I started my research and ordered a wok by Taylor & Ng...I don't want to bad mouth their product as to be fair I never cooked with it..But one look at it and I knew this was not for me. The way the handles were attached were with cheaper rivets and once I saw that, I didn't feel good about it...but it was very light..

I searched and read and stumbled upon Craft Wok and had a strong feeling this is exactly what I wanted.

It arrived today and immediately I could tell it was super well made..It's not light..That might be an issue for smaller women or for those who want something lighter..for me, I love the weight, it makes it easier to cook..

I read many reviews and knew what I had to do to season and prepare it. I posted a lot of pictures and a video.

here's what I did and how long each step took:

- Washed it out and scrubbed completely two times...5 minutes

- I put it on a wok ring, turned on a 20,000 BTWU burner and let it rip! It didn't take nearly as long as i thought but after about 3 minutes or so, I saw the blue starting to form..Very exciting!

- I made sure to have a really good oven mitt and was very careful as obviously this is next level hot..but the weight of the wok is so good, as you can see in the photos, it would stay in different positions very easily.

I basically would tilt it here or there and leave for about a minute at most and move to a different section.It was easy to do and very gratifying!

The entire wok was blue and finished in about 15 minutes. Much less than I expected.

I let it cool down, then i coated it with avocado oil and heated it up again and wiped it down..then did a finishing coat of oil.

Then I heated up 3 or so tablespoons of oil, chopped some garlic and ginger and moved it all around...threw in some broccoli i had around...stir fried that for a few minutes, dumped it out and added a cup or two of water into the wok which was on high heat..and cleaned it.

Then when it cooled down i applied a thin coat of oil.

Two hours later

I just had to cook on it and made stir friend chicken and broccoli.

The surface was great to cook on...but there was some sticking because I turned the chicken before it was seared..

Perfect time to test cleaning while cooking! and i scraped off as i cooked and it was not bad.

The dinner was great but the cleaning is what I want to share.

I was able to clean 90% of the stuck food off with just boiling some water and scraping..then I used the bamboo cleaner brush to finish off and it was perfect!

Fantastic fun experience and wanted to share it with others considering this wok. One of my favorite purchases across categories ...ever!

Glad I took my time and didn't settle on the first highly reviewed one by Taylor & Ng..this wok is many leagues better made and substantial on every level.

One of the best buys of this year!

It takes less than 15 minutes to season and it works great! Round bottom works way better than the flatter bottom one because it’s easier to create a smoother momentum!

If you want to have a better control with your cooking, get this one! I got 12” one which is the perfect weight, not too heavy!

If you don’t want to do any work, stay with harmful non-stick ones!

I recently purchased the Craft Wok Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok and wanted to share my thoughts on this high-quality kitchen essential. Before seasoning, it’s important to blue the wok, a process I found straightforward. To ensure even bluing, I removed the wooden handle, which was a simple adjustment that allowed for a uniform treatment of the entire wok.

The quality of the carbon steel is immediately noticeable—this wok has heft, indicating durability and robustness. It’s heavy in a good way, indicating its quality, yet not too cumbersome, allowing for easy tossing during cooking. The hand-hammered design is not just for looks; it contributes to the wok’s excellent performance. Heat distribution is proportional, though somewhat dependent on the burner used. While I have yet to try it on my outdoor wok burner, the round bottom was a perfect fit for my Bluestar Platinum stove, which has removable grates specifically designed for a wok.

Many reviewers complain about the weight of the wok and how cooking and tossing with it feel awkward. However, these criticisms often stem from a misunderstanding of traditional Asian wok cooking techniques. Unlike Western-style cookware, where tossing and stirring are done with lighter pans, an Asian wok is designed to handle high-heat, stir-fry cooking. The weight of the wok plays a crucial role in maintaining even heat distribution, which is essential for achieving the perfect stir-fry texture and flavor. Instead of tossing ingredients by shaking the pan, you use a spatula or similar tool to stir and move the food quickly across the wok’s hot surface. Additionally, you can rest a portion of the rear of the wok on the stove to help push up and toss the food. This method ensures that each ingredient is cooked evenly and retains its unique texture and flavor. I recommend looking up videos on how to toss with Chinese woks for a visual guide. Practice with rice or uncooked pasta to get the hang of it.

The handles feel good in the hand—sturdy and comfortable to use, enhancing the overall cooking experience. I found the wok easy to season and clean, a testament to its thoughtful design aimed at frequent use. As my first real wok, replacing a flat bottom, thin, non-stick wok that I was not happy with due to uneven heat zones, this wok has been a revelation.

Value for money is exceptional with this wok. It’s the best for what you get, offering high quality, excellent performance, and ease of maintenance at a reasonable price. I would definitely recommend this wok to anyone looking for an authentic cooking experience. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or new to wok cooking, this tool will elevate your culinary creations.

I was debating between this wok and Souped Up Recipes' Wok, as Joyce Chen's wok wasn't available. I'm pretty satisfied with this wok except for one thing - it's a bit heavy. I didn't think 1.8 mm was too heavy, but when you add the food, the wok gets pretty heavy. So if you're a petite person, you might want a lighter or small wok.

This is my first wok. I followed the seasoning advice of Lance on seasoning the wok and it was perfect. I bought a Camp Chef Explorer double burner (propane) and I am using this wok outside on this burner that gets up to 30,000 BTUs. I originally bought an Iwantani 12,000 BTU burner, but returned it and I had friends tell me I would not be happy with it for wok cooking.

Using a 30,000 BTU burner (on High), it took me almost no time to get that blue coating. I can't remember exactly how long, but maybe about 15-20 minutes (I could be mistaken, but it was about 1/3rd of the time it took Lance. It took more time to initially scrub the factory coating off, which that took about 35 minutes. The test here to know you're done scrubbing is if you wipe with a clean white paper towel hard the surface and you get NO grayish or black stuff on your paper towel. I thought I was done at 10 minutes in, but I was wrong.

I initially used a stainless steel scrubbing pad then switched to an SOS. Practically wore out the SOS pad. Scrub, scrub, scrub, rinse. Test with paper towel. Residue? Repeat until no residue. This will take most likely at least 30 minutes of constant scrubbing/rinsing. Fun stuff. The feel of the wok feels different with that coating off than on.

After that, I dish towel dried the wok. My husband helped me take the wooden handle off. It was a bit tough, but we were able to get it off after some muscle. Got a pair of pliers and went to my burner. Lit the burner to HIGH, placed the wok on it and I watched the wok turn blue. Using the pliers on the metal part of the handle, I would reposition the wok until the whole wok turned that blueish color. One thing to note, if you didn't properly remove all the factory coating from the wok, your wok will smoke. I properly removed all the coating so my wok did not smoke during the patining. This process took me about 15-20 minutes but my burner was set at its highest at 30,000 BTU.

Then, I used grapeseed oil on a paper towel and I coated the whole inside of the wok with this oil and just heated it up again on medium heat. Did this also for the outside. I went through this process about 3-4 times. The WHOLE process from when I started taking the factory coating off and until I finished the seasoning process took maybe about 1 hr 15 minutes. Was not long.

Now, if you do this seasoning process in the oven, it's going to take A LOT longer.

I've been using my wok now for 2 weeks and made several stir fry dishes with this wok. It's been great. Each time I cook it's getting more non-stick. Last night I made Beef Chow Fun and it was awesome almost. The beef cooked so fast and did not stick. The noodles stuck just a little bit, but using my metal spatula, it came right off.

Don't use soap to clean your wok. I wait until the wok cools down and then I just use hot/warm water to wash. I use a brush to scrub any burned on food, but last night, I used a metal scrubber to lightly get the stuck noodles off.

Note, the metal part of the handle gets very hot. I accidentally touched this last night and burned my finger. Thankfully I had aloe in my garden and cut off a small piece and quickly put and rubbed on my burn that tonight it's not too bad.

I ordered a silicon handle cover, so hopefully that will help me in the future that if I accidentally touch this area, no issues.

My left wrist hurts today. I just ordered a wrist brace to help me stabilize my wrist when I try to pick up the wok with the my left hand. That's my only real complaint. But the only thing to get rid of that is to buy a thinner and smaller wok. I'm no longer afraid of using propane nor wok cooking. I'm excited to make many things with this wok.

Been using a large authentic Chinese wok occasionally and wanted to get a smaller size for daily use so I came across this wok and decided to give it a try! Just received today and the quality matches the descriptions accurately. I wanna share how I seasoned it after reviewing the top review that has like over 5000 likes so far such a detailed description on how to season the wok properly. I used my regular apartment stove washed the heck out of the wok made sure it never heard what oil is lol.. then I started heating it over the flame and kinda had rotated it all the way till the whole wok tuned nicely blue took me about 30 minutes to do that. Then I let it cool off a bit for 10 minutes then set it on medium flame again and simultaneously dropped like 2 tablespoons of corn oil and used padded paper towels to kinda wipe it all around and I must tell you it was thirsty 😅. Then used the same paper towels to just wipe off the outer side made sure it’s just barely oiled.

So there we have a nice seasoned Chinese wok in hand ready to use. See the photos and I hope you find this helpful. Thank you all.

Just received the wok today. This is my 1st impression.

When I first bought this, it was from a 3rd party vendor. Craft Wok had this out of stock. But when the wok arrived, it was from a different vendor with a different brand--Tesor!

Of course, I returned it.

However, having seen the two brands first hand, I was given an opportunity to make some quick comparisons.

First, the Tesor 14" wok was truly hand hammered. You could see the hammer marks on the inside of the wok. The wok was not perfectly round, however. I placed my 14" tempered glass lid on it, it could not form a complete seal. Large gaps existed. The imperfect roundness of the wok and the particular locations of the rivets for securing the handle and the helper handle prevented the lid from sealing perfectly on the wok.

But this is not the case with the Craft 14" wok. The lid sits *almost* perfectly on it. Still a little gap, but tolerable.

Also, no hammer marks on the inside of the wok. This leads me to think that the Craft wok is form pressed by some hydraulic ball peen machine rather than crafted manually by a hammer.

The inside is a little shallower than the Tesor brand. The latter featured a quite steep incline or decline, depending on your perspective, so it def looks deeper and therefore bigger than the Craft wok.

At this point, the Tesor 14" sells for $39.99, while Craft Wok sells for $47 something before tax.

As said earlier, this is my 1st impression. After I temper and season it, and cook some meals in it, I'll update this review.

Yes, I know Lance Owens has an excellent review here on how to properly temper/blue the wok and properly care for it afterwards. I'll follow his instructions to the tee.

But I have the following tips to offer.

1. I'll be using flaxseed oil to season the wok, after it has been properly tempered/blued. The reason is that I've heard it bonds better with the now complete bare, naked steel than other oils--peanut, canola, etc.

An alternative to this is lard or fresh pork skin. Actually, that is what is traditionally used in China to season a new wok.

You could also cook some bacon in the new work as a way to season the wok.

Legend has it that the new properly tempered wok is hungry for fat! So for your first meals, cook some fatty foods in it! :)

I'm planning on cooking some 红烧肉 for my first meal. It is Chinese for braised pork. It uses some cuts of pork, which contain quite a bit of fat.

One-Year-and-Three-Months Update:

Well, one year and three months have passed. I have used the wok every day, cooking almost exclusively Chinese stir fry dishes. Half meat, half veggie. The wok has worked fine! I'd say the BEST one I've ever owned.

The following points summarize my success with the wok:

1. Lance S Owens's instructions on how to temper the wok before the first use are the BEST! You have to temper the wok correctly before the first use. Otherwise, it'd rust!

2. I have never used any detergent when washing the wok. Chemicals will hurt the thin film created by the tempering and subsequent cooking. However, contrary to what is recommended, I have used a metallic scouring pad along with cold water to clean the wok immediately after the cooking, and then wipe it clean with an old, dry towel especially for this purpose. The key is to clean the wok immediately after the cooking, and then wipe it dry. If you don't, then tiny amount of rust will form. If you do not use it as often as I do--every day, that is, then I'd suggest putting a thin film of vegetable oil in the wok, after you have cleaned it with the scouring pad and wiped it dry.

3. When using the metallic scouring pad, gently press it against the inside of the wok. No need to use excessive force. I picked my metallic scouring pad from my local dollar stores. Prior to the metallic scouring pads, I tried two bamboo whisks (bought from Amazon), but they didn't do a very good job and eventually disintegrated. So as a Hair Mary attempt, I gave the metallic scouring pads a try. And they worked out fine! :)

Don't have time to take some pics of the wok now. Maybe later, another time.

In short, a very good wok indeed! The BEST I've ever owned!

Great quality, solid Wok. Has some weight to it, easy to tell it's pretty heavy duty. Was a bit worried about seasoning it properly, but it really wasn't as bad as some other comments made it seem. Have used it a handful of times and it does a great job every time, easy to clean and re-season. Looking forward to using this for a long time.

Excellent traditional carbon steel wok. BUT -- and I emphasize this -- it MUST be properly tempered before use. None of the YouTube videos or comments I have seen understand this process, and you probably will not either. So read on.

This process of preparing the wok is NOT really a "seasoning" -- that implies some sort of cooking process. What is need is very high temperature tempering of the bare steel surface. This is metallurgy, not cooking! It is an ancient process used on steel to "blue" it. It is the same process used on old steel swords and gun barrels, to give them a protective non-rusting black-blue coating. Let me explain the "bluing process" you need to perform on your new wok.

Carbon steel is chemically very reactive. It rusts -- it reacts with oxygen and forms red iron oxide, Fe2O3, when exposed to oxygen, such as the oxygen in H20 water. Rusting, or red iron oxide, will form quickly on naked steel that is not properly prepared. The naked iron is also reactive with food moisture, and food will stick to it. BUT black iron oxide, formed on a steel surface that has been heated to HIGH temperatures, is less reactive, more stable, and adheres extremely well with oils. When well-oiled, the oil incorporates in the black iron oxide surface on the steel; this provides a non-reactive coating that protects the steel.

So what you need to do is BLUE the steel -- heat it to a very high temperature, and let the surface steel oxidize to black iron, Fe3O4, also called magnetite. Again this is not cooking. This is metallurgy!!

Let me repeat: If clean carbon steel is heated to above 550 degrees F. it reacts with the oxygen in the air, and the surface steel will oxidize to black iron oxide, Fe3O4. This black surface gives the steel a beautiful black-blue to aqua-blue patina. This blued steel, or black iron oxide surface, adheres quickly to oils. When coated with oil, the oiled blued steel is very rust resistant, it is also a non-stick surface for cooking. And it has been used by blacksmiths (and Chinese cooks) for millennia to treat steel surfaces.

The instructions that come with the wok tell you what to do. Do it. But they are brief. Here are the details.

FIRST STEP, you must clean the steel. It comes covered with oils to prevent rusting. You MUST strip all this oil off, to expose the bare steel surface. As instructed, use a scouring pad and go at it with detergent. Plan on working 30 minutes at this. Scrub, and rinse. Scrub and rinse. Take a white paper towel and rub the surface dry. If you are still getting black staining on the paper towel, then scrub some more. You want NAKED steel, without any oil residue on it. If there is oil on it, the oxygen cannot reach the surface when it is heated and oxidize the surface steel to black iron oxide, the beautiful blue magnetite surface you want.

SECOND step is heating to HIGH temperature. The instructions say put the wok on high heat until the steel turns BLUE. Few people understand what that means. It means REALLY heat the steel, really really really heat the steel -- all of it, all of the wok.

This requires a very hot gas flame. Use a 12,000 to 15,000 BTU (or higher) burner to do this. A BBQ is not hot enough, your oven is not hot enough. This is big flame on bare steel hot. Most modern stoves have at least one big high output burner. On my stove, I can take off the top diffuser plate from the big burner and and get a single huge gas jet -- this is what I use both for the bluing and for wok cooking. So get going. You might want to wear some heavy gloves while doing this. This is blacksmith work, not cooking. Keep animals and children away. If you touch that hot steel, it will not just burn you, it will brand you. Over a 15,000 BTU jet flame, it took my about 30 to 45 minutes to totally blue the entire wok.

Turn the heat on high. Put the wok on the hot flame, and wait. And wait. And wait. You must heat the steel to over 550 F. (around 300 C.) before the steel will begin oxidizing properly. First you will see orange yellow steel, then suddenly it will start to look "blue." That blue is the black iron oxide surface forming -- the black iron on top of the silvery steel underneath gives a bluish color. If you have properly cleaned the wok, there will be very little to NO smoke. Smoking indicates you did not properly clean off the oils, which are burning and smoking, and probably contaminating your steel surface. If you are getting lots of smoke, STOP. Go back to step one and get the steel cleaned of oils.

Now watch the blue surface expand. Carefully turn the wok over the hottest portion of the flame, move the wok very slowly so the blue transformation moves all the way to the edge. Slowly, very slowly, move up and down and around over the fire, working outward from the hottest blue edge, from center to top, expanding the blue area. When you are done, the ENTIRE surface of the wok should be beautiful blue steel. This is the the black iron oxide coat to the steel called "bluing." If there are orange or yellow-orange areas on the wok, then you did not fully heat and transform them. Heat them again until they turn blue.

Okay, blacksmith work done. The factory could do this I suppose, but none do. Chinese cooks know how to do it on a hot fire -- and a wok lasts a lifetime, so one only needs to do it once in a life!

STEP THREE. We are following the instructions that came with the wok. I am just explaining. Let the wok cool. If you put oil on that 550 degree F. steel, you will have a kitchen of smoke! When it cools quite a bit, put it back on medium flame. Now oil it, following instructions. This part may cause some smoke. It you are getting lots of smoke, turn the heat down. Use a high-temperature tolerant cooking oil, like Safflower oil, refined Light Olive Oil (NOT regular olive oil), or Peanut oil. Canola oil also works, but I hate the smell of hot Canola oil.

The black iron oxide surface you have created on your "blued" carbon steel wok loves oil. It combines with oil quickly, it hugs and bonds with oil. And when coated with oil, it is a surface that is both non-stick, and non-reactive to rusting. Look at the color! It will be shimmering with an agua-blue hue, not a really black color.

Cool the wok a bit. Turn it over. Look at that beautiful blue-black surface of magnetite you have created by proper tempering. It will be darker and thicker on the outside surface, which got hotter. Coat the outside with a thin coat of oil. Marvel at the pretty color. Coat it with more oil occasionally.

There you have it. Your are now ready to use the wok. It is properly tempered, blued; you have created a traditional non-rusting, and non-sticking surface. Traditionally, now start the wok by cooking onions and ginger. This "seasons" the surface. This is the only part of the process properly called "seasoning a wok"!

Attached are a few photos. In the first one, I added a faded blue sink cloth to help show the color. Notice the aqua-blue hue of the metal? This is blued steel color. (I have cooked a few dishes in this pan, so there is some brown oil gunk at the bottom.) At the top of wok, by the handle rivets, you will see an area that is orangish to silver -- well, that is an area I did not get properly blued. It was hard to get that area hot enough. So it goes, the job was less than perfect. But you should not have many areas like this on your perfectly blued steel wok.

The second photo shows the outside surface, and its beautiful blue-black iron oxide surface. This is what you are shooting to obtain in this process.

The third photo shows my stove burner on high flame, with the top diffusion plate remove. This gives a real jet flame, and I use it this way for wok cooking. I used this flame for the bluing process. Is that safe, you ask? Well, so far, both I and the stove are doing well, thank you. But I can offer no further guarantees. I added a photo of the wok on the jet gas flame, with the diffuser plater removed. Believe me, it is perfect for wok cooking.

Addendum: Someone asked me about the handle wrap. I added another photo. The lower metal section of the handle gets very hot while cooking, and it is easy to slide your hand on to it. Ouch. I do what our cook in Taiwan did when I was a kid fifty years ago. I wrap it tightly with cotton fabric. Take an old t-shirt, cut a three inch wide and fairly long piece. Wrap the metal very tightly with several wraps of the cotton strip. Then put on a wrap of old-fashion friction tape over that to hold the wrap tight. Tuck the top and bottom ends of the cotton under the wrap. Coat the friction tape with some corn starch or flour to take away its sticky surface. This lasts a long time, and is easy to redo if needed.

How to maintain: Simple. Never use abrasives (like a steel scrub) on the surface; doing so will remove the finish. Never use a detergent on the pan; doing so will remove the oil finish on the bluing, and detergent may contaminate the oil coating. One can usually clean the surface with very hot water and a kitchen dish brush. It really is a non-stick surface, when properly prepared and used. After washing, dry well and wipe a few drops of cooking oil over the inside and outside. And of course, don't store it in a wet place.

Loose handle problems, another addendum: The wood of the handle of the wok dries and shrinks, and the handle may get loose after a few weeks of use; mine did, others report the same thing. This is a common problem with wood from high-humidity climates. To fix the problem, take out the two screws that hold the wood handle in the metal sleeve, then twist the wood as far as you can into the sleeve. Give it a couple solid taps with a hammer to set it tightly into the sleeve. Reinsert the screws. Fixed. Repeat if necessary later; my handle needed only the one fix. The wood of the handle will eventually dry and stop shrinking.

I spent a fair amount of time researching which wok to buy and finally chose this one as it appeared to be a traditional design made mild steel. . Like any mild steel it will rust if you don't follow the instructions for its use, but these are simple to follow. Following the instructions it was quick and easy to build up a non--stick surface of oil. I wash it very gently with warm water and then dry it immediately. I've used it several times and it works really well. I bought a cast iron wok stand to use with our gas cooker and this makes it a lot easier to use as the wok has a rounded bottom. The steel is of a heavy grade, much thicker than many woks I've used in the past, the handle is sturdy and well secured to the wok.

So far I am very pleased with this purchase.

Fast and secured arrival. It looks exactly the same as shown in the pics. It just need to be seasoned before using. Big thanks to the seller.

Está más grande de lo que pensaba y para mi eso es muy bueno, buenas instrucciones para "curar", me hubiera gustado que compartieran algún pequeño recetario para tener alguna variedad para cocinar. Hasta ahora va bien, esperemos que continúe funcionando correctamente.

What a beautiful wok. Heavy and thick enough to hold heat and not to drop temp when food hits the surface, and the handles are solidly riveted. Be aware, this does not come cook ready... It has to be blued then seasoned, but this is an easy process that takes about an hour. After this it will last a lifetime with minimal effort and maintenance.

Wok magnifique de belle facture à culotté avec soin un article qui a une durée de vie illimité si on n'en prend bien soin.

Seul bémol assez lourd mais en même temps il est en acier carbone pour moi (le meilleur)