Gotta give the USPS some credit--

[Kev Williams]

This is a Christmas present I ordered online, a nice Lodge 20"x13" cast iron skillet. Weighs about 11 pounds.

Note the Amazon box. The skillet, and a small wad of paper was shipped in it.
box.jpg
Notice there's not a lick of tape on the bottom of the box.
The bottom of the box was never sealed, yet the Post Office managed to get it from Kentucky to me without it falling out somewhere or someone stealing it.
Honestly, I'm amazed...

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Wow. That really is amazing. My guess is there were several other wads of paper in it when it went out the door and it left a trail along it's way. Maybe no one along the route knew the value of cast iron cooking!

[Bruce Page]

That is incredible.

I'm always amazed at the efficiency of Amazon and its assorted deliverers.
It's not the same if you order from one of their associate storefronts. I ordered a Nikon macro lens 2 weeks ago and it is still in transit, it should be here Tuesday..

[Rich Riddle]

I am a big fan of the USPS and FedEx. In our area UPS leaves about everything to be desired and routinely extends delivery dates for several days. The USPS always comes through though.

[Bert Kemp]

I'm amazed too Kev
I sent some medicine for my daughter because she ran out. I sent it 2 day priority mail. It was delivered to the post office in 2 days and the post office tracking said it was at the PO had been sorted and was ready for pick up. The PO is 3/4 mile from her house and because it was mixed snow and ice she decided to walk to the PO, rather then scrap and clean off the car and then drive in the mess. She hates driving in bad weather. She gets to the PO and they tell her their to busy to go to the back room and locate here package. So she doesn't say anything just figures they won't give it to here and she walks back home.Now this was a Saturday and the PO is only open till noon , so now she has to wait till Monday and guess what Monday they had another snow storm so she walked again..
I find this totally unacceptable. These people get paid to do a job and just because its busy is not an excuse not to do the job your paid for.

[mark kosse]

Someone steal it? Then they'd have to work.


i think the po does great work these days. That wasn't always the case though. But let's face it, their charging for it. In the first 200 years of our country the price of a stamp went fro 1 cent to 12 cents. In the last 40 years it's more than quadrupled.

[Bruce Wrenn]

[QUOTE=mark kosse;2635682In the last 40 years it's more than quadrupled.[/QUOTE]And so has everything else. Notice the mail trucks running on Sunday with Amazon Prime deliveries? Couple months back, ordered a washing machine pump off ebay. Seller was in Miami, and order was placed Friday after lunch. If Post Office were open on Sunday, I would have gotten my pump then as it was at local PO. I ship my saw blades to Dynamic Saw in Bufallo NY. Ship then on Monday, and they have them on Wednesday same week. Grand daughter lives in Hawaii, and it take three days for USPS to deliver packages either way. Only problem I've had with USPS is getting thing thru New York City. Sometimes it takes a week to get across town, and a day to get here (I'm in central NC.)

[Todd Willhoit]

This is a Christmas present...

I don't know if it is for you or not, but you may find that the "smooth" side is nothing like the smooth, milled bottom of an old-school cast iron pan. I took an angle grinder with a sandpaper disk to mine and then re-seasoned. Works like a champ.

[Kurt Kintner]

I don't know if it is for you or not, but you may find that the "smooth" side is nothing like the smooth, milled bottom of an old-school cast iron pan. I took an angle grinder with a sandpaper disk to mine and then re-seasoned. Works like a champ.

I do the same thing with a palm sander ..... Even Lodge doesn't machine theirs, anymore....

[Bruce Wrenn]

Look in thrift stores / flea markets for either Wagners, or Griswalds. They are the best. When you fry meat in cast iron, always make gravy. Makes pan "wipe clean," rather than scrub clean. When pans get coated with grease, build a bonfire and drop pans into coals. It will burn excess grease off, then you have to clean and season them.

[Kurt Kintner]

I put A little water in a hot fry pan, and after it cools,
I run it under hot water.... The residue wipes off easily...
Then coat it with oil, and put it away ...
We have a 12 inch one that was a wedding gift to
my mother in 1920 .... Use it almost every day ....

[Jim Becker]

Even though there will always be "those times" when there's a "shipping fail", in general, I've found the "big three" delivery services to be pretty darn good and also considerate. USPS, UPS and FedEX are "regulars" at our address and it's a rare moment that something isn't handled properly and competently, even when there is an issue with the packaging.

I'm also a fan of cast iron, but I've moved up to Staub enameled cast iron...a bit more expensive (although I take advantage of sales), but with all the benefits, no seasoning required and easy cleanup/care. With the exception of on SS skillet I use specifically for certain meat-related activities, if I'm not using the Staub product, the cooking is done in heavy Zwilling ceramic non-stick SS cookware. One thing I've really liked about the Staub is the availability of larger pieces, such as the 13", two handled pan I use frequently for family portion meals. The grill pan is a larger 13" unit, too. I still use my Lodge 11" grill pan, but primarily for asparagus.

[Brian W Smith]

Amazing story.....would have made a wager it not,making the trip unscathed.

I have about 10 "working" C.I. skillets.The best are so slick,you can see your reflection.At one of our party's years ago,there was a gentleman who designed industry flat tops,and other hard-core cooking stuff.He started giving me the physics behind why you want skillets slick as glass....just sayin,there is science behind the notion.

Edit;I use green scotchbrite and water to clean C.I.,the whole seasoning thing is very misleading.Seasoning is a production term,for instance....good cast iron machinery is "seasoned" before getting it's final grinding.There are some exceptions....processes actually that have or does circumvent the tradition.