Cast Iron Set

[shmrck1]

I was resently in a "Sam's Club" and they had a
9 piece cast iron cook set including a wood carry
box. I know there was a dutch oven, griddle and some
fry pans for $39.95. I think the maker was "Wehzel",
(spelling could be wrong). Seems like a very resonable
price to me. I did not purchase it because i have all
the cast iron i can carry. Thinking of this forum i ask
a manager if they were available in all Sam's Clubs he
was not sure but you could check www.samsclub.com.
snake-eyes :hmm: :thumbsup:

 

[rayb]

i looked at one of those, but passed, it was made in china. good concept though, wooden box, etc.

later bought usa made lodge dutch oven and a new skillet for the same price as the set.

i'm just a little wierd that way.

rayb

 

[vradin]

I think it's called "Wenzel" and most Sam's clubs I've been in have them. Almost bought a set for the Scout troop a while back- liked the wood case and set of stuff. Then I took a close look at it. The casting was marginal- lots of litle dings, voids, pits, and other surface imperfections. I figure if the surface looked this bad, what about an internal void waiting to explode when it heats up real good? I had the store open about 4 or 5 boxes to find a good set- no luck, they all looked pretty bad.

Now, this might have been a bad run, but you'd think that after opening 4 or 5 crates, I could find a complete good set.

I don't mind buying the occaissional piece of gear made in China, but I only like to buy it once, no matter where it's made, and I certainly don't want it blowing up a good breakfast.

 

[tireland]

Actually my sons bought me one of these sets a couple of years back at I have no complaints. I use the skillets daily and dutch oven almost weekly and they're still in the kitchen. These had a heavy coat of wax on them out of the box and when cleaned and seasoned they worked great. :m2c:

 

I've bought one of those, Wenzel, and i've seen them for about the same price at a few other places. They are competing very well against Lodge, and Maca cast iron. I love dutch oven cooking, and have been doing it for years. The only problem I ever had with the cheapo's is the lid-fit, especially on the smaller pots. I remedied that problem on a grinder. Not bad at all for the price, but not made in the good ole USA. I want to see Lodge make a PC cast iron pot for rendezvous, they could put there name on the bottom of it or under the lid perhaps.

 

[DVanVorous]

Probably the same set that Costco sells. I got one a while back, not too bad for what it is although I did remove some of the stuff because I really didnt need all the fry pans. Gave enough room so I can keep all my cooking utensils and dishes together now...

Keep yer powder dry,

D.

 

[Mulebrain]

I collect, use, and restore cast iron pieces. I agree! When I see made in China I run! I would stick with Lodge manufacturing!

 

[cayugad]

Cast Iron cook ware is all I have ever used. I have three different sized fry pans, two different dutch ovens, and a griddle/grill which works excellent. As already said, get good qualtity ones.

My sister has a large cast iron fry pan that was actually my Grandmothers so we are talking one old pan, and she still uses it.

 

[Gary]

I'd buy American too.

 

[bob1961]

at wal-mart they sell lodge brand but not in any set....so that would be a good brand to but :thumbsup:....thanks guys.......bob

 

[shmrck1]

It was not my intention that everyone run out and buy a
set from Sam's Club, i was pointing out what appeared to be
a deal. I have approximatly 15 pieces of cast iron cookware, all of which i bought at either garage sales or
auctions, including an 12qrt. and 16qrt. dutch ovens, and none have failed me. A few pieces are most likely older than me and i was born in the middle 40's. To be honest i
really don't care who made them, or where they came from, as long as they work, and the price is right.I really doubt that i have much more that $50 in my cast iron cookware and i don't know the criteria for good but i would put what i have against any cast iron sets out there. :m2c:
snake-eyes

 

[ButlerFord]

...I have approximatly 15 pieces of cast iron cookware, all of which i bought at either garage sales or
auctions, including an 12qrt. and 16qrt. dutch ovens, and none have failed me. A few pieces are most likely older than me and i was born in the middle 40's. ......i don't know the criteria for good but i would put what i have against any cast iron sets out there. :m2c:
snake-eyes

I don't know the criteria for "good" either, but it would seem to me that you've just proven the point that if you start with a quality piece it will last for numerous lifetimes.
To me, cast iron cooking is addicting so I prefer to start with something that I trust to be a quality casting with quality materials. I have a couple of cheap pieces that were obtained for one specific purpose, most of my stuff is Lodge, and I have two Griswalds. You can see the differences, the pores(?) of the cheap pieces are more open, the surface is considerably rougher and the thickness of the cast is not even. A more subjective observation is that the lesser quality pieces just don't cook as well. I believe that if your only purpose is camp cooking, the Wally World set would do you well but if your like me and like to do experimenting at home, I think you'd be better served with better quality equipment.

I hope I succeeded in saying this in a non offensive manner, 'cause that's the way it's ment.



B. Ford

 

[shmrck1]

ButlerFord,
Not offended at all i appriciate your opinion.
snake-eyes :hatsoff: