Your Lodge is a perfectly acceptable tool for the job at its price point, and I’m sure you will get a lot of good use out of it. But Paul’s original post was a reasonably empirical demonstration of why a Lodge doesn’t work just as good (sic). Whether the incremental improvements in performance are worth the increased cost is, as he said, entirely up to you.
On carbon steel - yes, for a real high-heat wok it’s what you want. Cast iron just won’t work, especially for a Northern wok with a handle. They are either too thin and fragile or too heavy.
How old does a cast iron skillet need to be before being labeled as “vintage?”
I have a Lodge I bought 30 years ago. It was dimpled then, but is now smooth. Lots of mass as well.
I’ve had my Lodge for 10 years and with regular use (and TLC) the cooking surface has become as smooth as my two carbon steel skillets. Much ado is made of the Lodge pebbled finish, but my sense is it makes seasoning easier when the skillet is newer. I’ve seen the Finex models (and some other cottage producer wares), but between the cost, heft (Finex weighs as much as my 7.25 qt. Le Creuset dutch oven) and odd Finex handle it was an easy pass.
I have all Lodge made in America cast iron pans. Maybe four of them. I love these pans. I have no idea how to get another $170 worth of value out of the $200 Finex pan. But if it is your thing, go for it.
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