Old hammer-wrought iron skillets and cast iron have served their purpose well – and deserve their respected place in history – but they have remained basically unchanged since the dawn of the iron age. They are non-toxic and natural, but heavy and rough. We should be able to do better …
There was an incremental change when big industrial machinery made it cheap to quickly press steel pan bodies and rivet handles on. Machining allowed cast iron skillets to be finished thin, but fragile and too smooth. Small evolutions, and these changes introduced their own new problems. Some hipster crowdfunding campaigns with very slick marketing even imported cast iron from low cost offshore factories (hiding that little country of origin detail carefully), charged a high price, and the public bought in … in large numbers … (If you’re unsure where your new iron is really coming from, please ask!)
Then came the decades-long disaster that is synthetic nonstick … and it is ongoing …
Our mechanical engineers – who also love to cook – have spent decades developing much more than another iron skillet: they have created a complete system to easily build and maintain seasoned iron skillets for a lifetime. We combined the knowledge of 3,000 years of natural, non-toxic seasoning with our US-ION™ patented, lighter-weight, machine-wrought iron skillets and pioneered Quenched™ seasoning. To maintain the lustrous Quenched™ seasoning, we have also developed an exceptional new seasoning conditioning bar: Iron Love™.
This is a huge step in iron evolution, with so many new benefits. This healthy quench-seasoned light iron is all you will ever need in nonstick cookware.
Non-toxic, forever-renewable natural nonstick on a high-performance lighter and tougher wrought iron pan that will last for many generations. To be handed down as a treasured family heirloom, instead of thrown in the trash when the synthetic nonstick scratches or flakes, or just turns sticky.
A world-first, Quenched™ seasoning involves heating each pan to a precise high temperature, then quickly dunking it in a chilled tank of one of the best oils for seasoning: rice bran oil. The end result is healthy oil instantly transformed (all over the pan) into a strong black layer of hard, inert, non-toxic, seasoning. This seals the whole pan from corrosion, and eliminates the necessity for further oven seasoning. You can do more stove top pre-seasoning, if you like, but the Quenched™ pan is ready to cook!
With US-ION™ Quenched™, we have done the hard work for you.
It’s really simple: for the sake of your family’s health, and the Earth’s, just switch to seasoned iron cookware. If you want the very best iron available today, made in the USA at competitive cost, switch to new Solidteknics Quenched™ light wrought iron cookware with a non-toxic nonstick seasoning system that can last for multiple generations.
Refuse to buy a yet another disposable nonstick pan next time you throw one in the trash, yet again. Don’t play their ‘repeat customer’ marketing game: save a ton of money on all those wasted disposable nonsticks, and hand down a valuable family heirloom iron skillet for generations.
Two decades of engineering research and development, and a lot of time with chefs and cooking, gave us a solid understanding of chefs’ gripes and pains with existing cookware: too heavy or too light, wobbly handles, uneven heating, toxic coatings that destruct in months …
We took inspiration from French carbon steel pans and reinvented them in thicker, more conductive iron, and eliminated the rivets.
The well-informed have known it for years, but if you are not yet 100% sure of the toxicity of synthetic nonsticks, please read on. The warnings from independant (not sponsored corporate) scientists and health authorities have been clear for decades, and now documentary makers and Hollywood producers are finally helping make this important knowledge mainstream: simply do not use synthetic-coated nonstick cookware, period.
If this is the first time you’ve heard of us, please don’t assume this is just another overnight marketing exercise by crowdfunding hipsters. We are real mechanical engineers who love to cook, with decades of expertise developing equipment for chefs (see much more background in Section 2).
The result? World-first machine-wrought, solid, one-piece iron and ferritic stainless steel pans. We created the method, patented it, then instead of taking it offshore to maximize our profits, we committed to investing in local production for our Australian and USA markets. The pans in this campaign are made in Chicago from pure, clean, heavy-metal-free USA iron.
If you want to support quality local manufacturing, look carefully at any cookware you are currently considering. If there is no country of origin mentioned, it’s probably low-cost offshore manufacturing. Ask the question directly if you’re not sure. Slick marketing campaigns can pitch ordinary products with no new innovation, made cheaply offshore, AND selling at a higher cost than their USA-made equivalents, to maximize profits. If you want real innovation and the highest quality local manufacturing, congratulations, you’ve found the right campaign!
After 21 successful Kickstarters in Australia since 2014, our wrought iron pans reached #1 position in kitchenware retailers in Australia, are exported all around the world, and have received wide acclaim from chefs and experts for revolutionizing iron cookware: www.solidteknics.com/testify
After seven successful Kickstarter launches in the USA since early 2018, we’re seeing that the cooks of America are also embracing our vision for healthy, sustainable, multi-century, locally-made cookware, just like the Aussies wholeheartedly have. We’re off to a good start, and we will continue to grow with your support for our Kickstarter campaigns and on social media.
World-leading performance, healthy, sustainable and American-made cookware wasn’t enough for us: thanks to Quenched™ seasoning, we have now also added “easier seasoning” to describe our iron cookware.
Previously, our US-ION™ pans were sold ‘Raw’, with a light beeswax coating for protection. Fine for experienced iron cooks to build their own seasoning, but sometimes a little daunting for first-timer iron users.
The result is a healthy, very well-seasoned pan that’s ready to cook!
In reality, initially you will not have the same level of slipperiness that synthetic, disposable, nonstick pans offer. It will be close, but not quite as slick. But this is so much more: a natural, non-toxic nonstick that gets better with time, not worse!
As with all of our Kickstarter launches, every backer will receive limited edition skillets engraved with ‘FIRST EDITION‘ and the date of manufacture. With this campaign, we are also including another innovation:1 x 1/2 size Iron Love™ seasoning conditioning bar, for FREE with each skillet backed!
So much simpler than old methods! We include instructions, and it’s just like what the chefs do with oil seasoning: heat your US-ION pan to med-high on a (well-ventilated) stove, rub some Iron Love conditioner on to make a small puddle, then wipe all around until the cooking surface turns dry and gloss black.
It only takes a few minutes, and the end result is a perfect non-toxic nonstick pan, from the very beginning.
You could also use any preferred seasoning oil, but ours is free, and it is very, very good!
Or, you can do it the old school way and just start cooking with fats and oils, washing gently, and letting the seasoning build up over time. The finely textured iron surface under our Quenched seasoning will grip any seasoning better than smooth iron.
This is a big improvement over other seasoned iron pans, but don’t expect synthetic disposable nonstick pan levels of slipperiness. It’s close, but not always as slick as synthetic coatings, in all situations.
However, this is much better than synthetics: this is a natural non-toxic nonstick that only gets better with time, not worse!
Solidteknics pans are so tough they come with a multi-century warranty, and are date stamped for collectibility. With a little care, these pans will be a treasured heirloom, passed down through generations.
Don’t just take our word for it. Read real reviews from our growing community of chefs, home-cooks, BBQ heroes and pit-masters alike who are loving Solidteknics US-ION pans for their unbeatable combination of high performance features, fast even heating, natural nonstick and multi century durability!
For the sake of your family’s health and of the planet’s.
Toxicity + cookware? There should be no connection! Nonstick coatings have been proven toxic to manufacture, and toxic to heat (which is the whole point of cookware…). Big corporates have done a great job of keeping this information hidden – we know people would never willingly choose to use toxic cookware if they knew the consequences.
The warnings have been loud and clear from independent scientists for decades: synthetic, polymer-based non-stick coatings are toxic in production, and toxic when heated due to the gases their coatings emit. Sadly, this is still relatively unknown by the general public. Thankfully, Hollywood has recently caught on with the release of the hard-hitting documentary The Devil We Know, and now the Hollywood blockbuster Dark Waters starring Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins. Touted to be an Oscar contender, this is the terrifying true story of the Dupont® Teflon® toxic disaster that poisoned a community and was subsequently covered up by corporate America.
Synthetic nonsticks are not only harmful to our health, but to our planet’s. Designed to be rapidly disposable, they soon end up in landfill and are replaced, and the vicious cycle continues. Solidteknics estimates over 20 million nonstick pans are thrown into landfill every year in the USA. It’s an industrial and environmental disaster.
We are real mechanical engineers, with over two decades experience developing chef’s equipment around the world. We are deeply, personally, committed to health and sustainability. We are here for the long haul.
The Solidteknics iron pan is crafted with one piece of wrought American iron, is impossible to break, and cooks and seasons like cast iron.
We’re mechanical engineers who love to cook, and after 2+ decades trying to solve the problem, we finally developed (and patented) an innovative new way to form a pan body and handle in one single solid wrought monobloc, eliminating all welds, screws, and the dreaded rivets (the bane of every chef’s existence).
This seamless one-piece wrought construction makes our pans easy to clean, and basically indestructible (you can say goodbye to loose jiggly handles).
The chefs and experts went crazy over the Solidteknics US-ION formed iron pans ( www.solidteknicsusa.com/testify ), simply because everything that is important in high-performance cookware is superior to cast iron and pressed steel pans.
Our wrought iron pans have many things in common with cast iron: they are one-piece, have the same very low carbon mild steel composition, with the same seasoning and cooking methods. However, our iron is formed into a shape (“wrought”), not cast, which gives our US-ION cookware serious performance advantages over cast iron:
The proof is in the cooking, and our pans are already thoroughly tested, and loved!
The chefs and experts who own our original cookware all love the way our American iron seasons and cooks the same as cast iron, but weighs much less. They also love the fast and even heating from our highly conductive wrought iron, while still retaining plenty of heat for searing the biggest steaks. Rivetless for easy cleaning, and wobbly handles are never an issue. Forever-renewable natural non-toxic nonstick. Obvious multi-century durability. Competitive pricing, made by Americans, from American iron.
All of which equals an unbeatable set of high performance features for pro chefs, home cooks, camp cooks, bbq heroes, pit masters – anyone who wants lighter, professional quality iron performance, and healthy, sustainable cookware made in the USA from clean USA iron!
Our Solidteknics US-ION pans are so tough they come with a multi-century warranty (not a typo, or gimmick: see details below). So, with a little ongoing seasoning maintenance from you and your descendants, this pan will easily be nonstick for centuries, cooking with love for many generations as a healthy and treasured family heirloom.
Compare that with the widespread and damaging habit of yearly disposal and replacement of toxic, disposable, synthetic nonsticks!
Before the Hollywood treatment of the subject arrives on the big screen in late November (dramatized, for sure, but expected to be excellent), here’s the hard-hitting 2018 documentary that helped raise the public’s awareness of the scandal:
Like all our Kickstarter launches, if you pledge for it in this campaign you will receive a limited edition skillet engraved with ‘FIRST EDITION‘ and the date of manufacture.
Our long ergonomic handles are designed for comfort. Based on simple thermodynamics, we added ventilation gaps to our long, easy-to-hold handle so the heat from the pan won’t transfer to your hand (unlike thick, short cast iron handles).
We’ve also included a pouring rim around the entire pan to avoid messy drips down the pan sides. No need for pouring spouts!
There has been a huge shift among cooks to healthier and more sustainable cookware in recent years, due to the very real concerns about toxic, disposable synthetic-coated nonstick pans.
Many cooks rediscovered the advantages of traditional old cast iron skillets. Many are now tired of their disadvantages, including heavy weight, hot handles, and slow heating (and occasional cracking). Our solid wrought iron has solved ALL those disadvantages.
So durable, all US-ION pans come with a multi-century warranty.
Not a typo, and not a marketing gimmick. Just Solid engineering. It’s clear to engineers that this pan will last centuries.
The Solidteknics iron pan is crafted with one piece of ductile American iron, is impossible to break or crack, and cooks and seasons like cast iron. Best of all, it is much lighter in weight, smoother, and simply easier to use.
Our multi-century warranty applies whether used in the home, restaurant, or campfire…US-ION™ is basically indestructible!
For a lifetime of tough jobs, you need a tough lifetime+ pan. This is the toughest!
We want our supporters to buy our cookware only once, and hand them down for multiple generations as treasured heirlooms. That’s why we stamp the date of manufacture on every pan.
We are very proud of the acclaim of our products and our rapid success, but our greatest source of pride is the parents and grandparents already planning to hand down our pans as family heirloom history….
Our ferritic (non-Nickel) stainless steel nöni pans are available on our direct online store here: https://www.amazon.com/solidteknics and the 8″ Sauteuse is offered FREE with the BIG set in this Kickstarter.
Don’t miss this first/last opportunity: If you particularly like the look of these new US-ION pans, we recommend pledging for them now, while they are historic engraved First Edition of our first USA production, and while they are much lower in price than the eventual retails.
Please do not run first to social media with a public post before you understand the background. If you knew us you would know we have solid integrity, not just decades of experience in mechanical engineering development for chefs, and we are dedicated to making all our supporters happy.
We always give, and expect, mutual respect.
You have witnessed the birth of an innovative new era in USA cookware manufacturing, now follow the growth:
‘Solidteknics’, ‘Quenched’, ‘US-ION’, ‘AUS-ION’, and ‘nöni’ are trademarks of Solidteknics USA, Inc. (and its parent companies), and reserved for our exclusive use with cookware worldwide. Various innovations in Solidteknics products or product features are protected under utility patents, published and pending. Please do not copy any of our intellectual property.
To be clear: DO NOT COPY SOLIDTEKNICS COOKWARE DESIGNS OR TRADEMARKS!
The key utility features are protected in all our markets of interest. We defend our hard-earned innovations vigorously.
After a long and intensive development period, 21 (twenty-one!) successful Kickstarter campaigns in Australia, seven in the USA, overwhelmingly positive feedback from top chefs, strong retail sales and exports, and many production runs, SOLIDteknics is rapidly becoming established as a major chef equipment brand.
Though undeniably very hard work to launch manufacturing in Australia and the USA, on the scale of products and businesses I’ve launched this is certainly at the low risk end.
After decades in the chef equipment industry and a long R&D process, I’m very confident the product is the best it can be – in fact, the best in the world – for all the reasons presented in the project detail.
If our backers allow us reach our funding goal, the funds will be quickly applied to the tooling and production costs and we will ship on time (barring ‘acts of God’ or crazy ‘left-fielders’!), as promised. We have a long and proven track record of keeping our promises, and fixing any unexpected issues quickly and thoroughly, with mutual respect.
Apart from all the engineering experience, it is our amazing strong base of passionate supporters who really ensures our success with each campaign (then ongoing retail and export success). We couldn’t do it without YOU, and we are very grateful for all your support. Thank you all!
Mark J. Henry
Founder and development engineer
SOLIDteknics Pty Ltd