NOT SURE THIS IS A BONAFIDE HAND HAMMERED WOK!
Although I'm now peacefully retired, and don't sweat my eyebrows with any handiwork these days, and much less with metal forming; in my college days, I was required to take just a couple of metallurgy courses, but I found myself delightfully captivated, and totally "hooked" on everything to do with metals; the science, the known history, the clever evolution, the unknown mysteries of archaeological findings of lost forming processes of antiquity like Damascus blades, the latest advances, etc.. The technology fascinated me in such a primal way, that I ended out enrolling and completing almost all of the metallurgy courses offered, and I even took a "blacksmith" course in which among all the fun things we got to do, we built our own high tech, modern, and compact, propane forge, and were evaluated in a number of "forging" projects, it was truly a blast! Sadly life got in the way, and I never pick up the art of metals after college.I'm an avid home cook, and amongst other cuisines, I absolutely love Asian dishes, so by July 2011 when I became a vegan, I had already savored many "wok hei" chasing dishes of my own.But just as a reminder, that one must always remain vigilant, and receptive in life, because we never stop learning and evolving, I had a profound humbling experience when I read Grace Young's "The Breath of the Wok" shortly after making the switch to veganism. One particular fact stood out in her book, and got my blood boiling with joyful anticipation. Grace mentioned in her book, the tale of two seasoned Chinese brothers that were still producing woks the old fashioned way, a dying breed of artists in the most authentic and truest way of woks making, because apparently, there weren't too many others doing it, and even fewer interested in making a career out of it.At the time, all the woks in my posession were the Mandarin style, "mass produced" not hand hammered. They all performed well, when paired with my 100k+ btu portable wok burner; and in my mind, unless one of my few lucky (to own one) Asian vegan friends didn't specify in their will for me to inherit their heirloom hand hammered wok, I would never be able to appreciate a true hand hammered wok of my own.As someone who, at a moment in time, sweated by the blaring forge, formed a few pieces on the mighty anvil, and briefly studied the fascinated science of metals, only one thought dominated my mind, upon learning that there were some scattered shops, still turning up authentic hand hammered woks in mainland China: If I'm serious about cooking, I must get my hands on a genuine, authentic, hand hammered wok, or else my life is not complete!It took an eternity (3-4 months) of relentless "virtual laptop" pursuit, in order to track down one of the 14” Cantonese specimen, but when it finally arrived (~$370.00+ USD), I was static! What a satisfying sight! What a true work of art! I mean, even to this very day, I still "feel" the passion, the pride, the mastery, the passed down artistic tradition, the magnetic/spiritual energy of this wok, it continues to speak to every fiber of my being! Every quantum bit of knowledge, and wisdom that when into making this wok, is as alive, and reverberating today, as it was when the Master blacksmith baptized it with his personal seal of approval.When I inspected it, it was like this wok was/is carrying such an indescribable, and intoxicating allure, and yet at the same time the noble responsibility to continue to spread its happiness and goodness to the rest of the world via food! This wok is quite delightful to hold, to look at it, to use it; it's just so perfectly balanced... I actually revered it so much, that come to think about it, I just realized that this wok perpetually takes center stage in all of my cooking, and I use it for just about any kind of cooking, Asian or otherwise, and it remains the single most versatile item in my indoors kitchen, the outdoor patio, and even on my frequents off grid remoteness adventures, and escapades.Although I might be undoubtly the first and only person that ever cook in it thus far, this genuine hand hammered Cantonese wok, might very well be 1000's of years old, and I just can not tell the difference at all, because there's little, to no evidence of modern processes to speak of. It's indeed that ancestrally good looking, very beautiful indeed! It has a soul of its own! This wok always put a smile on my face, and the entire process of using it, is extremely rewarding, and even when I'm just in the early process of planning my shopping list, or brainstorming my available options with what I got in the pantry, or just preparing the ingredients, or simply touching up my knife on the sharpening stone... just knowing that I will be using it in a short while, makes me consciously happy. My entire "woking" ritual is a meditative retreat for me, an escape from the daily life's struggles. Who would it thought, that a wok, could have such a huge positive impact in someone's life?Back to this review! In recent times, there's been an explosion of these so called "hand hammered" woks, and this fast emerging market has grown in an unprecedented way, the amount of "hand hammered" woks offered today is huge, and to be honest, I'm a bit confused. The pictures sure look very convincing, but I remain somewhat, cautiously skeptical of their claims, because I have a slight idea, as I'm sure many others do, of the labor of love involved in berthing such an exquisite piece, and often time, the asking price for this woks, does not make any financial sense whatsoever (to the artist, that is), it seems like these genuine "hand hammered" woks, are basically, being given away sort of speak. Are these, low quality woks from a novice apprentice, hence the cheaper price? Are the cheapest of them all, quality control rejects? Is the communist Chinese government deeply involved in a cult like, mind control conspiracy, counter intelligence top secret operation, of global dominance through hand hammered wok extravaganza? What is really going on, I keep asking myself?Are this woks truly genuine, no nonsense, authentic hand hammered woks? How can such a well established, time consuming process, of creating this unique piece of art be so affordable?So I finally pulled the trigger and purchased this unit new for $95.00 USD + tax, and free shipping. A 14" Mandarin style seasoned (blue?) wok, which resembles many of today’s claimed genuine, 100% hand hammered woks. I bought it, so that I could finally draw some preliminary conclusions, and maybe help others with similar burning questions and concerns. Here are my initial findings so far:The good:• A sustainable piece. Definitely well made structurally speaking (it's just a wok after all, I concur), at least 2mm thick throughout its entirety, one single continuous piece including the handle, might even be slightly thicker in the center, one thing is an unmistakable fact, the robustness of this wok is stellar, and it gives it plenty of heft for a predictable longevity, and with proper material caring knowledge, and diligent upkeep habits, this wok will outlast, even most humans being born right this moment, seriously!• The replaceable silicone grip is totally a welcome improvement, and so is the integrated handle, when one compared it to the mayority of years past woks designs. This new feature, in which the entire wok is a single and continuous piece, is my personal favorite, I've long been asking myself, how come no one do it this way? But I know better, it involves a skilled human, or perhaps it requires a more precise machine tooling! Which translate to potentially higher manufacturing cost! It boggles the mind why it took so long.The silicone handle cover remains tolerably warm, even throughout (home) extended, fast cooking periods at high BTU's, although it doesn't necessarily compare to my wooden handles woks at withstanding high heat for longer periods (I'm thinking, a fast paced professional setting environment, or home cooking for 10-12 people b2b, where a rag, or bbq gloves might be needed to mitigate the increase temps).The closest wok to this one that I own, is a 2 mm thick, max produced, carbon steel, genuine Japanese made, Mandarin style wok, which during the fabrication process, a 1" stub was strategically left from the main wok body with some symetric, as to allowed the latter welded handle to provide a more solid and durable coalescent between the two parts. Although the Japanese wok's handle is expertly welded, and beautifully, and neatly finished well beyond the edge, and outside the wok cooking area, this new Amazon wok been reviewed here, wins over that one as well, and to be frank, this wok is several steps above all others Cantonese woks that I personally own, especially when it comes to the handle, and the overall aesthetics. You see, by incorporating the handle as one continue single piece with the wok body, it definitely makes it more slick and hygienic over the rest of the prevalent designs, it accomplish this, by completely eliminating the potential for food particles to stick around the otherwise more conventional attaching points methods like welds, and rivets, potentially forcing you to spend extra cleaning time in those areas.• Budget proof. $95.00 plus tax, is a price that, after putting it through the paces, I will definitely pay again..• All things considered, it is a really decent wok! But I cautious you, that there's a real possibility, that many of today's so called "hand hammered" woks manufacturers are employing a trendy process or (unsurprisingly) clever technics of "smoke mirrors", "snake oil" practices to cut costs, and increase profits, and we're simply living in a different world nowadays, and because of our own ignorance, this is the best that we can asked for, and these widely available woks, are the best that we can actually get our hands on, which by the way, is not terribly bad at all. I own woks that are not as sturdy, decent looking and well put together as this one, and yet, they all deliver awesome dishes effortlessly, so I'm confident this wok will continue to be the workhorse that is being proving itself to be. Believe me, until one is introduced to the real deal, it'll be a frustating challenge to truly discerned what I'm failing to convey with plain words soup in this review. In all honesty, I'll be extremely happy too with this wok, if I didn't know any better, if I didn't have a masterfully piece handy, to compare it to, so for now, is fair to say that I'm ok with it. So, if my experience and expectations don't resonate with you, is ok, embrace your own level of happiness, buy it, and continue to enjoy this wok, because it's truly an awesome piece over all, well above many of the rest, standard, and widely available woks, and if its presence makes you overly content, just happily accept its charm, because no one else in the whole wide world, deserves the intoxicating introductory "wok transmission", provided by this fair wok, than you. By the way, if it means anything, you have my humble consent to be overly, insane, and deliriously happy with it, I only kindly ask of you one request, please share the love. If anything, we should all be delighted, and grateful in receiving this great news that a bunch of smart entrepreneurs are paying attention to this neglected niche, and are flooding our Western generation with so many options to choose from, which is allowing countless aspiring enthusiasts to join the exclusive "wok hei" club. But please, hurry before all shops close down!The bad:• This "hand hammered" wok, pales in comparison to my genuine Chinese "hand hammered" wok I purchased a decade ago from a reputable, and renowned artist.• This wok exhibit a multitude of unacceptable production flaws, which clearly differentiates it from my authentic one when placed side by side, it has too many flaws to list, which is indicative of a very clever (and yet, unbeknown to me) method of a somewhat mass produced item (or at the very least rushed), and not a bonafide authentic and proudly individually produced, thoroughly "hand hammered" wok.• Yes, it has the 100's of hammered marks, but it's obvious to me, after repeated inspections, and closed observations, that the hammer did not hit this seller's claimed numbers of blows, in a fashion that denotes the attention to details, observed in my other, original high quality hand hammered wok, and more troubling yet, this wok when compared to my 14" genuine "hand hammered" wok, appears to have hammered marks that illustrates a pattern of indentations with suspicious uniformity, and I speculate, purposely placed solely for aesthetics, and not necessarily for form and function, in the truest adherence to the traditional artistic essence, and legacy of a time immemorial well guarded art, as its primary reason to be formed into a treasured wok. And this is in my opinion, why it has little character when compared to my genuine hand hammered wok, it lacks the true love transmitted by its creator, by an experienced Master of the trade.• And then the circular ripples/lines of pressured "concentric rings", all along the curved walls of the wok body, indicating some kind of progressive, pressed forming, and then the several indiscriminate scratches from different electric rotating tools, etc.. Sincerely, the quality is not on par, when I compare the two.The Reality:The prior statements, are my authentic, self hand hammered, jealous arrogance, genuine self critical stir-pounding way, and bonafide fiery tossing truths, that I fancy to come out with, in order to savorily appeased my cosmic umami ego, because what's truly at work here friends, is that a part of me, is having a really difficult time accepting, that I'm indeed getting as much enjoyment out of this wok, as I've been getting all along, from my genuine hand hammered, and perhaps even more so, because of its superior ease of maneuvering on the burner, accompanied by the slightly deeper profile, which allows for a more efficient, and confident tossing (beware: it’s heavy!). I'm almost reluctantly sharing my thoughts, due to the gut wrenching realization, of being able to accomplish similar "feel" and "results" for a mere $100.00 (this wok) instead of almost $400.00 (my bonafide one), and as difficult as it is for me to admit this simple candor, it is equally, bindingly important, that I swear, before the ever lasting "wok hei lava" Gods, that this is the truth! This wok is a remarkable piece! Get it, you'll love it! Just make sure that you covet it, with the accompanying various levels of BTU's that it specifically demands, and you'll be manufacturing smiles for years to come.* Multiple reliable and trustworthy sources cite the ZhenSanHuan's family owned and operated shop in China as the creators and patent holders of this particular style of woks (distinctive shape, continuous single piece body, and manufacturing process), and if we are to take this statements as evidential facts, well, then that render this striking similar wok offered for less than $100.00, a mere fake interpretation of the original, which by the way, is selling for around $300.00 USD at the time of this writing.*My latest wok station addition, a 12” “pure titanium” (?) round bottom, Mandarin style wok, It’s becoming my #1 go to wok, because of its far superior wok hei, and amazing lighting speed, super-quick b2b meals, making the titanium wok significantly energy efficient over the standards classic metals; and because maintenance, and upkeep is also comparatively a breeze, I doubt, I’ll ever go back to carbon steel woks, specifically when it comes to small portions stir-fries . A total game changer indeed!Keep "woki'n rolling" friends!
✔ Verified Purchase
