Why enamel chips, and why we say so

Enamel is glass fused to steel. Drop it on a hard floor and the glass will break, because that is what glass does. Anyone selling you enamelware that never chips is selling you something else.

We would rather say so before you buy than have you find out on a Tuesday night. Most chips happen in the same few places, and most of them can be avoided.

What we can promise

That the chip stays a chip. The body of every piece is a single pressing, with no seams for rust to travel along. The glaze is fired twice at 1,500F, and the second firing is what keeps the edge of a chip blunt instead of flaking outward. A knock leaves a mark the size of the knock, and it stops there.

That is the difference between enamel that chips honestly and enamel that fails. One wears. The other spreads.

Where chips come from

• The rim. A lid dropped back on in a hurry is the most common cause. Set it down rather than letting it fall.
• The floor. Stone and tile will mark enamel. There is no way around that except not dropping it.
• Spoons on the edge. Metal utensils are fine inside the pan. Tapping them clean on the rim is not.
• Empty heat. An empty pan on a high flame stresses the glaze at the base. Put something in it first.

If it arrives chipped

Send a photo through the contact page within 30 days of delivery and we send a replacement in the same glaze, free. You do not need to send the chipped one back. Because the library is fixed, the replacement matches, this year or any other.

A chip from use is a different thing. Where the steel shows, dry the piece properly after washing, and carry on. A chip on the rim changes nothing about how the pan cooks. Plenty of people end up fond of the mark on the rim of the casserole they use most, because it is the one that has been through every Sunday.

Enamel that never chips does not exist. Enamel that chips well does.