What's the ideal skillet weight?

What's a typical weight by skillet type

A skillet weight will vary depending on the material, the following are typical weights for different types of skillets. (Note, some differences in the table below can be attributed to wall height of pans used.)

Why should I care about skillet weight?

Heavier pans are less likely to warp or flex when cooking or baking, heat distributes more evenly over their surface, and they'll retain that heat longer. Lighter pans heat up more quickly and they're easier to flip food when sautéing. How easy a pan is to cook with varies based upon your own strength. Subjectively, here's how I feel about various skillet weights:

• 5+ lb - Heavy. Challenging to saute, unwieldy to clean
• 4-5 lb - Slightly unweildy, but thick.
• 3-4 lb - Good weight for saute-ing
• 0-3 lb - Very light. If this is a 10" cast iron / carbon steel, it may cook unevenly and potentially warp.

Please note that there are multiple factors that can influence weight:

• Gauge - How thick the pan is (thicker pans will retain heat longer, but may take a longer to heat up)
• Handle length / thickness - Longer handles increase the weight of the pan
• Angle and height of sides - Saute pans, french skillets, and frying pans have different sides and may weigh more if taller
• Material - Blacksmith skillets are typically made of only or mostly steel, but many commercial pans are made of other materials. Some pans are clad in multiple materials (Aluminum or Copper between layers of steel are sometimes used to increase heat distribution), whereas other pans are made of lighter materials that are often less durable (ceramics)

Commercial Skillets and their Weights

It's useful to compare blacksmith skillets with commercially available skillets to understand their weight differences. For that purpose, I've collected the weights of a pretty arbitrary selection of commercial skillets. (I added an affiliate link to the Amazon pans, but I'm really just trying to show a selection of weights here.)