How It's Made
Development Process
Starting from Tony’s sketch, our artists and CAD engineers transform rough drawings into precise 2D and 3D models, which undergo computer simulations to verify draft angles and tooling accuracy. We cast every part in the U.S. using iron ore and recycled steel, with each batch screened for heavy metals and spectrally analyzed to ensure safe, high-quality metallurgy.
After basic foundry cleanup, pieces are finished, polished and seasoned with grapeseed oil at our Tennessee facility. Our heavy-duty springs, sourced from North Carolina, are engineered for secure attachment—just use a jar-lid gripper mat.
What is milling?
Milling uses a rotary cutting head to remove metal shavings—much more aggressive than hand polishing, which is akin to sanding wood. Because the cutting tool needs enough material to bite into, traditional foundries cast parts 50–70 percent heavier than their finished weight. For example, a 7.5-pound raw skillet is milled down to four pounds, producing 3.5 pounds of waste per piece. In a 1,350-skillet run that means over 4,700 pounds of shavings, most of which oxidize during processing and have minimal recycling value. Milling and high scrap rates can consume over half of the iron and energy in production. To avoid this waste, we partnered with a U.S. jobber foundry that delivers smooth, dimensionally accurate castings right out of the mold, with scrap rates as low as 3–5 percent. This approach slashes energy use in half and lowers costs, demonstrating how the right casting process creates a truly premium product.
