Ergonomic Skillet Handle

Cast iron skillets are awesome for so many things, but they are also really heavy and awkward to hold when they are hot and loaded up with food.  The fabric handle covers don't help with the fact that there is a large cantilevered load out on the end of your wrist that wants to slosh back and forth with the liquid in the pan.  Those handle covers also can't be left on when cooking on an open flame, and they can slow cook your hand if they are wet.  Also, I couldn't find any suitable fabric to make one of those out in the woods, so I have been using a ripped piece of cardboard box and it was getting embarrassing.

A skillet holder made from a stick seemed the way to go, and wow is it much nicer to use.  Here are the qualities that make it better, in my opinion:

- The grab point is closer to the center of mass of the pan, so it is easier to control and torques the wrist less
- The angled hand position and hammer grip feels more natural than holding a horizontal handle
- No heat transfer to the hand at all, even when wet
- It can be left on the skillet while cooking over a wild open flame (within reason)
- A second hand grip on the back allows for even more control and bracing in case you are doing some competitive off-road cooking or something
- It is made of just a wooden stick, which means you could sharpen the ends and fend off two large and one small vampire in a pinch

The hardest part of making this was finding a thick enough piece of hardwood with a suitable branch in it, and that wasn't very hard.  The skillet has a slotted hole in the handle of about 1cm width, so I wanted the branch to be a larger diameter than that, and I wanted it pointing up at about a 45deg angle.  I found a useable piece of serviceberry and cut it with about eight inches left on each side of the branch (I'm mixing metric and imperial units to be both inclusive and confusing).  I then cut the branch so it was about 50% longer than the slot in the skillet handle.  Next I peeled off all the bark, crowned the three ends, and shaved two parallel flats on the short branch down until they just fit snugly into the skillet handle hole.  Finally I charred the whole thing, smoothed the surface a bit, and applied linseed oil, all of which can be skipped if you want to.

Notes:
- A thicker piece would have been even better, but the serviceberries don't get much bigger around here.  I don't think the crotch of the branch will break, but a weaker wood might.
- The flats on the piece going through the slot prevent rotation, so wider flats are better which again means a thicker piece of wood.
- The back handle can probably be cut down to about 2", it isn't really that necessary unless you are carrying the pan long distances.
- The same thing could be made by knocking a hard wood dowel pin into a larger diameter piece of wood at an angle, and I might make one of those too.
- I think an even sharper included angle would be better, something like 30deg, which would get your hand even closer to the center of mass.

This is part of the MoPID series of permaculture innovations that I am working on during my time at Wheaton Labs.  Check out the thread if you'd like to follow along.

Oh the perspective on those pictures is kinda crap.  I gotta bring along a photographer next year; I'll attach a better shot.

Edit: Also don't take the OP's advice of cutting off the extra length on the back handle.  Shave it into a nice little spatula like in the attached picture and then have this be a complete Skillet Buddy cooking utensil.  Can't believe I almost missed that function-stacking freebie, sheesh.

David, you have identified one of my biggest complaints about cast iron frying pans! The handles are too, d--b short!

Hubby's friend came by and parked his camper here for a couple of days. He wanted to make Chinese veggies, but I only have one small cast iron frying pan (with a lovely long handle with wood around part of it).  So he brought his from the camper and I suggested he accidentally forget to take it back. Alas he did not agree to letting me "store" it for him. It not only had a decently long handle, but it had a bump-out handle on the opposite side that was large enough and nicely rounded to be comfortable to actually use. I've been looking for a fry pan like that for some time now. There's no point me getting one that I can't safely lift, and I just don't have a lot of forearm and hand strength.

Your work-around to that problem is lovely, but it doesn't beat designing the pan for better, safer, use!

His was nicer than the link below - but the picture shows the idea:
https://www.amazon.ca/Preseasoned-Victoria-Flaxseed-Seasoned-SKL-210/dp/B01726HDY0

I hear ya Jay, good design from the get-go is almost always the right answer!

That pan you linked looks pretty great and they definitely thought about the issue. Seems like Stargazer does a really good job too... But I'm not in that $100+ skillet life .

David N Black wrote: But I'm not in that $100+ skillet life .

I hear you! It's why I've been getting friends to keep an eye out at the thrift shops!

I'm willing to pay a decent price for quality - the problem is that although I feel confident about judging ergonomics, I've not used much cast iron, so I'm less comfortable judging how good the whole product is.  However, I *really* like the set of stainless pots I've got, so I'm not keen on using them on a wood fire if I need to use one for that purpose.  

The skillet you've pictured is lovely! However, that link is $100+ US and I'm in Canada, on an Island, so getting it here would likely be at least double that in my currency. I'd better start visiting more thrift shops! Actually, I should email Fred and ask him what brand his skillet was - at least I know it is quality, so if I'm going to shell out money, I'll feel like I get what I pay for!