LodgeSilicone Hot Handle Holder Blue, One Size

Game changer! It sits really nice on the metal handle. I wasn’t very sure about how it would fit or if it’ll be loose and fall off every time I use the pan. Isolates heat really well

I have been using cast iron my whole life and have 2 Lodge pieces, a skillet and griddle. Both have a slight curve or bow to the handle...I assume Lodge did this to make it easier to hold than the standard flat handle. I’ve always used a potholder or towel which have worked fine but thought I’d give these a try. BIG mistake! If you store your cast iron properly by lightly oiling after using, then you can imagine what happens when warm oil meets a loose fitting silicone holder...DANGEROUSLY slippery. After frying bacon, I tried to remove the skillet from the stove and skillet handle slipped right out of the silicone holder. Luckily, I was over the sink when it happened but had I not been, it could have resulted in serious burns. Would NOT recommend!

When I see 3,338 5 star reviews out of approximately 6,000 and less than 500 1 star, I had to check. The major complaint was that the handle got hot and or melted. I have used this since April and have never had a hot handle. In fact I just ordered a mini handle cover for my 8” pan. I tried testing my 10” pan on high heat of a recent model electric range. I heated the pan for ten minutes on high heat with the silicone handle cover on since high heat cooking is generally fairly quick. The handle did not get hot. What did get hot was the assist handle even though I had the cover there also. That was because I did not make sure to center the pan on the burner and part of the assist handle was directly over the burner. If you use the correct size burner for your pan the handles should be off to the side of the burner. If you put a pan on too large a burner the handles will be directly over the burner which is definitely over the 450° temp that it is supposed to protect against. Even without the silicone cover it takes a while for the pan handle to get hot IF one uses the correct size burner.

The handle provides poor heat protection and started to degrade after only a few uses. It offers a weak grip at best on the larger pans and is utterly useless on the small models. I have two and they serve no real purpose other than to add more red accents to my kitchen decor.

Yesterday I was cooking a thin skirt steak. I needed my Lodge skillet to be as hot as possible to get a great sear quickly. I was using the Lodge skillet silicone handle cover for the first time. It fit my 12" Lodge skillet pretty well. I heated up the pan and cooked. When I went to grab the handle it was HOT. I got a slight burn despite the handle cover. Also, I later noticed that the underside of the silicone had singed and melted. Since then I have read more of the reviews with others experiencing the same issues. I wish I had read these before cooking. I believe this handle cover should come with a warning not to leave it on while cooking at all. One of the best things about cooking with cast iron is that you can get it to such high temperatures, and for this to be sold without a warning about this seems irresponsible. Perhaps it would be useful to slip on to briefly carry the pan? But, if I can't keep it on the pan, I will just go back to using my heavy duty oven mitts for that.

In the description it says this handle holder will fit Lodge Keyhole handle skillets 9 inch in diameter and up. I bought a 12 inch Lodge Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet from Target on sale and while it does fit, it does not fit as I had hoped. There's about an inch of space left at the tip (you can see me pinching the excess space in my photo) and when you lift the pan using the silicone holder, it shifts, not a ton, but enough to make you feel slightly unsure of your grip on the pan - that's with it empty. If you're just using it to grab the pan to shift around on your stove top, I don't see anything I just mentioned being an issue. I was expecting more of a perfect fit being made by the same folks that made the pan, but wasn't the case - it was what made me go with the Lodge brand for silicone handle holders.