Hi all.
I’ve come across this German brand called STUR. They specialise in thin lightweight cast iron pans that are sanded and machined thin and smooth.
At the moment they only make 2 sizes of pans.
Any of you guys who knows the brand. And can share some thoughts about it?
Thanks.
No familiarity. Smooth is great. Thin and light I’m not so sure about.
Have you considered Combekk? https://www.combekk.com/shop/?yith_wcan=1&product_cat=fry-pan&filter_material=enamelled-cast-iron&query_type_material=or
Sorry Søren, I’m having the same thoughts that thin/light CI might not be good.
But I’d surely be willing to put that 28 cm/11 inch pan through its paces if you’re willing to gift it to me. I’d do several rounds of (US style) bacon to season it well, then 4 or 14 steaks seared, then some over-easy eggs. 
And to be more serious, looking at the photos, they don’t seem really “smooth” for cast iron.
But they are pretty pans. I just couldn’t pay that EUR 170 until someone else I trusted it ran some foods (like above) through it and said it was fantastic, better than an 11 inch similar carbon steel I can get for less.
Yeah I have seen the combekk and they are really nice. Also decently priced compared to other enameled cast iron. But for frypans I’m more into non enameled stuff.
I had the same thoughts myself, I’m not sure the properties of cast iron will improve from being thin.
On the other hand there are some American makers that make pans pretty similar, smooth and light. They look really nice too. And are also pretty expensive. Stargazer is a brand that comes to mind.
I think that carbon steel makes a bit more sense over thin cast iron, mostly since cast iron is more brittle.
I own one of these thinner Ronneby Bruk Ultralight Pro CI pans and its been fine though, but I don’t use it so much and it wasn’t all so smooth originally. I actually orbital sanded the bottom of it and there is still a bit of those milling marks from the original finish visible. This pan heats up pretty quickly compared to thicker CI and that can be nice sometimes, like on lunch break for some eggs and yesterdays potatoes.:
I have sanded also my Skeppshult 24cm and 28cm cast iron frypans, I did it because the finish was pretty coarse and I liked how my carbon steel was so smooth to use with metal spatulas. Here in this photo its the sanded 28cm frypan and my 28cm deep pan, which is not, and wont be, sanded.
An actually smooth cast iron can start behaving a bit more like carbon steel in how it holds seasoning. I never do any separate seasoning for my cast irons, but all my unsanded Skeppshults look about like the deep pan there and then these sanded ones live their own life, kind of. I own maybe a few more than enough cast iron and carbon pans.
I can see you have a good point about thin cast iron VS carbon steel. The only thing I can come up with is that the thin cast iron should be less prone to warping then carbon steel.
I really enjoy using raw cast iron pans too. I have a low walled 26 cm skeppshult like yours, but with a wood handle. Very nice pan!
More surprisingly a rather cheap lodge pan has also impressed me and is a delight to use. The price on sale was only 32 euros.
No info to relay but Damn! Those are pretty to look at.
Indeed… very nice design.
And I like that the cooking surface is large compared to the outer diameter.
It’s a nice-looking pot and I like the size of the dance floor. Not worried about light/thin at all–only heat retention is affected: it’ll be less in a lighter pot, say a Lodge of the same size. But heat retention is something we all account for in whatever pot we use, and in this case a person used to Lodges will simply have to make adjustments. But smooth?–that seems questionable from the photos, which suggest a little different from what’s currently on the market. My old iron–bought used at flea markets decades ago–are skating-rink smooth; the Stur’s surface doesn’t seem even close to that.
If I recall; correctly there was a Japanese brand (Iko??) of light, thin iron introduced a couple of decades ago. I saw some at Williams Sonoma once; they looked a lot like the Stur. The NYTimes raved about them but they seem to have got nowhere with consumers.
well, if they make a good pan - good for it.
I have a number of circa 1900 cast iron pans. they are much lighter than the current cast iron crop.
one idiotic theory I’ve seen… “all the good iron ore was used up so the new stuff is . . .”
total HS. today’s metallurgy “expertise” can produce much more better cast iron than any of those 1800’s companies.
looked at the linked products. they are not comparable to ‘the old stuff’ that was cast, then sand/bead blasted, then turned on a lather - resulting it a seriously smoother finish.
STUR has apparently walked back to the clay casting technology to achieve it’s ‘smoothness’ - it’s good, it’s not comparable to a machined casts iron surface.
and obtw, there are companies / individuals who will take that rough sand cast iron and turn it into 'really smooth cast iron." DIY - drill, round sanding dsisk attachment & crocus cloth, , , , will do the same - very dirty - very rewarding…
Hi all.
I ended up buying the pan.
So far I am really pleased with it. Finish is really good, it’s reasonable light(still heavier then most stainless and nonstick)
It heats up and reacts faster then my thicker cast iron like skeppshult and lodge. But still holds the heat good enough to caramelize larger pieces of meat.
It is really really smooth on the inside. I tried to capture it on pictures. But it’s a bit difficult. The outside is more rough
The bottom is clearly machined and concave. It sits perfectly strait on the glass cooktop without any kind op woble.
That’s great to hear.
Sounds like it reacts a lot like a Black Steel Pan with some moderation/taming and a bit of heat retention. Sounds like a good balance to me.
Actually… that sums it up pretty good. You hit the nail on the head 
