Borderline indestructible, there’s little you can do to actively ruin even cheap off brand cast iron. That said if you want it to work well it requires some maintenance. But that maintenance is of the hit it with a hose, wipe it with a greasy rag type.
I’ve got lots of lodge stuff. Some of it coming up on 20 years old. Not one piece of it has chiped, cracked, or had any sort of problem at all. Even the best quality, most sell yer grandma level bests of the bests cast iron sometimes has flaws. And when you get right down to it it’s a pretty brittle material, so it can crack. More than a few people are using Lodge pans that are on their 2nd life time. Company is over 100 years old. They weren’t top tier stuff even back in the day, but vintage Lodge still sells at a premium over unmarked and some other brands.
Contact the company they don’t have a stated warranty, but from what I hear if its not a rusted out pan you bought 3rd hand they’ll replace it.
I haven’t used mine the last few years as I regained access to the family Griswold and weird no-name Canadian pans from well before anyone still walking was alive. But it was awesome for searing steaks. IIRC its a little lighter weight and thinner than the typical lodge skillets. We have some other round griddles floating around and this was the only one I liked.
Not so much horrible. Its all the rage with cast iron geeks. The lodges will smooth out over time, as the nooks and crannies wear down and fill with season. But sanding it down gets you further, faster.
They never get quite as smooth. But as an owner of both, it doesn’t have much practical effect. If I had to call something out I don’t think the new stuff holds season as well as the old. But even the old lodge products are slicker and hold season better. And they supposedly haven’t changed shit in 100 years. So I think it might just be that any old pans you run into are broken in as hell.
