A Solidteknics AUS-ION frypan is pressed from one sheet of iron, 3 mm thick. The handle is not riveted or welded on; it is the same sheet, folded and formed, so there is no rivet head for egg to catch on and no joint to loosen. The 26 cm pan weighs 1.6 kg, which the brand says is roughly half what cast iron of the same size weighs.
The pans are made in Sydney, and they are the most-asked-about cookware we carry. The questions are nearly always the same: what seasoning actually means, which line and size to buy, why food stuck, whether a rust spot is the end of the pan, and how hard to run it on induction. Here is all of that in one place, drawn from the maker's own guides.
An engineer, a Kickstarter and a Sydney factory
Solidteknics was founded in 2014 by Mark James Henry, a mechanical engineer who had started Füritechnics (the Füri knives) as an undergraduate and later worked with de Buyer in France. The first product, a 24 cm AUS-ION sauteuse, went out through Kickstarter in late 2015 and raised AU$124,191 against a $20,000 goal. A second campaign in early 2021, for the Quenched finish, raised AU$1,062,072 from 2,987 backers. The company is Australian owned and says its cookware is manufactured in Sydney, though it does not publish the suburb. It also describes itself as the only production cookware still made in Australia, which is the brand's claim rather than ours.
Solidteknics calls the metal "wrought iron". The sheet is about 99.97% iron and 0.03% carbon, which makes it a very low-carbon steel rather than the slag-bearing wrought iron of old gates. Ordinary carbon-steel pans are about 1% carbon; cast iron is 2 to 4%. There is no coating, no PTFE or PFAS. Since 2021 every AUS-ION ships with the Quenched finish: sandblasted, then pre-seasoned with rice bran oil using a process the brand has patented. The older RAW and SATIN finishes are discontinued.
Which line, and which size
Standard AUS-ION is 3 mm iron. AUS-ION Lightning is 2.5 mm with a simpler handle and no base stamp, so it is lighter and cheaper. XHD is "extra heavy duty", 4 mm thick, made only as a 31 cm frypan that weighs 2.73 kg; the extra mass holds heat for big sears. Then there is nöni, which is not iron at all but a 3 mm nickel-free ferritic stainless (under 0.6% nickel) pressed the same one-piece way, from steel sourced in Germany and Finland. It needs no seasoning and does not react with acid, so it is the line the brand points to for tomato sauces, curries, boiling pasta and long braises. AUS-ION is for frying, searing, roasting, baking and grilling. Both work on induction, gas, electric, oven and barbecue.
The standard frypans are the 20 cm at 1.08 kg, the 26 cm at 1.6 kg with a 21 cm base and 1.75 L capacity, and the 30 cm at 2.1 kg with a 24 cm base and 3 L capacity. The 30 cm is 60.5 cm long from handle tip to rim. Base size matters more than rim size on a hob: the maker says to match the base to the element, because a small burner under a big pan is one of the ways pans warp.
The AUS-ION 26cm Frypan is the size to start with, and the one CHOICE chose to test. The AUS-ION 20cm Frypan is the egg pan for one and the lightest by a long way. The AUS-ION 30cm Frypan takes four pieces of fish at once, and you will lift it with two hands when full. If you sear a lot of meat on a strong gas burner, the AUS-ION 31cm XHD Frypan is 2.73 kg empty, which is not for everyone, and that is exactly why it holds its heat when a cold steak lands in it.
Seasoning: what it is and how the maker does it
Seasoning is oil heated until it polymerises into a hard, dry film bonded to the metal. Thin coats near the oil's smoke point work; thick coats do not. Solidteknics recommends rice bran oil, though any high-smoke-point fat works (grapeseed, canola, lard). Olive oil is not recommended because its smoke point is low.
The stovetop method builds non-stick quickly. Put a teaspoon of rice bran oil in the pan, heat it gradually, and keep wiping the oil around until it smokes, then 20 seconds more. The film should be a thin polish with no pools. Cool for at least a minute and repeat, for 10 to 15 minutes across two or more sessions, until the base is black, slick and repels oil.
The oven method is for corrosion protection. Warm the pan at 90 °C for 15 minutes, wipe oil on and then off again so the pan looks dry, and bake it upside down at 250 °C for one and a half to two hours. Cool it in the oven, ideally overnight, and repeat at least three times; a wok wants four. In the maker's words, "Too much oil is one of the most common causes of weak, flaking, sticky or problematic seasoning." Quenched pans arrive ready to cook, but the brand still suggests fat-rich cooking early on to build the layer.
Sticking, rust, induction and daily care
We should be plain about this: on ProductReview.com.au the brand sits at 3.6 out of 5 across 132 reviews, and around a third are negative. The complaints are sticking, seasoning stripping after acidic cooking, rust spots, and a domed centre that makes oil pool at the edges. The praise is durability and eggs sliding once the pan is properly seasoned. Both camps describe the same pan at different points in its life.
Sticking, according to the maker's FAQ, comes from too much heat (the iron is very conductive, so "medium is often your new high"), too little fat, thin seasoning, rough carbonised patches that grab food, or protein put in before the pan is hot and moved too soon. The fix is lower heat, more fat and more stovetop rounds. A sticky, gummy surface means excess oil: bake it empty, upside down, at 250 °C for 90 minutes. Flaking means too much oil in the oven, too short a bake, or acidic cooking; scrub back with steel wool or fine sandpaper and start again. Rust is oxidation from moisture: scrub it off with a green scourer, steel wool, or coarse salt and oil, dry the pan, re-season. A pan that has been through the dishwasher (it should not be) gets the same treatment.
On induction the brand says there is rarely any need to go above medium power, and never to use the boost setting. Warm the pan slowly before turning it up, match the base to the element, and never put a hot pan under cold water. The warranty states plainly that "induction warping and thermal shock is not covered". After cooking, rinse with hot water while the pan is warm, scrub off residue, dry it over low heat, and while the pan is new wipe on a whisper of oil before storing it dry. Hand wash only. A quick wash with detergent will not ruin a cured layer; soaking will, and so will leaving food in the pan overnight.
What we stock
Beyond the frypans, the AUS-ION 22cm Sauteuse is the shape of that first 2015 Kickstarter product, two centimetres smaller: a deeper pan with sloping sides for anything you toss or reduce. The AUS-ION 31cm Crepe Pan is a wide, shallow plate for crêpes, dosa and flatbreads. The 30cm Iron Wok needs the most patience in seasoning. The Bigga Skillet 35cm is the largest piece we carry, for a whole roast chicken and its vegetables. The LIL' Flippa Spring SS is the brand's own flipper. The full range is in our Solidteknics collection; nöni is not on our shelves at the moment.
Questions people ask
Is it wrought iron or carbon steel?
Both terms get used. The sheet is 0.03% carbon, which the brand calls wrought iron and most retailers file under carbon steel. In use it behaves like a carbon-steel pan: season it, keep acid out of it, dry it.
Can I cook tomatoes in it?
A short cook in a well-seasoned pan is fine. A long tomato braise will strip the seasoning. The maker's answer is to use nöni for that.
Does the multi-century warranty cover rust or warping?
No. The warranty has no time limit and covers defects in materials or manufacturing, but it excludes rust, seasoning problems, and warping from mismatched element size, rapid heating or induction. "Multi-century" is the brand's term for a pan that gets passed down, a slogan rather than a tested lifespan.
The Solidteknics range is on our website with delivery across Sydney, and you can pick a pan up and feel the weight for yourself at either of our shops, in Leichhardt and Crows Nest.
