Field cast iron skillets factory seconds sale

[Bluenoser87]

I just ordered a #12. Supposed to arrive on Friday. Fun!

[nakneker]

I just ordered a #12. Supposed to arrive on Friday. Fun!

As much as you cook I think it’ll fast become one of your favorites. They are so well done.

[stevem627]

I've been able to use the PIF Field #10 I received from Nakneker and it's exactly what we've always wanted in a cast iron skillet. I'm waiting a bit to do a full review after trying several type of things in it, but based on the "seconds" pricing and our prelimary steak, bacon and cornbread (we also cooked a spiral ham in it) I can't imagine anyone not being thrilled with any of the Field skillets. The handle is super comfortable and the weight makes a huge difference.

When you are buying something like this that will last your lifetime it's good to invest in something that will fit your requirements in the tool first and consider the investment (if you can afford it) last. I can't tell you how many things I've given away to family that I thought I'd like but didn't quite fit what I REALLY wanted.

[Drewski]

Wish that shipping to Canada wasn't almost the same as the price of the pan. I would get it shipped to a city at the border and hop over for it, but that can't happen for a while. Excited to hear more about everyone's experiences with these.

[polytope]

How does a Field compare to vintage Griswold or similar? Are they as thin & smooth?

[stevem627]

From what I’ve seen on researching it on YouTube the new Field skillets are very much in the vein of the old lightweight cast iron. I really wasn’t aware of how similar because I never had the time and motivation to go out and scour the antique shops looking for LIGHTWEIGHT CAST iron. I never realized there was such a thing available in the past. My only ownership exposure was usually weighty cast iron. For many years we used stainless clad and nonstick pans and finally we changed to a cast iron enameled skillet and several carbon steel pans. We watched cooking shows and they used shiny skillets. I think they did that because they look clean and new on tv. After that we saw more shows with actual cooking kitchens and chefs and noticed that soooo many used carbon steel pans and cast iron (not enameled) pans. YouTube opened another world of info on cuisines and cooking utensils. We figured seeing what actual talented chefs/cooks used told us what to get. I was recently gifted a wonderful Field cast iron skillet and that led me to research different cast iron. We now have another rabbit hole to jump into when time comes in the future to shop some antique shops so we can come up with some antique lightweight cast iron. The Field skillet (and I’m sure several other lightweight cast iron skillets) makes it simple to get a heirloom quality tool at a reasonable investment price. Unfortunately “reasonable” is totally subjective and after many years (I’m 64) I now think it best to figure out what you use most in the kitchen and if you have something that doesn’t work the way you want it to, go get something you’ll love. You will be VERY happy with a Field skillet performance and comfort wise. It fills the need for a cast iron skillet the best of anything new that I’ve seen. Going with less expensive cast iron could easily leave you wishing you had chosen one of the newer ( or found a great older lightweight) skillet. They don’t fill my need for something that looks fantastic like our Santa Barbara Forge carbon steel roaster or our Blanc Creative skillet that have hammered finishes. I’m a fan of all hammered cooking gear and have over 10 knives with tsuchime finishes.

Wow that’s a hugely rambling answer but I’m putting together a somewhat lengthy review of the Field skillet and a lot of this info is part of my review notes I’m gathering.

[jacko9]

How does a Field compare to vintage Griswold or similar? Are they as thin & smooth?

I don't have any of the older cast iron but I do have all of the Field skillets and they are thin and smooth. The factory seconds sale comes once a year and from what I have seen and heard they are only minor cosmetic blemishes. The sale this year has been going on for a while and I noticed that after I bought a #8 for my son they were sold out (glad I acted in time). I would advise you to find the size that you might use the most and try one at this sale price you can use it for a year and then stock up at next years sale if you want other sizes or do as I did and just buy them from the factory (they sell them in different combination sets at discount).

[gastro gnome]

How does a Field compare to vintage Griswold or similar? Are they as thin & smooth?

I have two Field skillets as well as a Wagner (and a host of other carbon steel and cast iron pans) so I can venture a comparison.

You are going to have to put up some imprecise and qualitative assessments, but here goes.

The Wagner is an 10" pan and the Field skillets are one and two sizes larger so I can't compare apples to apples. I don't own a micrometer so I can't accurately assess the thickness of the pans. But by eyeballing it (and other imprecise measures), I would say they are comparable. The Field might even be a bit thinner.

In terms of smoothness, I would say that they are both smooth. In addition to being smooth, the Wagner has an almost glossy look to it and the surface seems a bit more slippery. But that could also be because of 50 years of use. While my Field is pretty well-seasoned, it's only been in use a year and (as stated above), I have many of these pans and do not use one exclusively.

I think that the Field represents a very similar proposition to a vintage pan and will likely achieve the same glossiness with continued use. As-is, the performance is already quite good and I've had minimal sticking issues. It is noticeably better than something like a Lodge out of the box. Noticeably.

I would also say that vintage cast iron is a different buying proposition. It is often in demand so you may be less likely to handle it in person before buying. And seeing/handling in person can be very useful because these are seldom blemish-free pans. Mine had some rust on it and a slightly warped bottom. I stripped it down and reseasoned it. It still works well, but it's not entirely flat. That's not uncommon with these pans. So first, you would have to find one in person or buy via pictures online. All in all, I think the ease of purchasing a new Field skillet knowing it will come in great shape may outweigh the potentially better immediate performance of a vintage pan with the tradeoff that there may be some downsides to decades-old cookware. In my case, my friend likes to collect cast iron and found it in a thrift store somewhere and brought it back as a project. He already had one in this size and gifted it to me. Maybe you prefer hunting for something or a project and, in that case, vintage might be the way to go.

I'lll now answer a question you didn't ask. Is the Field skillet smoother and lighter than carbon steel pans? I think it is definitely lighter than a carbon steel pan of a similar size (again, ballparking here because I don't own a carbon steel pan the same size as my Field skillets).

Is the Field smoother than a carbon steel pan? First off, I don't have any of the hammered ones, so mine are machined and smooth. I'm not sure of the answer to this question I posed to myself. Carbon Steel is probably similarly smooth and there are brands that are more affordable than an equivalent Field. But anecdotal evidence suggests to me that the Carbon Steel pans might not hold onto their seasoning quite as well as cast iron in general. I don't baby my pans. I typically clean with soap and/or a scrubber and sometimes use chainmail. Any properly seasoned pan should stand up to this kind of treatment. I have occasionally found that carbon steel skillets after a particularly low-fat cooking cycle might have more caked on gunk that is more likely to lose some seasoning in the cleanup process. Again, anecdotal.


Hopefully some of this long answer is of help to you.

[polytope]

Thanks. I used to keep an eye out on ebay for vintage pieces that weren't collector material; after a while you get a sense for which ones might be good daily users. They make good gifts. Demand seems to be rising and it's not as easy to get a good one for a reasonable price.

The smooth texture's a selling point, but I guess I should have asked about weight rather than thinness. They're connected of course, but for me it's the weight that makes the difference. Lodge pans are just too heavy for sauté action, at least for me. Same with Demeyere... they're great performers but too heavy to be practical (for me)

[nakneker]

Thanks. I used to keep an eye out on ebay for vintage pieces that weren't collector material; after a while you get a sense for which ones might be good daily users. They make good gifts. Demand seems to be rising and it's not as easy to get a good one for a reasonable price.

The smooth texture's a selling point, but I guess I should have asked about weight rather than thinness. They're connected of course, but for me it's the weight that makes the difference. Lodge pans are just too heavy for sauté action, at least for me. Same with Demeyere... they're great performers but too heavy to be practical (for me)

The fields aren’t nearly as heavy as a lodge of the same size. I have a full set of fields and a couple vintage cast iron skillets. I’ll put them on the scale tomorrow and see what we get.

I’m a huge Fields fan. They have this cast iron thing figures out. I’ll post some specs and pics in the morning.

[gastro gnome]

The smooth texture's a selling point, but I guess I should have asked about weight rather than thinness. They're connected of course, but for me it's the weight that makes the difference. Lodge pans are just too heavy for sauté action, at least for me. Same with Demeyere... they're great performers but too heavy to be practical (for me)

That I can answer since I have comparable sized pans and a scale.

Lodge 12" = 3328 grams
Field Number 10 (a smidge smaller than the Lodge 12") = 2533 grams
Field Number 12 (appreciably larger than the Lodge 12") = 3526 grams

[stevem627]

I’d like to see some weights on vintage cast iron skillets. My understanding is that being too light adversely impacts the cooking characteristics of cast iron. It would appear the Field has done their research well so that they got weight reduction but still retain the character of good cast iron. Heavy cast iron skillets made me give up on them. We only have an extremely heavy 12 inch enameled cast iron skillet for cooking with acidic items like tomatoes. It is not used for much anything really since we can just use our 3.8 quart cast iron braiser in its place. I really don’t see the need for a 12 inch cast iron enameled skillet actually since who can use the handle for any real reason. Another piece to be given away to a family member.

[jacko9]

I have all sizes of the Field skillets and I haven't noticed any adverse cooking because of heat capacity. Even if I get spill over with tomato sauce when making pizza the seasoning heals itself with additional cooking.

[thetoe]

gastro you are the man. I'm loving my 6 and 8! Thanks again bud, I owe ya!

[nakneker]

Here’s a fun comparison. A Field number 8 compared to one of my favorite vintage skillets, a Piqua Ware #8. The Field skillet weighed more at 1992 grams, the Piqua weighed 1642 grams, which really surprised me. Both are finished about the same as far as quality goes, they act much the same in use too.

[nakneker]

There are those among us who really know vintage cast iron. Maybe we should start a thread “show us your vintage cast iron”, it would be a way to learn more. When you look on Etsy and EBay there’s always a load of them with price ranges all over the place.

[polytope]

Some more weights:
Griswold #8 1977g
Griswold #6 1305g

[gastro gnome]

Wagner #8: 1842g

Interested to see some more measurements if people have them. So far, it seems like vintage skillets should not be considered all of a type as the measurements can vary pretty widely. Some are significantly lighter and some are pretty comparable to a (presumably) similarly-sized modern, boutique cast iron skillet.

[PaulME]

Just bumping this thread as field has their yearly seconds sale going on. 8’s are out of stock but I think other sizes are still available (I ordered a 10 - would have added an 8 if it was in stock)

[TheVincenzo]

I'm a big fan of my field skillets. I have all the sizes other than the new Dutch oven. I may end up picking that up eventually, but I have Staubs that I use so I'm not sure how much utility I'll get out of it.