#second hand pan

Now, what I wanted was an old, indestructible pan that would last me forever, that was made out of some metal that cannot be scratched or destroyed via cooking. What she got me was a pan, that is fairly big and heavy, but it has a layer of teflon on it, that is scratched off in the middle. Now, she told me she didn’t realize it was a teflon pan when she bought it, and that it’s okay because the teflon layer can just be scratched off, and whatever metal is under it, can be used for cooking. As a test of ‘whether it’s safe’, she said one just needs to press a magnet to the pan, if it’s non-magnetic, it’s safe to use. We check it, and it’s not magnetic. She claims it’s safe! (She’s generally very unconcerned with poisoning and will eat poisonous stuff on purpose, so I’m not feeling extremely secure here.)

So I come home, worried and fascinated, and here’s what we’re working with:

Now the layer of teflon is extremely easy to scratch off, it can be scratched off by fingernails, it’s all but falling off. But, the layer underneath could be absolutely anything, it can be a mix of two different substances, and some of it might not be safe to make food on. I don’t know how to check!

I google it, and I get the same answer: test using a magnet, but the internet says, if it’s non-magnetic, it means it’s not made out of iron. That means it could be containing nickel, and nickel is not food safe. So it’s pretty much the opposite of what I’ve been told by the plant lady.

I did also find a million articles about how teflon is poisonous, but it really can be scratched off completely. Now, is there any way to check what is that metal underneath and whether it’s food safe? It’s fairly heavy, non-magnetic. I checked all of the other pots and pans for magnetic activity, and found that even if they’re not magnetic on the sides, there’s some metal at the bottom. So I have not learned that much.

Did anyone have experience in scratching off teflon from a pan and then using it, and whether that is safe? I do dislike how it has two handles instead of one long handle, which would be more useful when stir-frying stuff in a pan. But I feel like I could make a long handle myself, if the pan is usable.

I don’t want to throw it away, so I figured, if it’s not usable for cooking, I could use it as a sink-replacement, when I’m out there in nature, I could keep it filled with water and wash my face in it. I could also, make a little bird-bath from it. I could bury it in my yard and fill it with rocks and sand and put some water in, to create a little pond for frogs! (Though I’m a little worried about whether that’s safe, if rainwater isn’t drinkable anymore, the pond would be catching the rain. Are the rivers safe? Rain falls into the rivers.)