I have a cast-iron pan and a wok that both have bare metal handles. If this is a thing, I’d like to wrap them with some rope or in some other way make it so that I don’t have to reach for a hotpad. Is there a way to do this that would not be affected by heat and not get disgusting from oil spatter?
One of my favorite pans has the same problem. You could carve handles from wood that it would surround the metal handles. Wood was used for this purpose before plastic became available. I think a better solution would be to make a coiled spring wire handle, similar to what you see on a welder’s chipping hammer.
kleintools DOT com/catalog/mining-hammers/chipping-hammer-spring-grip
I suppose the spring would have to be welded, or possibly brazed, to the existing handle. I would like to know how to fabricate of modify an existing spring for this purpose.
(What kind of forum software is this that won’t allow links in postings???)
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[@LloydEwing it will let you post links after you’ve posted a bit, it’s an anti-spam/anti-bot protection ]
https://www.kleintools.com/catalog/mining-hammers/chipping-hammer-spring-grip
Why not a cord based handle? I did one I for a knife I made a while back and its held up fairly well.
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I have a silicone overmold for one of my cast iron skillets (https://www.lodgemfg.com/product/silicone-handle-holder?sku=ASHH11) and it didn’t take long to get pitted and kinda gross on the bottom near the pan. I assumed it was from heat, but maybe not.
The paracord solution looks about right, except for meltyness. Could something like that be done with a high-temperature textile? I’m picturing the stuff used for kiln door seals, but I can’t figure out what it’s actually called.
I think the wire-spring-handle option would probably be most practical and easiest to clean.
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Yeah the steel spring would probabaly be most effective but it has its difficulties in sourcing materials and mounting.
You could use natural materials for the cordage to avoid it being melted.
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Hey Lloyd! I’m so glad you’re here! I’ll look at your settings, I thought we had it so all trust levels including first-time posters could post links – I’ll check on that. Glad you made it in!
Message @ mods or @ staff if you need anything.
Kye
edit: It looks like Discourse settings make it so trust level has to be at 1, not zero (first post), for a link to be sent – spam/bot protection - sorry! it’ll wear off soon.
Kiln door seals are fiberglass, ceramic fiber, or silica braid. Nomex is another popular high temp material.
All that stuff is going to get disgusting from oil spatter, though!
Silicone would stay much cleaner. What might make sense is wrap it with a heat-resistant cord for bulk insulation, then pour or smear silicone (or even PlastiDip) over it, thus avoiding a difficult molding step.
A difficulty is that if any water seeps in and wets that cord, it’s gonna transmit heat really badly until it dries out. If coated, that may take a very long time.
I think the wood would look the best, though.
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