A multi-century warranty - Sounds too good to be true? It must be a gimmick! It most definitely is NOT.
Cast iron is already fragile and cracks easily on impact or thermal shock. Machining this material thinner just makes it crack much more easily. Try dropping one on a hard floor! If you’re careful it will last, though it will inevitably break in coming decades when someone has an accident.
It’s sad to see the stories all over the internet of heirloom cast iron pans cracking for the current generation. That will never happen with ours.
Our US-ION pans are basically indestructible, because they are one seamless piece of a wrought iron material that will not crack. That is why our warranty is multi-century. That is no marketing gimmick. We’re not marketeers, we’re engineers. Any mechanical engineer will tell you it’s quite clear our pans will last for many centuries.
We do hope you have the chance to try this engineering marvel for yourself!
SOLIDTEKNICS' MULTI-CENTURY WARRANTY
Solidteknics offers a very simple multi-century warranty on all Solidteknics products, for all defects related to materials or manufacturing occuring during normal cooking. Note that this is a manufacturing warranty for such defects, and not valid for improper use, lack of maintenance, abuse, or 'change of heart', like some retailer's customer service guarantees (see below).
In effect, there is no time limit: we will replace all genuine warranty claims, no matter in which century they are returned. This is not a marketing gimmick: this is just solid engineering.
Why such a confident warranty policy? The Solidteknics vision (and name) is based on developing only world-leading innovations of multi-century durability, manufactured in Australia. Our decades of experience developing equipment for chefs in multiple countries, extensive R&D, design, and all the manufacturing care invested in Solidteknics products gives us a certain confidence that these are the best products of their kind in the world today. Our engineering and materials expertise give us the confidence that durability will be at least several centuries, with normal recommended care. Our cookware is wrought from one solid piece of very tough material, with no coatings or joins, so very little can go wrong.
Specific to US-ION wrought iron pans:
For our warranty to remain valid, our seasoning and care instructions must be followed (nothing unusual: all the same normal care for bare iron/steel pans, for thousands of years), or at least the advice of one of the many iron cooking experts online: click here for our instructions page.
If there is a seasoning or rust problem, don't worry: the beauty of iron cookware is that it is forever renewable. Simply clean and re-season!
Specific to nöni ferritic stainless pans:
In our engineering/cooking experience, we believe our solid non-nickel ferritic stainless steel is the healthiest (no Nickel leaching into food), and best conducting (fastest and most even) solution for high performance cooking where corrosion resistance is important (eg. acidic sauces, boiling and slow cooking of water-based liquids, etc). The reason other manufacturers use austenitic Nickel stainless steels (then make ply or multi-clad layers to compensate for its poor conductivity) is that these Nickel stainless steels (eg. 18/10, meaning 18% Chromium and 10% Nickel) are the shiniest when polished, and the most corrosion-resistant of the stainless steels (there are many kinds). Because we won't use Nickel for health reasons, one slight trade-off is corrosion resistance. If nöni pans are left in corrosive situations without maintenance, small rust spots can appear. Usually, correct washing and drying is enough to avoid any spotting.
Long periods of storage may encourage some spotting (humidity in the air). Ideally, keep using your pans, or store in a dry place free from condensation.
We don't recommend dishwashers for nöni because they are corrosive to metals in general, but they can be used if allowed to dry with an open door after wash cycle is complete.
If spotting does occur, hand wash and scrub away the spots. More persistant spots can be removed with stainless steel cleaners. Because our cookware was always designed for highest performance, health and sustainability, instead of fashion, we recommend ignoring small spots that don't affect cooking performance.
In the end, if perfectly shiny appearance is more important to you than health, sustainability, and multi-generation durability, that is fine: there are many Nickel-based, clad/multi-ply, rivetted/welded brands available in the marketplace.
Commonsense:
Note that our warranty only covers normal cooking situations, not abuse, and doesn't cover small stains and rust spots that may be possible in extreme environments. We haven't seen rust on nöni™ in all our trials (and long-term kitchen use, including dishwashers), except for long duration salt spray tests: way harsher than real kitchen life. In the unlikely event you did develop a small rust spot, don't worry: it will polish off and the pan won't be harmed. In general, don't leave the pan in wet/caustic/acidic environments. Simple care would suffice, like wash and dry, or at least open the dishwasher door after a cycle. Don't leave in seawater, or in contact with wet dissimilar metals (like austenitic stainless sink top). We won't replace a pan, with all the waste involved, for a small, easily-fixed blemish or surface discoloration caused by lack of care.
General Solidteknics Warranty Conditions:
Like all manufacturer warranties, we do not replace abused products.
Solidteknics is not a retailer, we are an engineering development company. We do not offer a money-back-no-questions-asked guarantee for 'change of heart', like some of the big retailers of imported products. We only replace products that are defective in materials or manufacturing. We of course will honor all legitimate warranty returns received by our customers.
In the USA we are also happy for our customers to contact us directly with any genuine warranty concerns, and we will replace any defectives directly (via courier exchange of defective product for new). All overseas purchases must be returned to the place of purchase.
Any claims for 'change of heart', purchases from our retailers must be handled by our retailers. In the normal way, we sell to them at wholesale (half) price, in bulk, so they have the margin to give full retail service according to their service policies. This is the regular manufacturer-retailer relationship, which we must all respect.
To check if a claim is deemed genuine, please email photos to info@solidteknicsusa.com first to be sure (and to avoid a lot of expensive postage if it is not).
We have sold many 10s of thousands of pans (cast iron and steel pans), mostly in Australia and the USA, and to date we've had a small number of genuine warranty failures and some complaints about seasoning struggles - a wonderful testament to our manufacturing capability. The warranty failures were for cracks, warping and porosity: rare, but possible. Our seasoning instructions can be found here, and seasoning FAQs are here. If you are struggling with seasoning, we can be reached at info@solidteknicsusa.com to provide you with one-on-one advice.
Be cool. Please never run first to public social media with an attempted 'exposée' style post/rant. You will find the issue could have been easily corrected with some seasoning/iron cooking advice, or a fast and efficient replacement of a rare defective pan. We have worked long and hard to develop what we, and many experts, believe are the finest iron pans in the world today. We believe we have earned a little respect, and we always show respect for our customers. It should always be mutual.
If you have any questions about our warranty policy or need to make a claim, please email: info@solidteknicsusa.com . We are more than happy to replace any genuine warranty claim, because we only want perfect Solidteknics pans to be handed down for many generations with love, by cooks who love everything about them.
Happy Cooking!
Warranty FAQs:
Induction warping: Our iron pans are so efficient with induction that heat can become too concentrated in the middle, particularly when mismatching induction ring size to pan size. Because our US-ION wrought iron pans are so efficient on induction, there is rarely any need to go above medium power settings. Small rings and high power can certainly warp any pan, and though ours are tougher than most, it is possible to ruin your pan through warping. The issues can be exaggerated with some high power or very centrally-focused induction. Like other situations of 'abuse', warped pans from overheating on induction are not covered under our warranty.
Thermal shock: warping and cracking: Beware that iron pans can be warped and cast iron has been known to crack (although we’ve never seen it in our pans) due thermal shock from heating too quickly on electric or induction cooktops set on max. So warm your pan a little more slowly on a medium setting for a minute on those stoves before stepping up to higher heats. Thermal shock from cooling too quickly: never apply water to a hot pan. Apart from the risk from boiling water/steam, the thermal shock can crack cast iron or warp steel pans, no matter how thick and tough. Wait until your pan has cooled until just warm to the touch before washing. Like other situations of 'abuse', cracked pans from thermal shock are not covered under our warranty.
Seasoning frustrations: We know it can be a challenge for anyone new to iron cooking and seasoning, but being unwilling to learn or fix personal seasoning problems is not a warranty issue. Please remember: our cast iron and wrought iron pans are the same materials that have been used for thousands of years (and still the best we believe), and many millions of cooks all around the world are very happy with their seasoned bare iron pans. They know it takes a little more effort to maintain than synthetic disposable pans, and they aren't quite as nonstick, but they're very close when well maintained, and they have the far greater benefits of being healthy non-toxic, forever renewable, natural nonstick with multi-century durability. First step is to follow our seasoning instructions here and if that doesn't work for you, change oils and try alternative seasoning processes. There are many good ways to season iron pans, and ours is only one good way. Everyone needs to find their own combination of oil, seasoning method, washing, cooking, etc. - we can only guide from our own extensive and science-based experience.
Mutual Respect: Our most important request is for mutual respect. We expect all our customers to return the respect that we show for all, by not running first to social media to speculate about your personal seasoning or warranty issues. Please email us first at info@solidteknicsusa.com or Direct Message us on social media. After all our years of hard work to develop these new innovations in iron cookware, acclaim from top chefs and experts, and tens of thousands of happy customers (and millions of happy owners of other bare iron brands), we do expect that you give us first the benefit of the doubt, and an opportunity to help with your personal issue offline first. Almost invariably it is a personal struggle, and not a warranty issue, and we love helping customers overcome their issues and love our iron pans as much as everyone else. It's usually easier than it at first seems, with a little help!