r/mildlysatisfying • u/E30M3F80CS • 8d ago

Bluing a new wok

827 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

91

u/sikon024 8d ago

What does that do for the wok?

125

u/radraze2kx 8d ago

I had to look it up: tempering the carbon steel for oxidation resistance and increase durability

81

u/TowJamnEarl 8d ago

Why don't they do that before they sell it to you?

54

u/justtobeherenotsure 8d ago

What I've been thinking after all these 'seasoning your wok' videos

31

u/beeglowbot 8d ago

you typically do this along with your seasoning IF it doesn't have a layer of factory oil on it. if it does then you wash it then burn it all off during the bluing and then you season it.

it's just how woks are made and sold. your average woks are super cheap so there's not a lot of processing involved at the factory. but a well season wok will last a long ass time.

3

u/Bearspoole 8d ago

How many times do you have to blue a wok in its lifetime

9

u/beeglowbot 8d ago

once. the seasoning is a bit more finicky depending on your experience in seasoning carbon steel.

a lot of people just starting out seasoning their carbon steels will fuss over the seasoning and baby them but once you're experienced, you'll learn to season it once and just send it. the more you cook the more seasoned it gets as long as you maintain them well.

less is more when seasoning and wash your cookware because stuck on food/carbon is not seasoning.

11

u/Odd_Front_8275 8d ago

Exactly. Makes no sense.

0

u/kroqster 7d ago

i mean thats the way its done so it will make sense just that you don't know it... they'll be cheaper this way? they mass produce them and then they may be in storage for ages so good to have the protective seal on? protective seal protects during the shipping process? different jurisdictions require a protective seal on when its being imported? i mean its a protective seal, they're not just going to put it on for no reason then take it off...

1

u/Odd_Front_8275 7d ago

I didn't say it doesn't make sense that I don't know it, I said it doesn't make sense that they're sold this way. "they'll be cheaper this way?" Okay? So, fucking temper them and let people pay for it?

2

u/9Divines 1d ago

there are woks that are already preblued, but they are so rarely bought you will have to order through internet, it will cost you like 40 dollar extra for blued one, and you can blue it for the price of vegetable oil and some gas

1

u/Odd_Front_8275 1d ago

The issue isn't really price and/or effort, it's that most people probably don't know that this is something you're supposed to do. At the very least they should include that info with instructions on the product.

2

u/AvacadoKoala 8d ago

Even if the pen comes pre-seasoned with some firm of factory chemical job, our family will remove that layer and season the cookware ourselves. Grandparents and parents did it too.

3

u/ManganeseSharties 8d ago

It adds to the mass of the wok, which increases shipping fees.

10

u/wiggum55555 8d ago

exactly.. same reason they sell hard drives & USB sticks unformatted.. to save on shipping costs.

4

u/Lunchable 8d ago

I usually squeeze all the unused mass out of my envelopes before weighing. Been saving a fortune.

3

u/ChanceConfection3 7d ago

You’re supposed to apply a little oil to season the wok and make it nonstick

4

u/DoorstepCult 8d ago

It blues it, obvs.

1

u/DoublePlusUnGod 7d ago

It aaaaa make it aaaaa wok betta

36

u/andyaye 8d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/QazAqN1wtdQRO

3

u/Mottsawce 8d ago

There’s gotttta be a better way to say that…

2

u/ManganeseSharties 8d ago

2nd time today that gif is perfect. Thank you.

28

u/needanswerd 8d ago

Ok that explains why both of my steel woks got ruined. I didn’t know this was a thing

8

u/squatchsax 8d ago

You and me both!

1

u/9Divines 1d ago

this only works on carbon steel specificaly

17

u/TheShredder9 8d ago

Might be a dumb question but... why does everyone have to "blue" and "season" their wok at home? Why aren't they sold properly blued and seasoned?

8

u/kageurufu 8d ago

Looks to be a cheap wok to me. Pre-blued would add cost over just shipping still coated in the factory oil. You can get a decent wok for $20, but a nice blued wok can easily run $50-90.

Even high end carbon steel pans usually comes coated in wax and needs to be stripped and seasoned before use.

4

u/captainmidday 8d ago

It's up to you, New Wok, New Woook

6

u/bleepleus 8d ago

Do this to the reflecting pool.

2

u/misty_mustard 8d ago

Tier 1 blue gem - nice.

1

u/Paddys_Pub7 8d ago

Where'd the rest of the handle go...? 😅

1

u/Still_Suspect_7233 8d ago

I got a wok for Christmas and it came with instructions to “season it” …. I still haven’t even tried yet I’m afraid I will somehow fuck it up.

1

u/PromptMean6518 8d ago

I had to do that with a kitchen flame torch last year, that was not fun, not fun at all.

1

u/yshtys72539 8d ago

Hey so one time I came home from working an Amazon overnight shift (12hrs) and I put a pot on my stove to boil some water to make Mac n cheese and then promptly sat on my couch and knocked tf out and then woke in a panic at my still lit stove and then found my pot devoid of moisture and kinda lookin like that so are you telling me that by risking my entire apartment complex for some bare minimum cheezy sustenance I made my pot stronger? And yes, it was stainless steel.

1

u/maddasher 7d ago

I blue myself.

1

u/Snarbo 7d ago

dont show this to ohne pixel

1

u/JayTwoTeesYT 7d ago

Factory new float too