Why choose Solidteknics wrought iron? 

The Solidteknics iron pan is crafted with American iron, is impossible to break, and cooks and seasons like cast iron. Best of all, it is much lighter in weight and simply easier to use.

Whether you’re chasing the perfect caramelized brussels sprouts or finding the just-right sear to your steak, our Solidteknics wrought iron pan is as versatile in the kitchen as you are. From coals, to cooktops, to the kitchen table, this pan was designed for the cook who wants to make memories just as much as recipes. 

Clever design, clever cooking 

We took inspiration from French carbon steel pans — for centuries a chef's favorite — and made ours even better. We have discovered an innovative way to form a pan body and handle as a single solid monobloc, removing all welds, screws, and the dreaded rivets (the bane of every chef's existence). This seamless wrought construction makes our pans easy to clean, and basically indestructible (you can say goodbye to loose jiggly handles). 

Old-timers, you thought American-made 'wrought iron' was extinct?! In the nostalgic old puddled and hand-wrought form it is. Good news: this is real iron, and it's machine wrought (worked into final seamless pan shape from flat), so it is indeed 'wrought iron'. Just modernized, optimized, revolutionized for a new era in cookware. Time for a new definition!

At solid 3mm, our thicker pans won't warp under high heat like thin carbon steel pans, which means you can safely cook with any heat source, from induction to roaring campfire. Our wrought iron is also more conductive than carbon steel, cast iron, and stainless steel meaning that our pans heat quickly, and foods cook evenly and consistently, every time. The biggest steaks also don't cool down our 3mm thick, conductive iron mass: they sear like heavier cast iron! 

Made in Chicago, USA 

We stand by our products for your lifetime, and for the lifetimes of your descendants. We know our wrought iron will become one of your favorite kitchen tools, to be passed on to future generations along with your best-loved family recipes. 

Why manufacture in the US? We've brought our Australian-patented design to America to be closer to our growing community, and created a sustainable model to support manufacturing in Chicago. We're creating the same innovative seamless one-piece wrought iron and stainless cookware as we do in Australia, but with 100% American-made materials.

The Solidteknics iron pans here are darker because they have been naturally seasoned.
The Solidteknics iron pans here are darker because they have been naturally seasoned.

Seasoning is easy   

Solidteknics pans offer a non-toxic nonstick surface that you build and maintain yourself over time. Cook with fats and oils, wash carefully, and our pans will keep renewing for many lifetimes. Our pans season exactly like cast iron (or carbon steel skillets and woks): build your seasoning following instructions in Section 2 below, or discover your own seasoning ritual.

See details of all Reward offers listed in right column (on desktop), or in 'menu' on mobile. 

** Those are the savings off our recommended retail prices, though prices will eventually vary by retailer. Like any product, actual retail pricing is beyond our control, however prices are likely to be even higher than the RRPs above due to the high margin expectations of some retailers.  

Why launch at such low prices? So as many cooks as possible can experience the delights of wrought iron, and make the switch from heavy cast iron and disposable synthetic nonstick. After all, 'the proof is in the cooking'!  

In composition, our iron is very similar to traditional cast iron pans, but our design is formed from a single flat wrought sheet of iron, and not by casting molten iron into a sand mold. Our very pure wrought iron is a better conductor of heat, providing a faster and more even heat distribution. 

Our wrought iron has about half the thickness and therefore half the weight of cast iron, so it's far easier to handle as a daily 'workhorse' skillet. If you're struggling with the weight of your cast iron but want to keep all the seasoning and cooking benefits, you need our half-weight wrought iron!

Wrought iron is also tougher and will never crack from impact or thermal shock like cast iron can (we show impact cracking in our video because more cast iron pans are lost in accidental kitchen tumbles than some people think). 

Being wrought in one piece of very tough material, our pans will clearly last centuries!

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 and slow heating (and occasional cracking).  

Naturally-seasoned iron pans are very low stick - the only similarity they bear to synthetic nonstick pans. Our seamless, rivetless single piece of tough wrought iron is non-toxic and will easily last multiple centuries. Pair that with simple seasoning that can be renewed yourself, indefinitely, and you have the most durable and sustainable pans we know.

This is your exclusive opportunity to join the revolution in wrought iron cookware. For the first time in America, we’re offering a series of “First Edition” stamped, wrought iron pans. This is an exclusive offer for this campaign only and will never be available in stores as First Edition. Make a pledge for this campaign, and you are also paying a much lower price than eventual retail. 

How did we get here?  

Thanks to extensive research and development in Australia, the securing of several patents, and receiving lots of love from cooks worldwide along the way, we have now brought our manufacturing to the USA — and we couldn't be more excited! 

After 12 successful Australian campaigns (and retail and export success) for our innovative, patented, chef-acclaimed, Australian-made Solidteknics cookware, our first campaign for nöni USA wrought stainless cookware was launched in March, and brought with it an amazing amount of support from our American fans. Now we're back with USA Kickstarter #2.

What an honor to be covered by the New York Times, again! See section 2 for more background on Mark J. Henry, our founder and development engineer.
What an honor to be covered by the New York Times, again! See section 2 for more background on Mark J. Henry, our founder and development engineer.

Cook with these Chicago-made wrought iron pans, and we know you will love them like top chefs and experts already do. After proving the performance of our US cookware with both professional and home chefs, we aim to make the jump to broad US retail.

We hope to build a revolution in seamless conductive cookware in the US, just like we did in Australia, and leave a legacy of healthy sustainable cookware for future generations. 

This is our vision. To make it a reality, we need your support. 

The following reviews are independent and unsponsored. These quotes show real love for our wrought iron seamless pans made in Sydney to the same design as our Chicago pans:  

Read many more independent Facebook reviews as well as those posted on our SOLIDteknics website. 

(Note that we never 'plant' reviews. All are written by unsponsored chefs, food media, experts, and home cooks who understand the significance of this revolution in seamless, healthy, sustainable, multi-generation cookware.) 

Limited first edition, offered only on Kickstarter   

All our Kickstarters have included a "First Edition" stamp on the bottom of each pan. These limited and exclusive pans will only be offered on Kickstarter, and will also include the month/year of manufacture. Welcome to your new family heirloom! 

These rare pans are only made with 'First Edition' for backers of this Kickstarter campaign, and this is the first ever Solidteknics USA production batch of our patented wrought iron pans.
These rare pans are only made with 'First Edition' for backers of this Kickstarter campaign, and this is the first ever Solidteknics USA production batch of our patented wrought iron pans.

Be part of the revolution! Now is the time to secure your rare piece of heirloom first-batch US cookware history, before it goes 'mainstream'.

Solidteknics cookware is already acclaimed by chefs and experts, as well as health- and sustainability-conscious home cooks around the world. Our new USA cookware is bringing local production to our rapidly growing US support base.  

But it's a long road. Disposable synthetic non-sticks still dominate the retail shelves...and landfills. We're driving a growing grassroots movement that rejects disposable and toxic cookware, and changing attitudes. For the sake of future generations, we will continue to push for a reversal in unsustainable consumer habits worldwide. 

Leave the engineering to us, we've got it covered, but we need YOU to support our vision! 

Follow our USA Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, subscribe to our Solid Supporters Newsletter, and join the wonderful community on the Facebook Solidteknics Cookware Lovers Group. Share the news about the finest iron cookware available today with your friends and followers. 

Tell them they're now made in the US, and that these new heirloom, collectible FIRST EDITION US-ION™ pans are only available this once, by pledging here on Kickstarter before the campaign deadline. 

Together we'll make history, not just the world's finest new breed of seamless wrought iron cookware. 

 Thank you and happy cooking!! 

 Mark, Steve, Belinda, Marshall, and the Solidteknics USA Team 

If you don't know our Solid history: a background summary   

Multi-century warranty?!   

Unusual (we think we're the first), but true: we are offering a multi-century warranty for all our indestructible, 1-piece wrought cookware, including US-ION™.  

This is not a marketing gimmick. We're not marketeers, we're engineers.....and this is solid engineering.  

Made from one seamless 3mm wrought monobloc of very tough wrought iron, this material won't crack like cast iron. There are no synthetic coatings or enamel, and no rivets, welds, seams or clad layers to eventually fail. It would be clear to any experienced engineer that there is far more than one century of life in US-ION™ cookware, and quite possibly millenia.....  

Our multi-century warranty applies whether used in the home, restaurant, or campfire...US-ION™ is basically indestructible!  

Sustainability and legacy through multi-century durability  

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 immensely gratified by the acclaim of our products and our sales success, but our greatest source of pride is the parents and grandparents already planning to hand down our pans as family heirloom history....

The smooth US-ION surface: Raw wrought iron! 

In Australia we switched from a smooth surface to a shot-peened surface in 2015, but our US importer has been selling both: the orginal smooth Aussie pans have remained popular with USA cooks, and it's a lot less expensive to produce. 

So we're continuing with smooth for our Chicago-made wrought iron pans, and we're shipping them Raw, with no shot peening or seasoning, just coated in a mixture of natural beeswax and vegetable oils to protect from rust in transit. Note: French steel chef pans have long used beeswax to protect from rust. It's nutural and non-toxic. We're combining it with vegetable oil so it's an even better foundation for seasoning.

We'll leave the seasoning for you to use your favorite method (like any cast iron or steel pan), or follow our instructions below. 

Build your own natural non-toxic nonstick with seasoning 

US-ION pans are ready to start seasoning yourself in the normal way: the same as any bare cast iron pan, French steel pan, or carbon steel wok, if you have experience seasoning those. Our US-ION pans come coated in a special blend of natural beeswax and vegetable oils (all totally healthy and non-toxic), so you can warm the pan and wipe it down with a paper towel, then go ahead and season in any of the normal ways. The remaining thin coating is a good foundation for seasoning! Or, you can strip our coating and start again with your own seasoning oil/method.

If you don't know how to build your own seasoning, see our intro video below for 'best practice', and our instructions here: solidteknicsusa.com/ironcare or the many different seasoning guides all over the internet. 

Note that our video method is extreme 'best practise' for our pans, and not compulsory. For example, scuffing all over makes a much more even result on smooth pans (anchors seasoning better), and 3 oven seasons make a more rust-resistant pan all over. If you have the patience, you will be rewarded with beautiful seasoning more quickly. If not, you will still get there with any seasoning method!

FAQs   

Expensive?  

Certainly not as cheap as the cheapest flimsy imports, but competitive with other top brands in price, and far superior in durability and performance. An investment in 'paying it forward' for future generations! 

Please note that we have set our prices for the new US-ION™ First Edition pans artificially low (unsustainable at retail) for backers of this launch campaign. Prices will be much higher when they eventually reach retail after the campaign. 

We hope you will agree that US-ION™ is still great value, as an investment in a lifetime of solid cooking love, and an heirloom to pass down for many generations.  

Slow shipping?    

Please remember we're creating something new and revolutionary in this industry, from scratch, and 100% made in the USA. For the very first production run we are setting ship dates conservatively to avoid disappointing backers. We are well known for fulfilling our shipping promises in our Kickstarter campaigns, and we are determined to maintain the same record of excellence in the USA.  

New to crowdfunding?  

To understand the crowdfunding-for-rewards concept (not shareholding, or retail), please first visit: www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics  

We hope you will understand and support our vision while we make history, not just the world's finest cookware!  

A passion for engineering world-leading chef equipment   

More background history:   

A passion for sustainable business:  

Engineering for legacy, not just sales:  

A passion for good food:  

Our founder and design engineer, Mark J. Henry, with decades of experience developing chef equipment in Australia, USA, France, also loves to cook (just don't call him a stiff engineer LOL!)
Our founder and design engineer, Mark J. Henry, with decades of experience developing chef equipment in Australia, USA, France, also loves to cook (just don't call him a stiff engineer LOL!)

Horses for courses.....  

We still prefer the natural nonstick of seasoned iron for high temp oil/fat-based frying, grilling, etc, but..... 

Skillets in stainless are also easier to maintain, and faster to clean if you're in a hurry. Tradeoff: they'll never be as nonstick as seasoned iron, so every kitchen needs both kinds!  

Our successful first USA launch campaign in March 2018 was for our nöni seamless ferritic stainless cookware, made in the same way (same patents) as this US-ION wrought iron (see the nöni campaign here http://kck.st/2DLpSaV ). 

We are taking pre-orders for the retail production run of these noni pans (August shipping) on our Solid Supporters online store here: solidteknicsusa.com/shop

A track record of successful campaigns, reliable shipping, and thousands of happy first-edition backers!  

To see all our past Australian campaigns click on the graphic. We don't say this to be boastful, but to show the depth of support we've so rapidly built in the cooking community for new innovation in iron and stainless pans.
To see all our past Australian campaigns click on the graphic. We don't say this to be boastful, but to show the depth of support we've so rapidly built in the cooking community for new innovation in iron and stainless pans.

All this Kickstarter funding success certainly has been important for turning our dream for a new world-leading trans-Pacific cookware industry into a reality. However, it was our supporters sharing the love on social media that really made Solidteknics a success with cooks around the world. 

Sure, we got the engineering right, but without so many strong supporters we would still only be 'dreamers with prototypes'!

Could I just wait until they come to retail?

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.  

Still have questions?  

We are also legendary for our customer care! If you have any concerns about anything in this campaign, please contact us first via Kickstarter direct message or email [email protected] 

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:  

www.facebook.com/solidteknicsusa/ 

www.facebook.com/groups/solidteknicsusers

www.solidteknicsusa.com/contact   

*Patent and Trademark notice:   

'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.  

The key utility features are protected in all our markets of interest. We defend our hard-earned innovations vigorously.