Show off your Kettle!!

[the_economist]

I can't believe we don't have a 'show off your kettle' thread yet. Where else am I going to post pictures of my new tetsubin?



And the rough and desolate insides, like a desert of black rocks and random rifts in the earth.

[debunix]

Pretty pretty pretty!

That texture close up is very like my cast iron wok, before I seasoned it, and made it all slick and shiny.

[MarshalN]

Good interior, nice find.

[tkellyd]

Gee, I missed this topic! As most of my kettles are in storage right now, I can only rely on the pictures that I took previously. Here's the one that I cherish the most: My Satetsu. You can see some of the others made with regular pig iron in the background.

- T

[the_economist]

pretty cool kettles there tkellyd!

[BioHorn]

These deposits are completely normal. Your post motivated me to re-shoot my tetsubin after about a year of use. Our Cleveland water seems to have moderate to high scale.

Same kettle a year ago:



I have not worried so much about the superficial rust around the rim. Somewhere someone wrote you can rub it with wet tea leaves. With regular use it does not seem to be more than cosmetic.

[jayinhk]

Rust is a cancer BH! I work around carbon steel seven days a week and it's a constant struggle to keep the rust at bay. I would recommend patinating the metal to prevent pitting and more serious corrosion. If you rub hot vinegar in and leave it for a while and then wash it off, it will remove much of the rust and also provide a protective layer without affecting the flavor at all.

[Chip]

... but isn't one of the the main reasons for using a cast iron tetsubin kettle ... to actually affect water taste and ultimately tea?

[jayinhk]

Even cast iron woks are oiled to protect against corrosion; just hitting the trouble spots for protection won't affect the effect of the cast iron on the flavor, but it will prevent your pot from rusting through!

[BioHorn]

Rust is a cancer BH! I work around carbon steel seven days a week and it's a constant struggle to keep the rust at bay. I would recommend patinating the metal to prevent pitting and more serious corrosion. If you rub hot vinegar in and leave it for a while and then wash it off, it will remove much of the rust and also provide a protective layer without affecting the flavor at all.

Thank you for the advice. It sounds like a good protective measure and is motivating. I will look for my brass wheel and Dremel!

[jayinhk]

I would avoid abrasion as much as possible as it might put a 'shine' in the area you use it, hurting the appearance of your pot, but that would be the best way to get all of the active rust out for sure!

[tkellyd]

[the_economist]

Kettle update! White fuzz in the spotlight:

[BioHorn]

Rust is a cancer BH! I work around carbon steel seven days a week and it's a constant struggle to keep the rust at bay. I would recommend patinating the metal to prevent pitting and more serious corrosion. If you rub hot vinegar in and leave it for a while and then wash it off, it will remove much of the rust and also provide a protective layer without affecting the flavor at all.

Thank you for the advice. It sounds like a good protective measure and is motivating. I will look for my brass wheel and Dremel!

Update:
I have applied vinegar a few times. It worked quite well. After dremeling the exposed areas with a plastic fiber wheel it took off a good bit of the leftover rust without changing the patina too much. However, I did not reapply vinegar after and it really rusted faster than ever. It was easy to correct after redoing the process with a final vinegar application

[tkellyd]

the_economist: Thanks! I have others with me (I've gotta stop collecting. It's a bad habit!) that I haven't photographed yet. Still looking for a cap for one of them.

One other comment about the Dremel thing: when a kitchen utensil meets a garage gadget, it's time to go back to stainless steel, or worse, plastic, for boiling your water. I mean, where is the zen?

- T