Polished Unseasoned Cast Iron - 8 Inch

I'm thrilled with this purchase. Try finding an unseasoned cast iron skillet with a smooth cooking surface that ISN'T this one. If you find one, I will practically guarantee you that it will cost over $150.00 and possibly close to $200.00 if not more. If you desire an old school smooth surface where your food touches---and you want to start with raw cast iron and do your own seasoning---this might be the only game in town.For the Amazon price, it's a steal. The quality of the cast iron appears to be good. Nice and heavy, with a handle that is long enough to make lifting the beast easier than some skillets with shorter handles. It's positioned nicely to make lifting and moving relatively easy. The cast iron is thick and even. As others have commented, the milling/smoothing of the cooking surface was not perfect. Especially where the sides meet the bottom, there was some circular scratching around the perimeter of the bottom of the pan. This had absolutely no bearing at all on the ability to cook with pleasure on this piece. In fact, I seasoned with Crisco and in those scratches/grooves, applied a heavier amount and it seemed to fill them in. I seasoned the pan three times with Crisco in a 375 degree oven----and then one last round of seasoning with Wesson Vegetable oil. My first frying was bacon, followed by burgers. What a great break-in. The food released nicely, burgers lifted perfectly for easy flipping. And speaking of the seasoning, I'm heavy handed with the Crisco and oils---and I know for many, that is a no-no. Even the manufacturers say to use almost invisible, thin coatings of Crisco or oil before putting in the oven. I guess I've had good success with slightly thicker applications, so that is how I roll. And yes, with a heavier coating, you might see dripping or bubbling---but you cook in it a couple times and it smooths out again and I believe with a better barrier. But that's the beauty of this raw cast iron---YOU get to decide YOUR way of seasoning it as opposed to a factory coating that might or might not perform as you want it too. The pan went from it's silvery finish to a brown finish after the 4 rounds of baking in the 375 degree oven. And after my first couple meals prepared, the cooking surface has a shiny bronze finish. I guess over time, it will all turn black, as my other cast iron has done. This product is absolutely a winner. An easy five stars for me because of the unique product positioning---really the only skillet of its kind and at a very affordable price. I might have gone 4 stars because of the imperfect machining----IF it was over $100.00. But at this price, my expectations were more than met. And yes, on a comparable Smitty cast iron pan, the machining will be close to perfect, superior to this. That's because the Made In USA Smitty has more labor hours buffing it out and they also spend time with some factory seasoning on each and every one. So if you want to spend around $160.00 and want a top of the line skillet, go for the American made Smitty, which has a terrific reputation. But if you are on a budget and don't mind an Asian (Chinese) import, this BlueBonnet piece will satisfy you for sure. In closing, I am concerned that BlueBonnet doesn't seem to be active anymore. I don't see an active website and at one time I believe they had one. I know BlueBonnet was founded by someone who wanted all of these elements in a cast iron skillet---the raw, unseasoned cast iron, the smooth finish on the cooking surface, like Great Grandma's, the long, useful, well designed handle, etc. So that person actually went through the trouble of going back and forth with a Chinese factory to get it just right---and make a run of them. I see a low quantity left and wonder if when they sell out, there will ever be any more of them. I sure hope so. But I also know that the way this thing is built, it will last forever. Still, I would love the option of buying another one, as a gift or a back-up. Or maybe a new size. I hope BlueBonnet remains active or comes back to continue this mission for all of us cast iron enthusiasts. A photo shows the seasoning/color change thus far.

I ordered this to try to get the smooth non-stick bottom of vintage cast iron skillets (they used to be routinely polished at the factory)I would not classify the finish on this skillet as polished. I've been trying to do this on my own, and mine looks better and I've only done 80 grit sanding flapper. There are big gouge/scratches near the edges of the bottom and there are circular lines from coarse grinding of the bottom..It is less "bumpy" than a straight cast iron, and I'm seasoning it (with the "super" flax seed oil method) to see how well it works. I'm hoping the scratches will be inconsequential. I'll update the review when I'm done and have used it a while

It's a good concept. Feels about as heavy as my 12" Lodge skillet. Too thick and heavy for the size.

I bought this since I was in the market for an 8" cast iron pan. I made the purchase hope for a similar quality pan as lodge but with a smooth surface. I realize this is a small company and they really want to make a good quality product that emulates the smooth surface of the old cast iron pans from Griswold and Wagner. The cooking surface is much smoother than any pan I normally see which I like. I am still in the process of breaking it in and developing the non stick surface (which I believe should be quite nice once I am done), so I don't know the end result. My main reason for putting 3 stars has to do with the weight of the pan and the very rough surface of the handle and underside of the pan. I had to use a file to remove some burrs off the handle and may grind it a bit smoother to ensure a nice experience using it over time.My hope is they continue to work on these and they get better over time. I would probably buy again if they do, otherwise I will continue to use this and wish for something a bit nicer.to summarize, if you are a fan of cooking with cast iron and don't mind a bit of sanding, this could be a great addition to your daily use pans. People expecting something that is ready to use right away should look for a used pre-seasoned one. I am really happy to see someone try to sell an affordable pan that is smooth, and will be watching what they do in the future.*************UPDATE*****************Ok, so I upgraded this to 4 stars based on the ease of seasoning... I originally wrote this review after seasoning the pan and cooking bacon. The bacon grease did stick and the pan was very hard to clean. This initially left me with the impression the pan wasn't very good and I would have to work very hard to season the pan.These are my efforts in seasoning:1. So I seasoned the pan per the normal process, clean / heat, oil and throw it in the oven @ 350 for an hour or so.2. Then I cooked bacon, I usually expect a bit of sticking, but it normally just takes a bit of salt and an old rag to clean at this point.3. Cooked eggs (scrambled) and it stick really bad, ended up having to clean the pan with a scouring pad and hot water. (Salt and aggressive scrubbing had no effect.4. Seasoned again using the normal process5. Cooked two Ribeye steaks back to back with Ghee, salt and pepper. Made a wine sauce reduction which deglazed the pan.6. The pan now has a nice patina and cleans up with no salt and just a terry cloth rag.7. Next test will be a fried egg.I still think the exterior fit and finish could be smoother, but depending on who is buying this, I would consider this a deal.Included some new pics with a clean seasoned pan and the last steak I cooked in the pan...

Very poor quality finish. The machining/polishing was amateur at best. Very uneven and inconsistent, almost lumpy. The packaging was so poor the handle broke through the box. The pan was not damaged, though. I will probably give it away because I don't feel like lugging something so heavy to the post office.