The Bad: 1) Heavy, so don't drop it ! Accidentally dropping this on a glass top will probably crack it. It's too big and awkward to pour food out of, so you'll have to transfer with utensils. Get used to that. It also won't fit into most divided double sinks, so washing is a little more cumbersome. 2) Rough surface - but smoother than most competitors - that needs some work. 3) Base isn't perfectly flat, and wobbles just a tiny bit. 4) Somewhat pricey, so make sure to get it on sale. 5) The excessive mass retains heat well, so the wok doesn't cool down as fast as you might need it to. 6) Performance on a coil element stove, ceramic burner, and glass infrared wasn't on par with induction. The difference was so apparent, that I don't think I would like the wok if I wasn't using it exclusively on induction. I did not have access to try on a gas stove. 7) You still won't achieve smokey Wok hei performance like a commercial kitchen with a massive gas flame pit will, nor will the Lodge perform as well as a dedicated outdoor propane setup on your patio. The Good: 1) Excellent performance on induction, whereby you can get an amazing sear zone at the base. Once heated up, it will keep up a good smokey fry/sear. Even on a small 1200 watt induction burner the wok keeps hot enough with the burner maxed out. On a larger burner capable of 2000 watts, you'll have plenty of power to spare and can light your food on fire if need be. 2) Perfectly concave shape, allowing for easy and even tumbling of food. You're not stirring the food like a flat bottom pan, but tumbling it into an out of the sear zone. Control of cooking is far better than those flat bottom woks, or fry pans. 3) Comes pre-seasoned, but just barely enough. You'll want to re-season. 4) As far as searing goes, this is the best setup I've used so far for use on a home (consumer) range. Consumer ranges are limited in their output, and every little bit of cast iron helps to get intense heat into the food. As mentioned above, you won't get that true smokey Wok hei magic like in a commercial kitchen, but I'm convinced this is the best that can be done on a stove top. If you're a hardcore foodie, you'll have a dedicated propane setup outdoors - which for me is just too much hassle. WHAT TO DO: 1) I sanded the interior smoother, removing the sharp nodules of cast iron. I used an angle grinder with a scour pad, followed by a wire brush (about 10 mins). You could also do it by hand too - but that might take hours. Before smoothing the interior, my metal utensils would skip or lightly catch on some larger than normal bumps. Since my other cast iron cookware pieces are literally 100 years old, I was used to a glass smooth finish - I really hated the factory Lodge finish - and still do! Regardless, after polishing the interior, I'm now slowly building up a season which will probably take a year or two. Already the seasoning looks better than the Lodge original. 2) The base wasn't perfectly flat, and wobbled slightly on my glass induction top. Twenty seconds with a belt sander to the base, followed by a polishing with finer and finer sand paper using a random orbital sander solved that problem. Be sure to round the edges of the rings so they don't scratch your glass top. This modification was important, as when tossing food, the wok would wobble annoyingly (making a noise too) when you were required to vigorously stir. The wok would also rotate and spin, sometimes moving off the burner and triggering the induction to shut down. I'm sure this isn't a problem with coil or gas stoves - but glass tops and ceramic folks might have issues. Perhaps it was just the sample I had. The base had no apparent machining marks - suggesting it was just popped out of the casting with little or no final tweaking. Expected in this day and age. 3) On my induction stove top, I do the following to get as close to that smokey flavor as possible. I try to use to most powerful burner (2000w), that is sized accordingly to base diameter. Using a medium to low setting (4-5), I warm up the wok for 10 minutes. After adding the oil, most recipes call for expelling chopped garlic/onions/ginger into the frying oil etc.. I turn the induction up to 6 or 7 for this, and fry for only 30 seconds. Most recipes will now call for the meat to be added, as to which I increase the induction range up to 8 or 9. For the most part, the Lodge holds its heat and keeps the frying relatively dry. Finally, when it comes time to add your vegetables, noodles, or whatever that has a high water content, I turn the induction range to "overboost". Most ranges have this uncontrolled setting that unleashes full power for a brief period of time (before the circuit overheats). You will need this extra power to keep your fry from going soupy once the veggies are added. Most induction tops can do this for about 5-10 minutes before automatically reverting to automatic cool down, which is more than enough time to sear. It's still not the same as having a 60,000 btu flame, but it's the best compromise if you like having a glass top kitchen. I still gave the Lodge Wok five stars because it really has no competition for quality versus price, and when on sale - it is reasonable. If this wok had been expertly machined from the factory (like pieces from 100 years ago) it would probably cost three times as much as its' regular retail. I didn't get a perfect specimen out of the box, and you shouldn't expect one either. The finish quality is in-line with other Lodge products I've purchased.
