How It's Made
American-Made from Beginning to End
The whole process happens here, from raw materials to packaging and everything in between.
Casting
Our skillets begin their journey at our foundry, where domestically sourced, primarily recycled iron is melted at 2,800°F. The molten iron is refined and checked for purity, then poured into molds made of sand and clay in a process known as “green sand” casting. Once cooled, the molds are released on a shakeout line, leaving behind a solid, raw casting. Each skillet then undergoes preliminary cleanup grinding. It is at this point that other cast iron cookware is seasoned, packaged and shipped to retailers, but not ours. A Stargazer skillet is just beginning to take shape.
Machining
The raw castings are sent to our machine shop, where they are individually loaded into a custom-built fixture and CNC machined across the entire interior surface. This allows us to dial in the optimal weight and thickness of each skillet with precision. This process is also the first step towards creating a cooking surface that is naturally non-stick and easy to clean.
Surface Finishing
The skillets pass through inspection and move on to the finishing process. Our craftsman use a series of hand tools to grind and smooth any burrs or other artifacts remaining from casting and machining. After being meticulously shaped by hand, each skillet undergoes our proprietary two-step surface finish treatment that yields the smooth, micro-textured cooking surface that has made Stargazer famous, designed to easily release food but hold onto seasoning.
Seasoning
Each Stargazer Cast Iron skillet is then hand-seasoned with two coats of all-natural, certified non-GMO oil. We use our own blend of canola, grapeseed and sunflower oil that gives our skillets their trademark bronze color. These high smoke point oils create a durable seasoning so your skillet arrives ready to cook right out of the box. For customers who prefer to season their own skillet, we offer a bare finish option that serves as a blank canvas for your secret family seasoning recipe.
Fulfillment
After a final inspection, a Stargazer employee packs each skillet in a box that is made just a couple miles down the road from our factory. Orders ship from our headquarters in Allentown, PA.