Yes, it is true when it’s not readily available anymore, it causes the value to skyrocket! Merry Christmas, my friend!!
I love my Lodge cast iron skillet. I bought it due to watching your channel and use it almost every day
Is Lodge the best cast iron pan on the market? No. Is Lodge the best consumer grade cast iron pan on the market? Yes. Mine were bacon and potato pans for about a year and with regular cast iron maintenance became my favorite pans for nearly everything.
I like Lodge. High quality at a good price !!
I have about 4 or 5 pans. I love them !!
Here in New Zealand lodge cast iron and all good brands that i have seen are not cheep A 12 in classic cost $129.99 nz $81.71 us, A blacklock 12 in is $239.00 nz $150.25 us these prices are from Lodge cast iron nz
Wow! That’s much higher, but I guess the shipping cost makes it more expensive.
sometimes there are specials up to 33% so i think most of the time they are just ripping us.@@MrCastIron
@@MrCastIron Also Import Tariffs drive up the cost.
Field Company is what Lodge needed to be years ago. Also, when the Food Network and the America's Test Kitchen craze was going wild back at the turn of millennium and well into the 2000's, Lodge missed their opportunity to be better than they had ever been. They let great opportunities fall into the laps of their competitors(Le Creuset, Staub). Honestly, for something that you buy once and will last a lifetime that will also get passed down for generations, Field Cast Iron pans are a far better option than Lodge. Flat cooking surface, "pounds" lighter, a well fitting cast iron(not glass) lid for every size pan they offer. The little extra cost for a Field will be completely irrelevant twenty years down the line. Try that with any cookware that has "Ninja" in its name.
Yeah, I heard that! They must be doing something right, though, for them to have remained in business for 127 years. That in and of itself is pretty impressive for any company in any industry, in my opinion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, my friend!
@@MrCastIron I certainly can't debate you there. I sure hope Lodges' new U.S.A. enamel dutch oven line is equal in quality to Le Creuset and Staub. If so, that will be an absolute game changer for Lodge and for America. however, only long term consumer experience can reveal the truth in its potential to be heirloom quality.....We can only hope. Cheers!
I own several Field skillets and like them a lot, esp the weight. But the "price of admission" to owning a no. 8 Field is 8x the cost of the similar sized 10.25" Lodge. For many people, the upfront cost is too high. But I would say the best way to buy a Field, Butterpat etc is to sign up for their email list and buy during their sales (esp 2nds) when they are announced.
@@Rockhunter329 Field has a GIFT20 code right now. I'm not sure for how much longer since it's Christmas Eve today.
@@illiniwood I think I have been getting emails from Lodge, Field and Smithey at least every other day this month. I bought a Staub for 30% off around Black Friday. And a DeBuyer carbon steel on their sale.
Great stuff Mike! Thank you.
My pleasure, Hobie! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours, my friend!!
In Europe, Lodge is seen as the more expensive holy grail in cast iron, since it’s so much more expensive over there.
I'm glad you touch base on this subject because I have been thinking about that recently. Much of the old cast iron was very thin I don't believe it was for cost or in order to make them lighter. I just think that was the way they were made. My grandfather used to take my grandmother's cast iron and build a fire to recondition it. That was ultimately the downfall for a lot of antique cast iron. I believe the new heavy cast iron is better because we have learned is it durable as the old cast iron was it had its downfalls
That's interesting! Thanks for sharing your story with us, my friend!
I still burn my cast iron in a just big enough wood fire, 100+ year old stuff included. People say they can tell if one has ever been burned in a fire but, I doubt they can. I've never had a one that I could see it suffered from being cleaned with fire that I've done. If a body threw one in a blazing hot fire, poked it around, maybe dropped it or fetched it out and put water on it while it was hot, I could see that going bad.
@@jerrym3261 absolutely agree it does not take what you see in the videos at night of a orange cast iron skillet. On a BSR made in USA which I do not have a lot of respect for I tested the fire theory. I built a minimum flame over a minimum of time and it was absolutely successful
@@weswalker1208 I was brought up with it. People used to use fire a lot more than they do now and a lot of it was controlling the heat. When I burn a piece of cast iron, I lay the sticks, put the cast iron on top, light it and don't see it again until the next day. Occasionally I'll have a spot that didn't get hot enough so I repeat.
It’s all in the pores. My mom has good old Grisewald and Wagner., And lodge cast iron. Smoothness comes from seasoning over time. I can tell you I see no difference in the way any of it cooks.
My personal cast iron I bought some in the 90’s. Unseasoned it was good but not as good as the newer cast iron that is made today.
When I bought some newer stuff 5 years ago I was amazed at how well it cooked. I just cleaned oiled it up placed on stove heated up and started cooking. No sticking.
I have 3 from their regular line (one is a "dutch oven" with a skillet lid) - I sanded mine down and it improved the non-stick for me a great deal. I have since bought a carbon steel pan, I love it, but they are pretty pricey. I just loved how smooth the carbon steel was out the box.
I own Lodge and also own Stargazer and like both of them. You can can drive to work in a Lexus or a Toyota. Both of them will get you there.
Great video my friend. I love my Lodge stuff. Great quality and a nice selection.
Thanks, Coleman! Merry Christmas buddy!
I do love the Lodge stuff i acquired im the 1980's. Not sure exactly when it was 1:17 made bit it's lasted 40 years so far
Somewhere I saw Lodge gets close to making 2 million pieces of cast iron per month. I have a lot of cast iron and I have and do like the old stuff. It means something to me when I know a piece was made before I was born and even more if it was made more than 100 years ago. What never leaves my range or counter top are 2 modern Lodge skillets, a #5 (8 inch) and a #10 (12 inch). I've worn the cooking surface of both smooth. I use them because I think they cook some things better than my thinner, older pans, Griswolds, Wagners, BSRs, ect. I'd hate to think such things but, if I had to get down to one skillet, I'd buy a new Lodge #8. There's things I can do with that heavier pan I can't do as well with a lighter pan and there's much less the lighter pan can do that the heavy pan can't. I haven't bought one of the new boutique pans. I have looked at them. People say they like them for the long handles but, for me, physics lets us down on those. The weight is harder to manage when you put it on a long lever. If you actually learn the lessons from Mr Cast Iron's Top (3) Mistakes Beginners Make, you can pretty much cook on any cast iron. I have noticed in most cast iron videos, the people make those mistakes. ua-cam.com/video/1uq8SVhMUDc/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Mr.CastIron
An overly smooth cast iron cooking surface does not hold seasoning as well as the textured cooking surface. But over time, the textured surface of Lodge will wear down. If you want a smooth cooking surface but the cooking experience of cast iron, then I suggest using carbon steel pans. I love Lodge cast iron and they are the only brand I buy.
Love my Lodge skillets
Seems to me ..the really smooth cast iron vs the more textured …I prefer cooking on a seasoned slightly textured surface myself
That’s interesting! Why is that?
I watch a lot, a whole lot of cast iron videos. There are people having problems with too smooth cooking surfaces that they bought or sanded and polished themselves. I could see high polished would give the oil nowhere to sit.
Lodge cast iron its very good,am from Norway and i use Lodge often.Super happy whit it!
Norway!!?? Wow!! Welcome to our channel, my friend! I’m happy to hear you have access to Lodge Cast Iron there, too!
I have Lodge cast iron and I love it! 😊
I hear ya! Thanks for sharing this with us, April!!
Hi Uncle Mike, I have PLENTY of Lodge, new, and vintage, as well as other new and vintage brands. I love them all.
Hey Rick!! Sounds like you are another one of those cast-a-holics! Lol 😂
most of my Cast Iron cookware are from Lodge. and i just love them more than any of the other cookware i have used.
I hear ya! It's better than Teflon any day, lol!
There is a lot of contemporary Lodge cast iron out there cooking great food. My view is that if you start it off right (reseasoning/etc), you wont regret it.
Lodge is great. I will say I like the smother cast iron more. I have older cast iron that is smooth. I also bought a Field company skillet. I prefer the smoother surface over the rough. It’s better non stick in my opinion.
Yes, I love the craftsmanship that goes into those. And the lightness of the thin walls on my Griswolds and Favorites, the perfect even heating of my Butter Pats...it's just pure pleasure to use things like that.
@@StellaWaldvogel Yes! The newer premium cast iron is definitely worth the cost. Basically non-stick out of the box.
@@gardeningandgrowing6357 And it cleans up quick and easy, too.
They go to a lot of trouble and expense bringing back the old manufacturing methods. I don't mind the price, I'm happy to help support that.
ua-cam.com/video/XVG4iEBG9WQ/v-deo.htmlsi=pB9QNrZInXFZciEO
Thank y’all so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us! We sure appreciate it! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
@@MrCastIron Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!
I have no complaints to Lodge! 😂
Recently bought a small skillet from Walmart. Thank you and merry Christmas! 🎁🎄
You’re welcome, and congratulations on your new cast iron! Happy cooking, and Merry Christmas to you too, my friend!!
@@MrCastIron Thank you Mike!
You’re welcome anytime!
Dont need to sand down a new lodge just season with olive oil on top of the stove on high heat with paper towel and in 2-3 month it will lose the "truckbed liner"
You are absolutely correct! A little patience and frequent use…..
i took 60 grit orbital sander to each of my pans, they work so much better, some of the bumps were horrible. of course rinse, rub with oil, and rinse with hot water again, I did that several times to get rid of any lose material. it shouldn't be really smooth, i wouldn't go down to 200 grit or anything like that, i find using up one 60 grit sanding pad on a pan is about right.
Mr Mike! 😊 I proudly own 24 pieces of cast iron cookware and bakeware. Out of all those pieces…22 of them are proudly only maintained Lodge cast-iron pieces. I use them daily and feel blessed to have them. I have ONE vintage Wagner Ware 11 cup muffin pan. This a family Airline it stays in the family. Recently I purchased a three mix caster skillet with lid very pricey only because my love of the flavor and the passion of the cooking in the food with cast-iron so I treated myself with a Finex pan😌❤🍳
That’s awesome!! Thanks for sharing this with us, my friend!! Happy cast iron cooking!! Merry Christmas!!
There good if you sand them down not good out of the box impassable to cook on
I have been using lodge products for decades. Is it as user-friendly out of the box as some of the other's? Probably not. But that being said , i will put any of my lodge products against those that cost 4 or 5 times more anytime
I hear ya!! Thanks for sharing this with us, my friend!!
You get what you pay for. Their Blacklock line is superior, but their main line pans are full of casting flaws and factory imperfections. You have to inspect several pans before finding one that is acceptable. And from personal experience their customer service is terrible. I wouldn't buy any Lodge product that I couldn't personally inspect before purchasing.
I love my vintage pans and my Butter Pats, but Lodge does the job. Plus they make things like woks, pie pans, loaf pans and pizza pans that you don't normally see in cast iron. They have a Dollar General line now that costs even less than regular Lodge. $17.50 for a 9 inch pan. It looks comparable their regular line but there's no helper handle.
Yes, that is so true! Thank you for sharing this with us! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours, my friend!!
That is what I like about Lodge. I make a lot of pizza and my pizza pan is one of my most used pans. My pizza pan makes the most amazing pizza. I also love how non stick their cookie pans are too.
There is even cheaper cast iron then Lodge. This is why it is so cheap. The cheaper stuff is made in Mexico. Just go to the camping aisle at your local Walmart. As for sanding it down, rougher is better for holding the seasoning. I love my carbon steel, but it definitely doesn't hold seasoning like rough cast iron.
Thanks for the tips, Kriss! Lodge is made in the USA except for the enameled dutch ovens, which are made in China. However, they are starting to make some of them here now too! Thanks for sharing this with us, my friend, and Merry Christmas!!
Maybe give it a sand to smooth it out a little..Dont go too crazy just enough to brake down the higher rough spots.
Yeah, I don’t sand mine, but I know a lot of folks do. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, my friend!
Geat pans! And made in USA!
Yes indeed!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, my friend!!
Basically with Lodge, their supply exceeds demand
I have a feeling that Lodge is family owned or at least mostly family owned. Maybe the family loves cast iron enough they get more value from sharing than they would from squeezing out every penny they can get. I think that used to be pretty common for people in business, not so common anymore.
Yeah, it is, and they have a lot of employees that are 2nd and 3rd generation employees, too, from what I understand.
@@MrCastIron I did some reading on it, fifth generation of the Lodge family now, South Pittsburg population is just a little over 3,000 and about 350 people work at Lodge. Lodge has been through some hard times; a fire in 1910 burned down the original factory, the depression, lots of changes in what they made to keep the company going and growing. Sounds like they have a lot that was earned that can't be bought.
The covers are expensive but the skillets are not which is strange.
Cast Iron is cast iron. Lodge is still a great quality and value. You got to season and prep, and use (a lot) your modern cast iron to get that smoothness you want.
This is true!! Thank you for sharing this with us, my friend!!
Lodge, in my experience, id give a 4 out of ten. I have bought 2 new preseasoned pans and have had problem after problem cooking in them. EVERYTHING sticks. I’ve cooked bacon…that stuck. Steaks…they stuck, burgers…they stuck. Use grape seed oil, canola oil, vegetable oil. I had to refinish the 10” one and reseason over again.
Used beeswax product to season, not much success. Have actually made some progress using lard.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I can concur with the gentleman here that long ago they were better made. I clearly remember the circular pattern on the bottom. Looked machine finished, like a disc brake. Now they look like rhino coating for your truck bed. No pride in workmanship!
Arturo, When I get a new Lodge skillet, I always season it several times before using, even though it comes pre-seasoned. At the beginning, when cooking use a little more oil than usual and make sure the pan is good and hot before you add the oil, heat another minute or so, then start cooking. It also helps to cook something greasy, like breaded chicken cutlets, hash browns, etc. Each pan is a learning curve. But continue cooking in it, then it will develop that non-stick coating we all love.
@@jimglatthaar4053 I did that with my 10” but still…food stuck. Some told me too hot…some said don’t turn it over so soon, but no matter what things stuck. I would up refinishing/polishing it. Three seasonings later…a wee better. Probably too smooth now because those three seasonings washed right off to bare metal again. 😞 I just don’t get it. I remember as if it were yesterday, the one we had when I was knee high to a flea. The circular machined pattern on the cooking surface. The eggs floated…nothing stuck. No skills for skillets. 🍳
@@jimglatthaar4053 Understand about cooking greasy things, but I want to be able to fry some eggs. How long or how much of a buildup before I can do that??
@@ArturoLedezma-jv3jo Arturo, it sounds like your seasoning is not adhering to the skillet. I would try to buy a vintage Lodge, like no-notch, 1 notch or older 3-notch, or maybe a griswold skillet. I have found them to be easier to season than the new Lodge skillets.
@@jimglatthaar4053 Thank you for your response! It is greatly appreciated! As I write, I have that 10” burning in the oven for a third time since washing it off. I plan on three more so…we’ll see. I shall look around for your recommendations. Have a great New Year sir!
They will crack on an electric element
I'm surprised because I read that cast iron pans can be used on a camp fire. The "blk ink" will crack or the pan it self?. What do you mean by crack?. Cast iron is suppose to be better than metal. Metal pans never cracked when I use to have electric element stove. At what number setting will it crack?
I haven't seen a video yet that claims a beefsteak cooks better, faster, prettier in a high $$ designer CI skillet than in a Lodge CI Skillet. I did see one video where the clown tried to claim the steak cooked in his Stargazer tasted better, but he admitted it didn't taste $150 better. I think he did the review just to get a free Stargazer skillet.
Lol! I'm gonna say everything tastes better in cast iron, regardless of the brand name!
yep but that Stargazer is so much purderier (slang) than that there Lodge!
@@gosman949 True. But in the end, it's really all about the food you cook, not which pan you cook it in.
@@krazmokramer used my Stargazer this morning for Christmas Eve breakfast of bacon, hashbrown potatoes, and scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy. Washed it out with dish soap and hot water. Seasoned it on the stove top and good as new for the next meal! Try that with a Lodge!
I saw that video too. He was sponsored by Stargazer so I don't think he wanted to step on Stargazer's feet by saying it was not worth it.
Lodge is very good cast iron but don't elevate their products any higher than they really are. Very good product at at a very good price.
They do NOT compare to Marquette -
Stargazer - Smithey - and several other Brands in quality and features.
A Chevy is not a Cadillac.
Both will get you from point A to Point B.
Cast iron is cast iron...the only difference with the brands that you have listed and the lodge is that they have either sanded or machined the surfaces smooth so they charge more for the extra time needed after casting...there is absolutely zero difference in quality
@@steveolesen8033 You are bady mistaken. A Chevy is not a Cadillac but both of them will get you from point A to B.
A Lodge handle does not even compare to a Stargazer in egernomics and balance of the skillet
Day and night difference.
There are many Cast Iron reviews on many different brands of Skillets here on YT and the majority concensus is there are major differences in various brands of Skillets
Modern Lodge does not even compare to Vintage Lodge skillets .You are entitled to live in your false reality concerning cast iron skillets but many people who own other brands know better .
BTW I own several Lodge Skillets and do know and recognize the difference.
@@guitarhillbilly1482 you are entitled to your own opinion as well but when it comes to stargazer, I have zero interest in an overpriced, overmachined pan that has a horribly uncomfortable handle and because it is overmachined it won't hold a seasoning
I collect and use Griswold, Wagner, and a few other vintage brands. Lodge produces heavy, wrist wrecking spinners that should be returned to the scrap pile of old engine blocks they originated in.
That’s cool! We appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this video! Merry Christmas to you and yours, my friend!
Inexpensive, not cheap. Cheap means low quality.
Lodge cast iron is garbage !!!!! I wouldn't take one for free. Nothing beats vintage
Hey Richard, thank you for your thoughts and opinions. Here are the dates to show how vintage these companies are:
1. Lodge Cast Iron: Founded in 1896.
2. Wagner Cast Iron: Wagner Manufacturing Company was established in 1891.
3. Griswold Cast Iron: Griswold Manufacturing started around 1865.
So, I think Lodge is vintage as well! Thanks again, my friend, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
@@MrCastIron I meant comparing Brand New vs Vintage. I didn't realize Lodge had been around that long. 👍🇺🇲
@richardfiedler2201, no problem!! Thanks for your input on our channel. We sure appreciate you being here!
Garbage is a bit of an exaggeration 🤣. Obviously a newer Lodge not as nice to cook in as a 1920’s Lodge, Wagner or the like but still completely functional and lasts every bit as long.
Lodge is very good cast iron but don't elevate their products any higher than they really are. Very good product at at a very good price.
They do NOT compare to Marquette -
Stargazer - Smithey - and several other Brands in quality and features.
A Chevy is not a Cadillac.
Both will get you from point A to Point B.