Falk Culinar is a major Belgium copper cookware manufacturer. Their bi-metal copper and stainless steel copper pots and pans are known as some of the best around the world. The most recent offering comes in two variety, one in the classical cast iron handle and the other in the a stainless steel finish. The Falk Culinair Saute Pan Signature Line has a brushed copper exterior with a matte stainless steel interior. A Stainless steel handle is mounted on the signature line series to give it a sleek modern feel. Supposedly, it stays cooler to the touch and has a more ergonomic feel than the traditional cast iron handle. Today we will take an in depth look at how this pan is constructed, what features does it have, is the handle any good?

Falk Culinair Saute Pan Review (Signature) Quick Summary

Categories	Falk Culinair
Performance	Excellent
Colors	Brushed Copper
Brand Awareness	Europe and Copper Collector
Weight	5.47 lb (2480 g)
Helper Handle	No
Pouring Lip	Yes
Thoughts	A excellent performing pan. The Shape, lip and ease of cleaning makes it one of the best in class. The signature handle also wont rust and stays cool.
Reviewed Cookware	Copper Saute Pan

Falk Culinair Saute Pan Design

Falk Signature Handle

We will start off with what is obviously the biggest change from their traditional offering, the handle. It angles upward closely to a 45 degree then drops off gently. Other cast iron handles has more of an abrupt bend near the base of the handle. Gripping the handle near the end seems to put a lot of stress on the wrist. The weight does not feel particularly well balanced and in order for me to lift it, I would have to grip it near the base. Which is similar to most copper pots.

The handle is very thick, those with smaller hands might have some difficulty gripping it. I suspect this thickness helps in the reduction of heat being transferred to the handle. The thickness can also be a hindrance if you manage to heat it hot enough, it will take a while to cool down. Looking at the loop for hanging, you can get a sense of how much steel they are using on it. In the center of the handle, there is a divot that is very similar to how All Clad design their handle. However, instead of two sharp angles, there seem to be a larger flat surface to provide a more comfortable grip. When you try and turn the pot with one hand, those two flat angle aids in the stability of the pot. But due to the weight of the pot, I find myself going for the base of it just so that I can lift it more securely. Which defeats the ability of the handle to give a reduction in heat transfer and stability.

Shape

From what I can see, their rondeau and their saute pan share the same pot mold. They both have the same height and diameter. Manufacturing pots and pans this way would make a lot of sense as this would reduce the need to make different molds. The only difference I see is that the saute has one long handle instead of two loop handle. The lip, like all modern falk has is rolled so that it will aid in the pouring of liquids.

The corners are also nice and rounded so that you can easily fit a spatula inside to scrape food out. Sharp corners are harder to clean and food will get lodge into that area.

Thickness

The wall thickness is a little above 2.5 mm near the lip and it tapers downward to around 2.38 mm the lower you go. This most likely due to the metal being stretched out when it is pressed by the machine.

Vintage model falk pans are interesting, I have a rondeau version of this same diameter pan and the thickness is at most 2.3 mm. I think sometime down the line they changed their manufacturing process. Maybe a thicker sheet of copper is now being used.
You can get a better idea of how they are made with the video below.

Either way, the easiest way to spot a newer version Falk Culinair Saute Pan or any other pot is to look at the base of the handle. look to see if they have the Falk Engraving on it. The newer lids also have the falk engraving on it. Vintage model will only have a Falk Culinair engraving on the bottom.

Falk Culinair Saute Pan Fit and Finish

Fit and finish is good on the Falk Culinair Saute Pan. However, I do have some issues with how they engraved the base of the handle. The letter FALK is engraved onto it with what looks like a transition from a rough to smooth stainless steel finish. Unfortunately, there is a rivet right in the middle of the word falk. So it reads FA*LK like it is two acronyms. Pretty bad design feature in my opinion. The classical cast iron handle have the same issue also but it is less noticeable on those handle. The rivets are also really tiny compared to brands like Mauviel. I am not sure if these small rivets will cause an issue down the line.

Specs:

Note:These measurement are done by me with the tools that I have on hand. The manufacturers have their own measurement guidelines and that should be assumed to be accurate. What I find on this review can vary widely due to several factors, such as ambient temperature, location, water, tool calibration, stove btu, etc..and should only be considered as my opinion.
Weight: 2480 g
Rim Width:Around 9.8 inch
Base Cooking Width:8 inch
Height: Around 3 inch
Thickness: 2.5 mm

Falk Culinair Saute Pan Performance

To test the how well it distribute heat and how well it heats up, I perform a toast test where I place a piece of toast in the center than weight it down with a meat pounder. I heat up the pan for a total of 2 min then see the color of the toast.
Below you can see how the test was performed.

For this test, I probably could have heated up the pan a little longer. 2.5-3 minute might have been more idea. But as you can see from the darkness and heating pattern, it heats up very well for its weight. The distribution of the heat pattern is pretty even with some area lighter on the bottom.

To give you an idea how well copper performs against a metal like cast iron. Look at the test result for that one below. That skillet is 1516 g, almost one whole kilogram lighter than falk’s saute pan. It is lighter and yet it still performs worse than Falk’s pan.

Conclusion

Falk is one of the best manufacturer of copper cookware available. When I measure the thickness of Falk’s copper cookware, it is actually at the advertised 2.5 mm thickness. A lot of other manufacturer will over inflate the thickness of their pan.
Their brushed finish makes for a more simple approach when caring for copper cookware and the handle stays cool to boot. I highly recommend this Saute Pan for anyone looking into buying a saute pan.

I hope you found this review on Falk Culinair Saute Pan to be informative, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.