If you do, would you care to tell me about your experiences with them?
I am looking for something that fills the gap between a Teflon pan and my heavy cast iron, from what I have read it seems like carbon steel is the way to go (and it might be able to get rid of the Teflon altogether? I am skeptical about that part.)
What does everyone here think? What are the pros and cons of Carbon Steel from your experience?
Maybe I’m not up on my cookware, but why carbon steel? It seems to me to be the worst of all worlds when you get to cookware.
Low heat transfer rate (hot spots), low thermal mass, will rust, and requires seasoning. All the hassle of cast iron, with none of the advantages (high weight, high thermal mass).
Why not get a good stainless steel pan or an aluminum one? They each have some of the advantages without all the disadvantages of carbon steel.
We have them, deBuyer brand. It’s not as non-stick as a teflon pan, but is far better than stainless steel for eggs. You have to keep up the seasoning and oiling, like with a cast iron pan, but you don’t need to baby it like a teflon, and it will last pretty much forever. I only used teflon for eggs and crepes anyway, so this works as a substitute for me.
I have a nice set of stainless steel pans with aluminum core that get a lot of use, I also have a few cast iron items. I am looking into carbon steel for a few reasons. First, because I like new things and I don’t know anything about carbon steel. I am doing a lot of cooking at home these days so I spend a lot of time thinking about my equipment and a decent quality carbon steel pan seems like it might be worth a try and not too expensive. Second, because I need to replace my nonstick pan and I am hoping that I can just buy this and use it forever instead and not have to replace it every couple of years. Maybe get a carbon steel and a really cheep nonstick for eggs.
Like I said, my thinking is that it fills the gap between a teflon pan and cast iron. I am thinking of it as being, potentially, like a light weight cast iron skillet. Maybe I still need a nonstick for frying the occasional egg, but mostly the nonstick duties get transferred to this guy. But I don’t actually know, so I was hoping people who had used them would tell me if I am right about it. If it is actually worth getting one.
Why not use stainless steel?
You tell me.
Get some Revereware or similar product. Long lasting, durable, reasonable heat distribution, easy to clean.
I think for all practical purposes your combination of clad stainless, cast iron and nonstick is more than enough to cover the bases…but if you’ve got a jones for a new toy and are interested in carbon steel how about a wok?
Grace Young’s “The Breath of a Wok” has good info about selection and seasoning, you can find it via Google Books or probably through your library.
Stainless steel is great, outside of needing a hammer, chisel and sandpaper to get it clean after frying an egg.
Carbon steel is what they make woks out of, it’s a perfectly legitimate material for a pan. Once seasoned, it’s similar to cast iron in terms of being non-stick, in a form that is significantly lighter and suited for other purposes.
I have this wok. It’s fine, but I have not been able to get mine anywhere near as non-stick as teflon, but maybe you’re better at seasoning pans than I am (a distinct possibility). I like it fine, but I’m not seeing any particular advantages over other cookwear.
I would really love a Wok and plan to get one someday…but right now I don’t have any place to store something that size. We have tons of storage, but the cabinets were all built too small to fit anything that isn’t a traditional size. I am storing my 12" CI skillet in the oven. I had a teflon wok that I had to give away when we moved into the new apartment because we need the space. I loved that thing. 
But a great suggestion. When I do move in a year or two, that is going to the top of my list.
Good to know. Thanks. That’s the sort of thing I was hoping to hear about.
What about ceramic titanium pans? (There may be other ceramic-metal combinations, but I’ve only used this type before.) IME, they’re at least as nonstick as Teflon-coated pans, but they are much more durable and they heat up better. Since the whole pan is made of the same material, there is no coating to scrape off with your metal utensils (they are scratchable if you try hard enough, like most pans, but they won’t be functionally ruined). These also heat up quickly and hold their heat well. They are comparable in weight/thickness to anodized nonsticks, which is to say, much heavier than carbon steel but not as heavy as cast iron. I also appreciate the fact that heating one of these to very high temperatures will not release weird-smelling (and apparently toxic) fumes; I like to sear things and move pans from the stove to the oven, but this is ill-advised with Teflon pans, as the coating can break down.
Frying an egg in a ceramic-metal pan is as awesome as frying an egg in a perfectly-seasoned cast iron skillet. So: very awesome.
I have a carbon steel wok that I adore. I take care to clean and season it right after I use it. It gets searingly hot in a short time but doesn’t retain heat very well, which is great for most vegetables and small pieces of meat (i.e., stir-fry style), not so great for anything that needs steady heat for a long period. I’ve never tried to cook eggs in it. The surface can be rather nonstick and will stay free of rust, but only if you are diligent about the seasoning. A small, good-quality carbon steel pan will be easy enough to maintain, and definitely more affordable than a comparable-quality ceramic titanium pan. I, personally, would go for the carbon steel, just to have a pan that is much more specialized than any old nonstick skillet (also, what’s the fun of having a pan that’s impossible to fuck up?! is my thinking). But I don’t think it could completely replace a nonstick.
(Man, I never thought I had so much to say about pans)
One more thing: people who have given up their Teflon pans for stainless steel and the like have told me that it is not a smooth adjustment; apparently nonsticks are very forgiving of using the wrong heat for a particular food. If you are interested in perfecting your cooking, it might be worth moving away from nonsticks all together. Pretty much everything can be cooked better in other cooking vessels with a little effort, knowledge, and experience.