I was very happy to have found these, because cooking is something you do every day, and the fancy and sometimes very expensive "no-stick" pans have been a bad joke for a long time. I've used cast iron cookware for many years, although probably like some other people, I have gravitated to the "non-stick" camp for the last few pans I've bought. But I've gone through several non-stick pans, for various reasons - one of which was that the handle was heavier than the pan (which was made of aluminum) which sometimes caused it to tip over backwards, because of the weight of the handle. Simply because the pan is out of balance might not seem to be too much of a problem, but when it tips backwards and spills hot grease out on the stove when the weight of the food is removed, it is a disaster waiting to happen. A tip-prone pan full of hot grease on a hot stove-top can flip without warning, with just the slightest bump or jostle. When this happens, catching you totally by surprise, your startled reaction to try to grab the pan could cause you to accidentally knock the pan - with the hot grease - off of the stove. This is very dangerous, because just imagine a grease fire starting on top of the stove, which would be disastrous, to say the least. Hot grease splashed on a hot burner equals instant fire. Of course, that's on an electric stove. On a gas range, the flame is already present. Either way, it's a potential disaster. And if the handle was sticking out over the edge of the stove, the pan could easily flip over backwards, throwing hot grease everywhere. Or worse yet, splash the hot grease back on you, giving you severe burns in addition to the grease fire! A potential catastrophe in the making, simply because the handle is heavier than the pan - which would not, at first glance, seem to be a big deal. But it definitely is a big deal. Something that might seem to be very minor can escalate completely out of control, with terrible consequences, before you even know it has happened. I didn't really pay close attention at first, but once I discovered that it was handle-heavy, I realized how dangerous that could be. It's not something that you notice right away, but while it's sitting on a hot stove burner is not exactly the best time to find it out. It only takes one small incident for disaster to strike, whether or not you were aware of it. One inadvertent wrong move could cause a catastrophe. When you discover that a pan has a problem with the handle being too heavy, the best time to get rid of it is immediately, because it can tip backwards in a split second even if you're aware of it, and the hot grease can easily catch fire. And then, a second no-stick pan didn't have a problem with the handle being too heavy, but did have other problems. Over time, the "non-stick" part became "always stick," which was disgruntling, because that was the primary reason you wanted a non-stick pan in the first place. In addition to the ugly spot in the middle of the pan where the non-stick surface wore off, it emitted a chemical stench (sort of like brake fluid) every time it was heated up - which they say can kill a parakeet, so you know it's not exactly healthy for humans, either. Plus, it also kills your appetite. That weird industrial odor has no place in the kitchen, and doesn't do a lot for the olfactory senses in anticipation of the delicious meal you are attempting to create. Ultimately, the non-stick part deteriorated, and you were left with a pan that would sometimes stick even worse than a plain aluminum or cast-iron pan. And so from every angle, nothing about the "non-stick" pans was a boon to cooking; in fact, it was a complete fiasco. The only saving grace about those pans was that they had an insulated handle, which was very handy, because you didn't need an oven mitt or a dishtowel to be able to pick them up. But then, that insulation was what made the handle heavier than the pan to start with! Probably my big meal of the day is breakfast - and I have long been accustomed to using three pans - all the same size - (8") to make breakfast; meat, hash browns, and eggs. Three different pans, with all three food items going at the same time. And so I bought one of these carbon steel pans, to try it out and see how I liked it. The first thing you notice is that they are heavy; not super-heavy like cast iron, but definitely heavy. And the handles are very long, which seems a little strange. But this is actually a plus, because that pan sits solidly on the burner, and it's not about to tip over and spill the food (or grease) out on the hot stove. And, the handle does get warm, but usually not so hot that you can't grasp the handle with your bare hand. As to the length of the handles; you get in the habit of positioning the handles sort of angled out to the side, instead of straight back. At the time I ordered my pan, I also ordered the red slip-on handle cover, which is especially made for the long handle, thinking that if I liked it, and got more pans later on, I could use it for all of them. To make a long story short, I now have three pans, and never have to use the handle cover, because the handles do get warm, but not so hot that you need an oven mitt to pick them up. Except when you heat them in the oven to re-season them, in which case you absolutely do need a handle cover of some sort, when you first take them out of the oven. But that's the beauty of these pans: Because there is no non-stick chemical on the cooking surface, and no insulating material on the steel handles, you can stick them in the oven and re-season them as often as needed (which probably will mean only two or three times) until they perform as well as a no-stick pan. (Actually, better. The non-stick aspect of these pans gets smoother with each use). To clean them, I just put them in the sink and run some hot water in them, and let them stand (nestled together) for a few minutes - or as long as it takes for me to remember them and come back to the sink, and then go over them with the Dobie pad and washcloth under hot running water, and rinse them off, and wipe them dry with the wrung-out wash cloth, and then put them back into the oven storage drawer, ready to go for the next time. Very hardy - very tough, and you can use sharp utensils without worrying about scratching them. Plus, your kitchen has the wonderful aroma of good food cooking, instead of smelling like brake fluid. Go for it! PS: Although it's probably not necessary, I've gotten in the habit of spraying all my pans, first thing, with non-stick spray, and then turning the heat on to pre-heat the pans, before I put any food or oil into them. And then, I read somewhere to always let the food warm up to room temperature, if possible, before you put it into the pan (which had been pre-heated) to assure that the food won't stick. However, I sometimes forget, and put frozen sausage patties right from the freezer into the pan. (And ditto, the frozen hash browns - right out of the bag.) But after they've been seasoned a few times, not much is going to stick anyway, so it doesn't prove to be a problem.
