I spent the better part of the day researching a replacement for my 1.5qt sauce pot.
There are few US companies who still made stuff using US steel.
First off, this Proclamation Duo is fucking awesome if you need a minimalist total cooking solution. With just that you could feed a family.
But I'm feeding two people, and I need a small sauce pan. So, not that. And they only have one other similar offering. Still, cool beans.
Then we wittle down the list way way down. There's still American made cast iron and high carbon steel, and we want that, but for this application.
As far as American companies, who use American steel, we have Vollrath, who still makes most of their Tribute line, and All Clad, which claims to only use Chinese garbage for the handles.
All Clad is a bit more expensive and has some quality complaint issues about rims wearing down to a sharp edge, experiences problems with poor pourability, and there are allegations they are made in China despite what is claimed.
Personally I worry a lot of what you order on Amazon gets replaced with copycat Chinese junk, and not by the original manufacturer.
Anyways, so Vollrath has a silicone handle, which is a longevity issue, silicone dries out eventually, but it may simply slip off to be replaced too. Not sure. And the lid is an eye watering $20-$30 extra.
But this is a commercial cooking apparatus. It's design seems more practical and I expect it will be durable.
So the Vollrath won.
I mainly looked at 3 ply clad pots. A copper ply is superior, but they're pricey. Besides that, the higher number of plies can actually be a disadvantage, depends how they're done.
Overall, the three ply are the best general go to, giving a nice balance between cost, durability and quick, even heating.
If money is no object there is a fancy hand made copper clad pot lined with silver that is perhaps the most perfect cooking vessel you could imagine. As long as you don't scrape all the silver into your cooking I guess.
there doesn't seem to be anything here