T-Fal makes the worst stuff. (Too mild for Pit)

[Nars_Glinley]

@muldoonthief

But you can just sand off the rust & reseason it. It’s hardly “destroyed”.

That was my thinking as well. Pain in the butt, sure. Destroyed, no.

And if you’re geeky enough, you can rig up an electrolysis tank and remove the rust through the power of electricity.

[typoink]

@Shalmanese

There is a middle ground: go to a restaurant supply store instead of a kitchenware store. Restaurants need cheap pans that can be beaten around a lot and still perform. Vollrath and Demeyere are common brands in this arena.

Anything non-stick though is intrinsically disposable. Most restaurants cook primarily in Stainless Steel and reserve non-stick pans for specialty applications like eggs with the understanding that they get thrown out every 6 months.

Kitchen supply is the best answer, but the alternate answer (courtesy of Alton Brown years ago): go to a store that sells decent cookware and buy the pots and pans that are being sold individually from the big sets, especially if they’re on end caps. The major brands all sell a few items individually at a reasonable price hoping you’ll buy the rest of the set. You don’t need the rest of the set. Just buy a couple pieces here and there and mix and match. They rotate the “non-set” items occasionally.

I have a 10-inch heavyweight stainless steel calphalon skillet and 4-quart pot that have lasted fifteen years and still look great.