All-Clad

I posted this on a different thread but thought I would start one of its own:

We recently bought our first All-Clad (a 12" copper-core skillet) from Cookware 'n More. One thing we aren't crazy about is that the cooking surface of the skillet is not flat. It's convex - so the middle is higher than the edge. Is this normal? It was an irregular, but I thought that was just supposed to be about dings/scratches. I'll obviously get in touch with them if this is not the way it should be, but I wanted to check first to see if this is the way they are made. Thanks.

bon2mic wrote:I posted this on a different thread but thought I would start one of its own:

We recently bought our first All-Clad (a 12" copper-core skillet) from Cookware 'n More. One thing we aren't crazy about is that the cooking surface of the skillet is not flat. It's convex - so the middle is higher than the edge. Is this normal? It was an irregular, but I thought that was just supposed to be about dings/scratches. I'll obviously get in touch with them if this is not the way it should be, but I wanted to check first to see if this is the way they are made. Thanks.

I certainly haven't noticed that with mine, and I can't believe that's by design.

That certainly sounds irregular.

For a completely un-scientific (and possibly useless) investigation I looked at a bunch of All-Clad online and none of the items appeared to have the curved cooking surface you describe. It sounds like you've used it already and I can say that I have had inferior cookwear deform in a similar manner after several good heatings. I'm not saying All-Clad is inferior but you did mention this was an irregular.

Thanks for the insight. We've only used it once as we encountered this problem immediately. Also, moderators, I accidentally put this in Beyond Chicagoland - can it be moved to Shopping and Cooking? THANKS!

Does anyone around town (Northwestern Cutlery, perhaps) offer cookware re-flattening service? This is common in India, but I haven't heard of it being offered here...a dude comes around, you give him your warped pan, he puts it on a perfectly flat surface, puts a big sandbag in it (to prevent dings, scratches, etc.), and pounds the crap out of the sandbag with a big weight until the bottom of the pan is flat once again.

I would call All-Clad customer service and see if they will replace the pan. They shouldn't warp under any sort of regular use.

I've bought quite a bit of irregular all clad from cookware 'n more and never experienced that problem.. give them a call and see what they say.

Here's the response from Cookware 'n More (fyi, it is not a slight concavity). I'll try All-Clad tomorrow:

Bonnie,
Any good fry pan has a very slight concavity, because when the pan heats it will expand and flatten. Our irregulars are cosmetic defects, things that do not effect the performance of the pan. If the pan is used you have to go through All Clad for your warranty, which is a full lifetime warranty against defects that would effect your performance. You can contact them at (800)272-2170 or through their website www.all-clad.com. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Have a nice day.

All-Clad made good. They were really helpful and said that the pan is warped and they will replace it. She said I would have to pay to have it shipped to them. But when she found out I had only had the pan for a month and only used it a few times, she sent me a pre-paid UPS shipping label. Success! Thanks everyone for your help.