They apparently are still in business, but for how much longer?http://financenat.com/imageus.jpg
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rolyna reported - requested post removed - embedded links

Received them today in good order. I think I like the bigger ones a bit better. The 18 inch seems a bit out of round, probably a function of size.

Shaun what did u mean by "flashing?" I note a bit of what appears to be a glaze in spots on the metal. Did you use an acid in a wipe on and off with a quick rinse method? Type of acid? Naval Jelly?

Or did you use Steel wool with a Bar Cleanser? Salt and oil wt steel wool?

So what did you do?
I am going to use Lard to season.

Hey Ted,

Some were flashed more than others so you may have gotten ones with very little or no rust. Or my just wiping them down with peanut oil wiped away the surface. Who knows but glad you got them. I didn't do anything to any of the woks other than coat them with oil, no time I'm sorry to say. I haven't even touched mine.

Ohhh by "flash" you mean rust....acht zo. I can deal with that

There is Grace Young video where she uses salt and oil to renovate rusty Woks. So far an SOS pad and some cleanser then after rinsing heat on the stove to dry.

I used a couple of big Table spoons of Lard with the green onions and sliced Ginger to season. Wiped a bit on the outside. After done and used paper towels to wipe off excess oil. Ginger and onions leaves a fragrant smell.

We have a cast iron wok from Skeppshult Gjuteri in Sweden and those are cleaned with water only and then "re-coated" with salt (+heat) and oil.

WS website says the handmade artisan Woks are no longer available. That means we have something you can not get anymore in the USA.

From this point on it will only be water and a brush followed by heat to dry.

The steel wool pad and cleanser was to get the peanut oil, rust and any dirt or grime off.

Cool, now I wish I had ordered another 1 or 2.

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I received mine yesterday. I've only looked it over, no cleaning or seasoning yet. I'll try and get to that this weekend.

Such a cool wok.

Thanks to everyone that put this together.

Put some Bacon in it this morning, heated Wok on my gas stove dropped 3 strips in and they started to smoke real like right now quick. Wiped it out afterwards with a paper towel, even wiping some of the grease on the back side. After just two go around's at the seasoning it is getting a nice shiny patina.

It SEEMS that they heat up quick and run hot even on my low BTU (8K) stove.

From the picture of the 12 that you posted it seems like there was 1 18', 7 16' inch and 4 14' Woks.

The 18' has the double Riveted handle.

So did you get a 14' and a 16' WOK?

I don't think any of you are gona be sorry. It is not all brite and shiny pretty like factory stamped out Woks but it does have character.

You can't even get them in Shanghai. We got in right under the wire. Good call Tabs-strodamus, and thanks again Shaun! SmileWavy
Cenbros

And if any Pelicans are interested there is a Facebook page dedicated to making a recipe from Grace Young's cookbook every Wednesday....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wokwednesdays/

If you need anyone to taste test what you cook, you have my number. ;)

No shyte Sherlock....looks like we were their last big order...when we ordered they probably knew they were closing.

Sad for the Cen brothers but three cheers for Ted! Treasure, absolute treasure. Thanks Ted!!!SmileWavy

I am sure the Cen brothers wanted something better for their children than making Woks. The business had served its purpose and had run its course. They could have kept going with just WS, but they are tired of it after more than 40 years. So I dont feel sad for the Cens, but that an era of hand craftmanship has now come to an end. We all are a little poorer for it.

What seperates the Cen Woks from other hand worked Woks is the heat and shape process that they used. Other hand worked manufacturers seem to produce on a larger scale and the other elusive artisan makers don't seem to use the heat and shape process. The Cens by virtue of their quality and longetivity had built reputation and a niche for themselves. Now their Woks live on in myth as being special and now unobtainable.

When I stumbled upon the Cen woks I knew I wanted one and that from the literature that there was a vague sense of urgency. However I had no idea that two and a half months later that would be it. If you recall I did buy one from WS as an insurance policy that I would have at least one of them.

And you're gonna actually use them :)???

Cool thread....wish I'd seen it early on!

I am...I have seasoned one, bought the 100k propane burner...just have to get the bottle.

I will be using at least one more of the 4. One of the 14's I will sell as it was supposed to go to a friend, but she changed her mind just as we ordered.

Tabby, I'd be tempted to make you an offer for the extra one, but it should go to someone who could/would do it justice....I'm not worthy...seriously :)

For you newly wok Rich pelican's, Anthony Bourdain had a series of shows tonight on CNN
Shot in China, Shanghai, and Vietnam Nam. Focusing on lots of dishes done in woks that look a lot like the handmade gems you have just gotten.
May be inspiring.

Cheers Richard

Hi. If anyone has a spare they'd sell, please let me know. I'd happily buy it. Thanks

Tonight is the night. I finally got my WOK burner set up and am ready to burn some stir fry on er. It is a propane set up. I thought about using natural gas? But chose the path of least resistance. I got the Grace Young book at the Thrift for a coupla bucks.I come up with the damdest things there.

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I got the cart for FREE, the chopping board...guess where? The burner and tank I had to pay for. The GY book has a very nice presentation that has a narrative along with some nice recipes. It is worth having and I like it (I like pictures) but I really wouldn't call it a dedicated cookbook to just cooking.Wok Hay, today is a good day to wok.

PS:
I also bought some Red Oak, Almond and Maple logs to fire up the David Klose smoker...I think a Brisket is in my near future.I havn't fired that baby up in a coupla years as I need to do volume to make it worth while. Mostly the BGE gets a work out because I dont make a lot of bbq anymore.

Mine is working well. It sits flat on a range top gas burner and heats up like nobody's business. Lots of stir frys and it's developing a great patina. GY's other book has more recipes but "Breath Of A Wok" is a great read along with being a good cook book.

Looking good Ted! Have you made anything yet?

Aaron is coming to the US in May and coming to Boston on the 22nd to visit me.

Tonight was a good night to WOK. All I can say is WOW what a difference in taste high heat imparts. I just threw what I had in the refer together in a test run..some chicken and veggies that if it turned out to be a disaster I could toss it and head on down to the Burger King. There is going to be a learning curve in being able to control and moderate heat on the appliance. To get that burner dialed in, it took all of about 7 to 8 minutes to complete cooking. I used Corn Starch in the marinating liquid, it scorched very quickly...do not think I will be using that again in the marinade. It is real fast.

There is going to be a learning curve in adjusting the burner to control heat, adjusting my flavoring profile and developing technique in the use of the Wok and burner. Tonight I had some burned on crust from the corn starch, I had t keep some water near by to keep it from really scorching. All in all a good first effort. I mean it is a real fast cook. A cup of water boils in seconds as does Peanut oil starting to smoke..

Well that was a quick learning curve. Did a Cashew Chicken. By adjusting the pressure regulator I toned down the flame a bit, which gives a bit of time to keep up. Now I am producing restruant quality Chinese.

and yet no pics. :)

I've made a lot of stir fry in my wok, starting to get a real patina going. I'll have to post some pics.

I too have been running the Cen Ro Wok on my outside Propane Burner...I am now turning out restaurant quality stir fry. It really is a great WOK, and I love using it. It is like bam bam bam and your done in about 5 to 10 minutes. Everything needs to be prepped ahead of time and ready to go NOW.

After each use I use a natural fiber brush and water to wash out the Wok after which I heat it on the stove to dry and then put a teaspoon of Lard to re lubricate. Using a paper towel to soak up the excess.

Recently I found a Helen Chen cast iron WOK for $8.00 at a Thrift. I took one of my Chinese carbon steel flat bottoms back to the Thrift and sold off an Atlas Spinning Co WOK from SF. I just didn't need all those Woks.

The cast Iron works well on a low btu gas burner, because it holds the heat. So when the weather turns too cold to WOK outside I have an alternate means.

Aaron who got the woks for us was here a month ago. We had a good time for a day and a half. He loved having real lobster. He was also amazed at how the clean the air is here. Both West Coast and Boston.

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I got this email just now. If anyone has an extra wok they want to sell, PM me and I'll give you his email address. I'm keeping my 2

Hello,

I came accross an old pelican thread discussing the cen brothers wok journey where several works were acquired. I realize this was a few years ago and I am very late to the game. I would like to know if anyone still had an extra wok and would they be interested in selling it? I am a retired chef and a purest I developed a love for stirfry and been making it with inferior tools quite a long time. I don't fly so traveling to get a wok has always been out of the question. I'm not a pelican parts member, I simply stumbled onto the thread and desperately want to find myself a cen wok for wok cooking. Thank you for taking the time to read my email and please have a wonderful weekend.

Kindest regards
Cris

I'm still enjoying mine! Last I saw on Ebay they were going for $400-500. There is a FB page "Wok Wednesdays" where I've seen some people who own a few, he might check there.

Also this guy on Etsy seems pretty popular.....
https://www.etsy.com/listing/607288194/carbon-steel-wok-hand-hammered-cookware?ref=shop_home_active_9&frs=1

The Wok brothers :)