I can feel i"m a professional chef! Performing well in my cooking!Good item!

Everything that a good wok should and made in the village where kung fu is legendary

I purchased this 16 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok Set directly from the Wok Shop. I used it with no problems for about a year. I noticed what looked like cracks in the surface, but I ignored them because I thought that was part of the natural "hand made" look. But one day it fell to the floor and shattered. It fell onto a cushioned linoleum floor, not a hard surface. I'm just glad it broke about while there was no hot oil or food it in and no one was seriously injured. I couldn't return it because I had already had it over a year.

I can also tell you that while it lasted the food I cooked in it tasted good. And although I had to season it myself, I took the time to do it right and it was very slick and easy to cook in. Not non-stick, but close to it. But again, I can't stress enough - it had cracks in it and it ultimately broke apart where those cracks were (see photos). I'm just lucky it broke when I wasn't using it.

I can also tell you that the surface was NOT polished smooth. You could see swirl marks in the surface. My husband, a machinist, said these marks were made by a grinder, similar to a circular sanding disc. As long as you season it properly and the swirl marks aren't too deep, you should be fine. But you don't know from one wok to the other how deep those marks will be. I know this now because I bought a 14 inch from the same company after this one broke, and the swirl marks in the 14 inch wok were deeper, much worse. The 14 inch wok also had lots of crack marks in it, much more than this 16 inch wok, so I never cooked in it.

Two strikes. I will never again buy a thin cast iron wok. They're just too thin and fragile. My next wok will probably be very thick cast iron or a hand hammered carbon steel wok. From what I've read carbon steel is the kind most commercial Chinese cooks use. And considering how many meals they make in their woks each day, that's the kind that can be trusted.

When I bought his 16 inch wok I was under the impression it was made by Chinese artisans in San Francisco. I was wrong. I later found out they're made in China.

You should also know it's coated with a NON food grade oil for shipping (which keeps it from rusting until you're ready to season it with food grade oil). The instructions state you must wash it several times to get all of the oil off. It's toxic, so you MUST make sure you get it all off. And it's hard to know if you have. But only after you remove the toxic oil should you season it with food grade oil and use it to cook food, if you cook in it. I will never again use a thin cast iron wok. They're way too fragile and that makes them dangerous.

Lastly, on the up side, I can tell you the people at the Wok Shop are very nice and helpful. I called them on the phone a couple of years ago, before I ever made a purchase, and asked them a lot of questions about wok cooking and seasoning. And they were very nice and good about answering questions. Problem is, I believe the thin cast iron woks they import from China and sell here are dangerously defective. In my opinion any thin cast iron wok will have the same issues.

If you're dead set on buying a cast iron wok instead of a carbon steel wok, I suggest you buy one of those THICK heavy cast iron woks instead of a thin one. I believe Lodge sells thick cast iron woks here on Amazon. Lodge is admittedly not the best quality when it comes to cast iron (I have email from a rep stating this) but they're the only ones I know that sell a thick and safe cast iron wok. And if I buy a hand hammered carbon steel wok it will be a Finex (hand made in the U.S.A., out of Portland Oregon). I can't yet find Finex on Amazon.

For those interested in seeing photos of the 14 inch wok I bought from the Wok Shop, that was covered in surface cracks. Here's a link to the product on Amazon. It was a complete set:
14 inch Traditional Cast Iron Wok (incl. ring)

NOT impressed with this wok. it was not capable of being seasoned. the cast iron was basically coated in wax or some weird substance. never fully got it off, despite repeated efforts, and thus seasoning would not take. had to throw out. total waste of money.

great wok set except the base slides on gas stove top. Otherwise it is a fabulous item.