Smithey vs Stargazer: More Pan, or Less Weight?

The short answer: buy the Stargazer unless you need the extra inch of cooking surface. These two pans are closer than almost any other pair in premium cast iron — both American-made, both smooth-surfaced, both sold with a lifetime warranty by a maker who publishes real numbers — and on the two figures that matter they split cleanly. Smithey’s No. 12 publishes a 10.5-inch cooking surface. Stargazer’s 12-inch publishes 9.4 inches. Smithey publishes “+/- 8.7 lbs”. Stargazer publishes 6.5 lb. One of those is more pan; the other is less weight and less money.

We own neither of these skillets and have not tested them. Here is exactly what we do instead: read what each maker publishes on its own site, record the disagreements rather than average them, and tell you which number actually changes your cooking.

What each maker publishes

Both brands are unusually good about specifications, so this table is almost entirely their own figures rather than ours. The one row we filled in from a live retailer check is the last one.

The cooking surface is the real difference

Both pans are sold as 12-inch skillets and both publish a 12-inch rim, so on a shelf they look like the same object. They are not. A little over an inch separates their flat cooking floors, and because area goes up with the square of the diameter, 10.5 inches against 9.4 inches is roughly a quarter more usable surface on the Smithey. In practice that is the difference between four chicken thighs with space around them and four chicken thighs touching.

Stargazer is candid about this in its own copy: it describes the 12-inch as “similar to a vintage size #10”, which is exactly right — the pan behaves like a classic 10-ish-inch skillet with a generous flared rim rather than like a true 12. That flare is not a flaw; it is where the “drip-free flared rim” comes from, it makes pouring off fat genuinely easier, and it is part of why the pan is so much lighter. But if you came looking for the biggest flat surface you can get in a premium American skillet, Stargazer’s 12-inch is not it, and the rim diameter will not tell you that. This is the same rim-versus-floor gap we untangle in our cast iron skillet size guide, and it is the single most common reason a premium pan disappoints on arrival.

The weight is the real trade-off

Two and a bit pounds does not sound like much until the pan has food in it. A Smithey No. 12 at a published 8.7 pounds empty, loaded with a roast chicken and its fat, is a deliberate two-handed lift out of a hot oven. A Stargazer at 6.5 pounds is the heaviest pan most people will happily move one-handed. Neither is light — both are heavier than carbon steel and heavier than a comparable Field Company pan, which is the brand that competes specifically on thin, light castings.

Weight is not purely a cost, either. Mass is stored heat, and stored heat is what holds a sear when a cold steak hits the pan — the reason we rank heavy pans where we do on our best cast iron skillets for steak page. The Smithey has more of it, over a wider floor. If your cooking is mostly high-heat searing for a full table, that combination is genuinely the better tool. If your cooking is eggs, cornbread and weeknight dinners for two, the extra mass is two extra pounds you lift several times a week for no benefit.

Finish, handle and the things neither pan changes

Both brands build their identity on a smooth cooking surface, and they get there differently: Smithey calls its finish “satin-smooth, polished” and Stargazer’s FAQ says the cooking surface is machined smooth after casting. Either way you get a surface that releases food well from the first week rather than needing months of use to slick up the way a pebbled Lodge does. Worth being clear-eyed about: a smooth surface gets you there sooner, it does not get you a better sear. A well-seasoned pebbled pan ends up releasing nearly as well, which is the honest finding behind our Stargazer vs Lodge comparison.

Handles are where Stargazer argues hardest. It publishes a “stay-cool handle” and a 21.5-inch total length — a long handle on a lighter pan, which is a real comfort combination. Smithey publishes no handle length and no total length at all. Both handles are bare cast iron, so neither stays genuinely cool on sustained high heat or after a spell in the oven; a handle cover is a good idea on both, and our cast iron accessories page covers the ones worth owning.

Neither pan is nonstick out of nowhere, neither is immune to rust, and neither cooks better than the other. Both are oven, grill and fire safe by their own statements — Smithey’s FAQ says plainly that “Your oven can’t get too hot for a Smithey”, and Stargazer answers yes to oven, grill and fire — and both work on induction.

Care: Stargazer publishes more

If you like being told how to look after an expensive pan, Stargazer is the more forthcoming brand by a wide margin. Its FAQ states that soap is fine, that metal utensils are recommended, that the pan is not dishwasher safe and that the warranty specifically excludes dishwasher damage, and — the most useful instruction either brand publishes — that you should preheat on LOW for five to ten minutes before turning the heat up or adding food, to avoid thermal shock. Smithey’s page confirms you can use soap on a polished surface and otherwise points to a separate care page.

Stargazer also does something no other premium brand here does: it sells the pan bare, unseasoned, for people who would rather build their own seasoning from scratch. If that appeals, our guide to seasoning cast iron and our guide to the best oil for seasoning cover the method, and it is a genuinely nice option to have on a $175 pan.

How differently the two let you buy

This is the part most comparisons skip, and it matters more than the finish.

Smithey is direct-only as far as we can verify. A live Amazon search for the No. 12 on our visit date returned Stargazer, Lancaster, Field and Lodge pans — and no Smithey. What Smithey does offer is a factory-seconds sale: pans with “small cosmetic or seasoning imperfections that do not affect the cook quality” at around half price, all sales final. It is the single best value in premium American cast iron when it is open, and it was closed when we last looked, with the next round announced to the email list. If a Smithey is what you want, join that list and wait.

Stargazer never discounts but de-risks the purchase instead. Its site carried no sale, seconds or bundle section at all when we checked — only a military discount — but it publishes a subscriber price below list and a 45-day trial with free returns, and the 12-inch has a live Amazon listing. For most buyers that adds up to the easier purchase: a lower price, a way to send it back, and no waiting for a sale window.

Which should you buy?

For most people, the Stargazer 12-inch. It is the cheaper pan, it is a third lighter, it publishes more about itself than almost any cast iron maker in America, you can try it for 45 days and send it back, and the cooking surface — 9.4 inches, vintage #10 territory — is enough for two to four people. It is the pan we would hand to anyone who wants to find out whether premium cast iron is worth it to them.

Buy the Smithey No. 12 if you want the most usable pan inside a 12-inch rim and you are happy to carry 8.7 pounds to get it — or if the polished finish and the heirloom intent are the point, which for a lot of Smithey owners they honestly are. Since we could not verify an Amazon listing, go to Smithey directly, and look at the seconds sale before you pay full price. Our Smithey review goes through what the Charleston foundry publishes and what it does not.

If this comparison has you doubting both, that is a reasonable place to land. A budget cast iron skillet cooks the same food, and our best cast iron brands guide lines Smithey and Stargazer up against Field, Lancaster, Lodge and the rest before you spend premium money on either.