I cant be sure whether or not this is a "carbon" steel skillet. It looks to me like a cast iron because of the rough surface finish it has. After sanding it down for a while the cooking surface is fairly smooth and almost ready for seasoning. I wanted a skillet that didnt have any teflon or other non stick synthetic stuff on it and was like a cast iron skillet but not so heavy. This skillet will heat and cool faster than a normal cast iron but not so fast like an aluminum skillet. It meets the specifications I had and I'm ok sanding it down to make it work how i want.

I am on a carbon steel bender lately and the lodge ones are amazing. I didn't know about them until I saw a worker at chipotle use one to cook down some onions and peppers for fajitas in a lodge pan. I have tried muaviel and have many de buyer pans. But the lodge ones are much better bang for the buck. And I like that it comes with some seasoning instead of beeswax. I mean yeah the de buyer when seasoned has that lovely rich bronze color that looks super expensive and has more heft. But lodge is USA and one where made in USA can be exclaimed with pride.