Premier Stainless Steel 13" Wok vs Carbon Steel Wok: which is safer?

Our Place Carbon Steel Wok is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.

Calphalon Premier Stainless Steel 13" Wok

Calphalon

Premier Stainless Steel 13" Wok

PFAS grade

Excellent 75/100

Overall grade

Good 59/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

Stainless steel with no nonstick coating

Confidence

85%

PossibleMetal leaching (chromium, nickel, iron)

PossibleHandle integrity and burn risk

Our pick

Our Place Carbon Steel Wok

Our Place

Carbon Steel Wok

PFAS grade

Excellent 100/100

Overall grade

Excellent 78/100

Verdict

Buy with care

Hazard flags

⚑ 2

Material

carbon steel (bare metal, no coating)

Confidence

85%

PossibleIron leaching from bare metal surface

LikelyRust formation from improper storage or care

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag Metal leaching (chromium, nickel, iron) and Handle integrity and burn risk on the Calphalon and not on the Our Place.
  • We flag Iron leaching from bare metal surface and Rust formation from improper storage or care on the Our Place and not on the Calphalon.
  • The Calphalon is Stainless steel with no nonstick coating where the Our Place is carbon steel (bare metal, no coating), which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 25 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Our Place is the one to buy.

Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More woks: see the full ranking