Drawing on over 16,800 combined Amazon customer reviews and YouTube reviewer coverage, here's how the two compare across the dimensions that matter most to home cooks.
| OXO Obsidian 12" | De Buyer Mineral B 10.25" | |
|---|---|---|
| Image |  |
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| Customer rating | 4.6 ★ (14,482) | 4.5 ★ (2,346) |
| Confidence | 100/100 | 79/100 |
| Price | ~$69.99 | ~$65–$80 |
| Buy | Check on Amazon | Check on Amazon |
What Owners Say About the OXO Obsidian 12" Carbon Steel Frying Pan
4.6★ across 14,482 customer reviews · Confidence: 100/100 · ~$69.99
With nearly 14,500 reviews behind its 4.6-star rating, the OXO Obsidian is among the most thoroughly field-tested carbon steel pans available. Owners consistently call out the factory pre-seasoning as a genuine advantage — many report cooking real meals from the first use without the frustrating sticking that plagues bare-steel break-ins. The included silicone sleeve handle cover draws repeated praise for staying cool enough to grab without a towel, particularly during stovetop-to-oven transitions. The flat cooking surface and consistently even sear across a 12-inch diameter come up as defining strengths for owners who use this as their everyday driver.
The main caveat owners report is weight: at 12 inches, this is a substantial pan, and a segment of reviewers — especially those coming from nonstick — find it tiring to maneuver one-handed. A smaller number note early warping on very high-output gas burners.
Read the full review → · Check price on Amazon →
What Owners Say About the De Buyer Mineral B 10.25" Carbon Steel Fry Pan
4.5★ across 2,346 customer reviews · Confidence: 79/100 · ~$65–$80
The De Buyer Mineral B earns 4.5 stars from 2,346 owners — a smaller pool than the OXO, but one notable for its intensity. Reviewers who commit to this pan call it a lifetime purchase, citing the thick gauge, French-made construction, and a beeswax factory coating they read as a signal of serious craftsmanship. Owners who cook eggs and single portions report that once the patina matures — after weeks of regular use — the surface becomes nearly nonstick in a way that feels earned rather than engineered. The pan's weight distribution and heft earn specific praise from cooks who want a pan that holds heat through a proper sear.
The consistent caveat: the seasoning process takes real patience. Owners routinely warn new buyers to expect a sticky, uneven surface for the first several uses, and the bare carbon steel handle gets dangerously hot on high-output burners — oven mitts are not optional.
Read the full review → · Check price on Amazon →
Where They Differ
The most practical difference is size. At 12 inches, the OXO Obsidian handles family-sized sears, large batches of vegetables, and multiple proteins side by side. The De Buyer Mineral B at 10.25 inches is a more focused tool — better suited to one or two portions and easier to maneuver in a tight kitchen. OXO owners frequently describe theirs as a primary everyday pan; De Buyer owners more often position theirs as a dedicated egg pan or single-steak skillet.
Handle ergonomics split the two pans sharply in customer feedback. The OXO's silicone sleeve draws repeated praise for staying cool enough to grip bare-handed during stovetop cooking. De Buyer owners, by contrast, consistently flag the bare metal handle as a burn hazard on gas — oven mitts or a handle holder are described as mandatory accessories, not optional. Neither approach is inferior in terms of pan performance, but the difference in day-to-day convenience is real and widely reported.
The break-in experience diverges too. The OXO's pre-seasoned surface earns "ready to cook out of the box" comments from a broad cross-section of its reviewers, including those new to carbon steel. De Buyer owners describe a longer, more hands-on seasoning process — beeswax residue to cook off, initial sticking to work through, and a patina that develops gradually over weeks. For a first-time carbon steel buyer, that gap in onboarding effort is worth weighing honestly.
Finally, the confidence gap is meaningful. With over six times as many reviews, the OXO's 4.6-star rating carries substantially more statistical weight than the De Buyer's 4.5. That doesn't make the De Buyer a worse pan — but it does mean the OXO's rating is harder to argue with.
How We Compared
The confidence score reflects how reliable a product's star rating is likely to be. A 4.6-star average from nearly 15,000 people carries more weight than the same score from a few hundred — more voices make the verdict harder to dispute. The top scorer across the two products is set to 100, and the other is scaled relative to it.
Well Seasoned's individual reviews consolidate Amazon customer feedback and YouTube reviewer coverage; this comparison aggregates those reviews. Prices and ratings reflect values recorded at the time of each individual review and may have changed.
When to Choose Which
| If you care most about… | Choose — why |
|---|---|
| Highest customer rating | OXO Obsidian 12" — 4.6★ vs 4.5★ |
| Largest body of customer feedback | OXO Obsidian 12" — 14,482 vs 2,346 reviews |
| Lowest possible upfront price | De Buyer Mineral B — available from ~$65 at its floor vs ~$69.99 flat for the OXO |
| Heritage / craft-oriented pick | De Buyer Mineral B — French-made, professional kitchen lineage, beeswax-coated bare steel favored by owners who want to build a patina from scratch |
| Larger cooking surface | OXO Obsidian 12" — 12" vs 10.25", meaningfully more room for family-sized batches |
| Easier break-in for carbon steel beginners | OXO Obsidian 12" — factory pre-seasoning consistently reported as cook-ready from day one |
Pick the dimension that matches what you care about — neither is universally better.
