I'm pretty sure the pan is a great pan but I gave it 4 stars because it arrived wrapped in a plastic bag and tied with a zip tie! It wasn't even in its original box. Looking through the plastic, the pan looked used and was scratched. I was so looking forward to trying out this pan and waited a while for it to arrive. I returned and asked for a refund. Really disappointed.

My go to pan and I gave this 4 stars instead of 5. Its complicated and I will tell you why. I have Lodge cast iron in three sizes and a ceramic coated dutch oven, I have All Clad stainless in various sizes. I have non stick from Kirkland signature in various sizes. I used to work in a restaurant (not as a career) and I cook on the stove every day.

BROWNING- Five stars - This pan is the best and it shines here. I rate cast iron a very close second. They each have their advantages but overall the carbon steel browns better just ever so slightly without as much carbon build up in the pan and with a little bit less weight. Its close to call, but that is my call. The carbon steel heats up so much faster. non stick is the worst at this at browning but it can be done

HANDLE - 4 stars - I like the feel of the handle because the design doesnt want to spin in your hands like some pans that have nice comfortable smooth handles. A handle is not about comfort, its about safety and function. The All Clad wins this HAND DOWN even though some knock those pans for their handles. Their handles are best of not spinning when you hands are greasy or wet while still looking great. This carbon steel pan's handle however is just to big and raises up to high but other than that it functions well.

NON STICK - 5 stars - Once you have it treated properly its pretty amazing and you don't have to worry about a coating coming off at any temp. I can cook fried eggs or toast bread without sticking. Cant treat stainless like this to get this effect and cast iron comes in at a tie with with my non stick pans. Obviously my nonstick does it the best, but you have to worry about heat and scratches and how abrasive cleaners takes it off and how much you eat it over the years....it goes somewhere....yeah, in your food.

HEAT DISTRIBUTION - three stars on an electric stove, 5 stars on a gas stove. Of all my pans, this pan comes in last place for this if I am using an electric stove. Now its still usable of course, but if I rank them, then that is how it goes for me.

MAINTENANCE 3 stars - None of the pans are perfect here. This pan you have to be concerned about your treatment if you boil a water or acid based liquid. For me, I would give my All Clad stainless the nod here. Nonstick is the easiest to clean but you have to baby it more. Cast iron you have some of the same concerns as the carbon steel but with more weight to man handle.

DURABILITY - 5 stars - I rate it high so far. This would be a good open fire pan, oven pan, broiler pan. I have heard some stories that induction warps it or excessive temp changes warps it. I am aware of that and am careful so that would be a knock i guess. I gave it a 5 star however I would rate it second behind cast iron. Cast iron is practically indestructible on the stove or on a fire.

VERSATILITY - 3 stars - I use this pan the most because its meets my cooking trends and personality, however I believes its the least versatile or tied for last with the non-stick. I find my ALL Clad stainless the most versatile and if I could have only one pan, a 12 in All Clad stainless even though I use mine less than this carbon steel pan.

VALUE - 4 stars - a really good pan at a logical and decent price. Stainless is ridiculous but that is because they have to work around and design around the stainless steel heat distribution by putting in different cores and layering. Chemical companies make the non-stick coatings for those pans. And cast iron is by far that greatest value. They are cheap...unless you go with a couple brands..

SUMMARY - This is my go to pan because it matches me. I never put it up as it always on my stove. Its heavy, just not as heavy as cast iron. I dont flip foods in it like I do my non-stick and my All Clad because they are light. I dont make gravies, or tomato sauces, chili, stews or roasts in my carbon steel. I could, but I go for cast iron or stainless as the better match, but out of 50 meals or dishes, based on how and what I cook, 30 of them would be in carbon steel, 10 in stainless, 8 cast iron, 2 in nonstick.

This is a review on the 12 5/8", 9 1/2" and 14 1/8" pans. The 11" and 15 3/4" have been ordered. After research, I opted for Mafter over De Buyer and Misen. I like finishing things in the oven, and the De Buyer have a grey-ish handle coating, which some say has trouble in the oven. Moreover, the handle angle on the De Buyer is quite high, which also poses an oven problem (risk of burned hands). I like the lack of rivets on the Mafter as well. Also, the overall Mafter shape of the did it for me, the design is killer. If a pan can be sexy, these are.

OBSERVATIONS: These are big, thick, heavy, serious, industrial use carbon steel pans. If your hope is that these are meaningfully lighter than cast iron, they aren't. The 14 1/8" is a beast, and will pose a real challenge to a woman using it, guaranteed. I'd say the 12 5/8" is the outer realm for female cooks. I shudder at what a monster the 15 3/4" will be. In fact, I ordered the 11" and 9 1/2" after I saw how big the ones were that arrived. The 9 1/2" (6 1/2" cooking surface) is a little small, except for a single burger, sandwich, or two egg omelette. I think the 11" (arriving later) may well be the sweet spot. That said, raw pan size isn't the whole story. I would STRONGLY recommend you look at the chart the gentleman kindly posted in the reviews that shows outside diameter vs. inside cooking surface. That is very useful in guiding you. Just be aware that the price you pay for the great pan shape with the 45 degree flattened sides is a seemingly disproportionate relationship between the interior cooking surface and the exterior total pan diameter. If you know that going in, it's a non-issue. Personally, I feel that the great design more than compensates for the increased square inches in total pan size.

Due to the issues with some pans noted by other reviewers, I immediately placed a straight edge on the bottom of the 12 5/8" and 14 1/8" pans when they arrived. Both were perfect. There were a few miniscule manufacturing process marks on each, not even anything that I would call a dent or defect. Nothing that seasoning wouldn't entirely cover. Again, these are utilitarian working pans, and are meant to be covered in a patina anyway, so not at all an issue. I would agree with others that these are meant to be used with gas, NOT induction or electric, which tend to heat things in an extreme and uncontrolled fashion. Virtually every review mentioning warping involved use on a non-gas range. Also, given that there are over 6,000 reviews currently, and only a few complain of warping and pan damage upon arrival, I'd say quality control at Mafter actually is quite good. There were some reviews about rusting, etc. - but those folks don't understand how to deal with carbon steel.

REMOVING THE COATING: Here's what worked well for me. I wet the pan under hot tap water (our tap is set very hot). I poured a generous amount of Barkeeper's Friend (magic stuff) and worked it up into a paste and let it sit on the pan (did one side then the other) for about 3 minutes. I used the soft yellow side of a standard green dish sponge (DO NOT use the abrasive green side, as it will leave all sorts of little scratches on that surface you want to be mirror smooth) and applied a little elbow grease. Repeated about 3-4 times. Total process to bare steel was 15 minutes tops. Easy-peasy. ALTERNATIVE: Oven-Off spray in a black trash bag. Leave it outside for an afternoon on a hot day.

SEASONING: Light coating of grape seed oil, front, back and handle. Oven 500 for an hour. Let it cool for 2 hours. Repeat 3x. Then cook breakfast on it every day for a week as follows: (1) Preheat the oven to 500; (2) lightly oil the pan all over with grape seed oil; (3) Get the pan hot on the range and add a bit of butter; (4) cook scrambled eggs; (f) more butter / brown onions (5) brown a breakfast sausage; (6) wipe the pan down all over with a paper towel (thin layer all over and no food bits) including the handle; (7) pop the pan in the oven right side up and set a one hour timer. Go to work. When back home pull the cold pan and lightly oil with grape seed. Use it as a daily driver like this for a week, and it will be jet black, beautiful and non-stick in no time.

THE GOOD: Good things about carbon in general - if properly seasoned, and used with adequate fat in frying, it will be non-stick. Great for a sear, etc. The post-carmelization oven cook through trick.

THE BEST: The ergonomics. The shape is a superior design. The angle of the sides are perfect - flattened and 45 degrees. Great access during cooking, good drain off and aesthetically pleasing. Much better to cook with than nearly perpendicular sides of cast iron or a rounded interior wall slope. The long handle stays cool, and in the bigger pans you can hook it under your forearm. Much like the Japanese having the world beat in cutlery, I think the French may take the prize in cookware, or at least saute' pans.

BAD: The things inherent in carbon steel. Care / oiling / rust danger / no tomato product. Weight - nearly as heavy as cast iron (at least on these) - but in terms of even heat dispersion (properly warmed up) that's good.

FINAL: So far happy, will update if there's a change.

RECOMMENDATION: Great value. Properly maintained, a lifetime, heirloom that will get better with use and age.

Just got it, but it's a nice pan. Even heat distribution and it took seasoning well.
If you get one, here's what to do:
Wash the heck out of it. That coating is oil and without it the pan would rust quickly. It's probably vegetable oil, which is what most pan makers use, but you will get a better seasoning if you take the trouble to remove it first. This it not a quick task, plan to spend 10-15 minutes soaking and scrubbing to get it all off. When the pan wipes clean with a white towel, you're done.
Now season it. I use the method I found on America's Test Kitchen that I think works best. Put in 1/3 a cup of oil, one cup of salt and either the peel of a large potato or a large sliced onion -- you want enough to at least cover the bottom of the pan.
Cook/fry this over medium to medium-high heat, stirring so that nothing sticks. The salt will smooth out any uneven seasoning you get and the potatoes or onion will help keep the seasoning even.
Do this until what you're frying is basically a bunch of dry brown bits. Throw those away, heat the pan back up to medium to drive out any moisture, wipe it out with a paper towel and you're done. You should have a slightly brown, if not outright brown pan, with a fairly even coat of seasoning.
You can use water to remove any stuck pieces that you get after you use it to cook -- as if you were deglazing.. But no soap, Never use soap unless you want to start this process. over again. There are no germs to kill on a pan that was just 300+ degrees and soap will only strip your valuable seasoning away.
Avoid foods with a lot of acid, which will eat away your seasoning, and this pan should treat you well for years to come.
Always keep a light coat of oil on this pan - LIGHT, not so much you have a sticky pan, more is less here. Otherwise it will rust. But if it does, you can just scrub or sand the rust off, re-season it, and you should be good to go.
Or, if you don't much care what your pan looks like -- like most restaurant chefs -- just scrub it, heat it with some oil and use the crap out of it until it's black and well seasoned. It's a steel pan, you're very unlikely to actually ruin it. But if you're reading this you're probably not a restaurant chef:)

I bought the Matfer based off of several professional YouTube chefs recommendations. Yes, I get how that sounds, but I also knew carbon steel pans are widely used in real professional kitchens. I was also getting tired of replacing my traditional non-stick coated pans every few years. So I got this pan and was initially surprised at the weight; it's not light! But after I seasoned it using the potato skin and salt method, I attempted eggs. Preheated the pan until it was hot and then turned off the stove. Added some butter and then my scrambled eggs. The eggs slid over the surface as if it was ice! The pan retained enough heat to thoroughly cook my eggs in a few minutes. Then cleanup was as simple as wiping down with a paper towel.

I also love this pan because I no longer need to worry about non-stick coatings getting scratched and potentially flaking off into my food. There are no chemicals to worry about and I also get to use metal utensils on the pan.

Only complaint is that it's a little heavier than I would have preferred. It's lighter than my cast iron skillet, but not by much. Probably too heavy for my daughters to use.