Sonora Small and Spatula Bundle
Sonora Small and Spatula
Bundle
Our cookware is handmade by a small team of artisans. Please allow 5-10 days for orders to be prepared.
The perfect little pair. Our Small Sonora Pan—hand-forged in Santa Barbara with gently sloped walls and a hammered finish—is a go-to for omelets, veggies, and single-serve favorites. The stainless steel spatula was made to match its energy: sturdy, handsome, and ready to flip whatever you throw at it.
Buy them together and save a little—it’s our way of saying they just belong side by side. It also makes a great gift for anyone who loves to cook (or wants to start).
Every piece we make has its own quirks in shape, finish, and color.
Hand wash recommended for the spatula.
Carbon steel is the original chef’s pan — the link between cast iron’s heat retention and stainless steel’s finesse. It heats fast, sears beautifully, and develops a natural non-stick surface the more you cook.
Ours are shaped, forged and seasoned right here in Santa Barbara. Like a good leather jacket, they only get better with age and use.
Read more on The Blacksmith's Journal → Why Professional Chefs Choose Carbon Steel
Treat your carbon steel pan like a cast iron’s cooler cousin — keep it dry, keep it oiled, and it’ll reward you for life. After cooking, wipe it clean, heat it briefly to dry, then rub on a thin layer of oil to protect the surface.
The secret is consistency over complexity. Regular light care beats any deep-clean ritual. Every use adds to your seasoning, building that dark patina that makes the pan naturally non-stick and uniquely yours.
Need to re-season? It’s easier than you think.
Read the full guide → Carbon Steel Pan Seasoning & Care Guide
SEASONING & CARE
Like a good leather jacket, it only gets better with age.
As your pan gains its season it will change gracefully and become even more non-stick.
Absolutely love the pan. I did the extra seasoning process and have so far cooked hash browns and eggs. The hash browns are the best I've had and my daughter's love them. It also cooked the eggs perfectly and I was able to flip it with out using anything. I can't believe how non stick this pan is. This pan is truly a work of art only problem now is I'm going to have to get a larger one.
Love the pan, great size for the wife and I. Took seasoning well eggs glide in the pan. Handle is extremely comfortable love cooking with it. Wish I could afford the whole set but that will have to wait.
I have been looking for a new egg pan that didn’t have the harmful chemicals. I came across Santa Barbara forge and thought I’d give it a try. All of my pans are either Le Creuset, All Clad or cast iron. I absolutely love this pan! It is the perfect size for my morning omelette. It is light and easy to handle and stunningly beautiful. I can’t wait to order another from their collection.
I’ve had the small pan for just a few days now and I’ve cooked with it a couple times plus the seasoning it in the oven 2-3 times. Is this what my pan should look like at this point?
This pan alone could have made me love cooking. The customer service and customization was outstanding. Pairs well with the 60 year old hot pad made by my Great-Grandma. I now have two heirlooms.
It’s very beautiful piece of art, very strong and high quality, first tried, no sticky on the skillet. Iam very pleased with the purchase, will buy more pans in the future.
Wow ! What a pan ! Exudes quality and craftsmanship. The weight and feel just tells you how well this has been forged !
Love cooking 🍳 with it. Easy to clean and keep in perfect condition ! Highly recommended !
This Sonora Small Pan is a beautiful skillet that now pretty much lives on my stovetop. I'm enjoying cooking with the pan...tonight I did a wonderful sear on a nice piece of salmon.
Love everything about this pan after a few weeks. Christened it with a potato roesti cake! Now the only problem is deciding which one to get next.
Hi, I took a chance on a carbon steel pan, from a company I saw online, Santa Barbara Forge. They said it was naturally non stick, which was what I needed. It’s made in the USA, in Santa Barbara which I liked. I received my pan very quickly, it looked great. After a week, it’s turned a beautiful color, and is great as a morning breakfast pan. Very happy , highly recommended, Jay, Yonkers, NY
Love the large pan I've had and wanted the smaller one. Got it for wife For Xmas . The 2 pics are before and after seasoning the pan.
I have read consumer reports to good housekeeping testing to reading reviews on cookware safety. I enjoy cast iron big pans for oven cooking and I was looking for stovetop. My BIL had texted me about carbon steel pans. I looked and found Santa Barbara. In the US is very important to me to buy in the US products. It came in a nicely packed box and burlap sack. The handle is beautifully made. It feels amazing to cook food in it. It cleans really well. I follow their instructions on cleaning it and oiling it. It’s a beautiful piece of art that can make delicious and safe food to nourish our bodies. Keep up the hard work! It shows in your products. I am saving up to extend my collection .
Very surprised at the condition of pan after only two uses and one dishwasher cleaning. See below picture.
Thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. Carbon steel pans are built to last, but they do require a little care upfront to develop their natural nonstick surface.
Gong through the dishwasher will strip the seasoning and expose the raw steel—leading to rust and buildup. The good news? This is completely fixable. A quick scrub with steel wool, followed by a fresh round of seasoning will restore it.
Here's a few tips to master your seasoning:
• Soap or No Soap? For everyday cleaning, it’s best to avoid soap, as it can wear down the seasoning over time. A soak in hot water and a scrub with a brush or coarse salt usually does the trick. However, if your pan gets sticky or you need to completely restore the seasoning, soap is okay—just be sure to re-season afterward.
• Which Oil for Seasoning? The website mentions olive oil because it’s great for everyday maintenance (wiping a light coat after cleaning). The video shows grapeseed oil because it has a high smoke point and works best for deep seasoning. Other great options include flaxseed or vegetable oil.
In short:
✔️ Daily cleaning? No soap, just wipe or scrub with hot water.
✔️ Deep cleaning before re-seasoning? Soap is okay.
✔️ Light oiling after use? Olive oil works fine.
✔️ Full seasoning process? Use a high-smoke-point oil like grapeseed.
We’d love to help you get your pan back to peak performance—feel free to reach out to our team for guidance. Once seasoned properly, it’ll only get better with use!
I just got my two small fry pans. They look amazing. Now, couldn’t get then info regarding the seasoning. The video that is showing doesn’t have audio so it’s imposible to follow what exactly is that he is doing. So, I assumed that it needed to be season, so I put it through the process. To my surprise, the handle got really hot. Now Im wondering if I would need to get some sort of isolating gel cover in order to handle the pan after cooking. There should be more info about this on this website so we could know beforehand what should expect in terms of the pan performance. BTW, Im using it on a gas stove.
Hi Jro,
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. We really appreciate your feedback, and I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t have all the information you needed to season your pans properly.
Each pan we ship out should have a seasoning instruction card attached with a little chain to the handle. It sounds like yours may have been misplaced or accidentally left out of your order, and I sincerely apologize if that’s the case. We strive to make sure everyone has the tools they need to get started.
In addition to the instruction card, we also have detailed seasoning instructions on our Shopify storefront page. If you search for “SB Forge Shopify” on Google, it should come right up. There’s even a video to walk you through the home seasoning process. Admittedly, you do have to scroll down to the 'Care' section to find it, but the information is there to help.
As for the issue with the hot handle you mentioned, during the seasoning process, the oil should be heated just enough to begin smoking, and then the heat should be turned off. This should prevent the handle from getting too hot to touch. It’s possible the pan was heated for a bit too long, but I completely understand how that could happen—seasoning can be a bit of a learning curve at first.
In any case, please keep using the pans and seasoning them. Over time, they’ll perform better and better, and you’ll see the results of your efforts.
Thanks again for your feedback, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions or concerns. We’re here to help!
I've only had this pan for 2 weeks, but I've been using it every day and it's becoming my new favorite. I've had almost no trouble with food sticking, and it takes on seasoning very well. Cleanup is typically a breeze. Highly recommend this pan to everyone!
Been raving about these pans. Makes me want to cook more and everyone asks about them. Incredible quality, only wish there was a pasta water pot option!
Started out great after first couple uses, but then it rusted after cleaning and drying immediately each time. And then it’s dark coating came off when cleaning the rust.
Hi Alex, thanks for reaching out. Per our instructions on our web site, as well as the instruction card that came with your pan, you will need to continue to season the pan with oil after each use in order to build up the layer of oil over time. This will not only keep it from rusting, but will allow the color to even out. This is the care required of all carbon steel pans. You can see some detailed care instructions at https://sbforge.com/home#kitchen-care. Please keep cooking on your pan, avoiding soap when possible, and build up the seasoning. This pan will serve you well for decades if you do this. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. There are also many youtube videos for carbon steel pans out there that might be helpful.
I really like it and use it every single day. I like how it heats up and cooks even.
When I am done, I just scrub it out and then use oil to lightly season it and put it away.
The only disappointment was, I thought it would stay the purple color, but the very first time I used it, the color was stripped away. Now it’s a shiny metal color, which is fine, but that purple is what drew me in. Maybe have a disclaimer down at the bottom, just to give a heads up.
I will be purchasing the bigger one later in the year.
Kick ass little pan. The handle is the best part. All my other carbon pans have flat handles which feel horrible.
Beautiful pan and it is truly non stick!
Heavy die scrape marks on outside from press forming. When I got it the bottom was convex such that the eggs or oil want to flow around the edges. I fixed it on my shop press and a added a bit of concaving so 2 or 3 fried eggs settle together in the middle. This is also handy for It cooks as expected. I am probably not going to be a repeat customer.
Its really beautiful. Cooks great. 🙌
