New GI Metal Woodtech peels

[Quebert]

I saw a video on YT showcasing these, and I geek out for stuff with wood.  I looked and these aren't on GI's USA site, but I emailed asking about them and they said they'll have them in a few weeks.

They even offer them with a foot long handle instead or something way too long for a small outdoor oven like their 120/150cm peels. I think they look beautiful and will be ordering one for sure.


https://gimetal.it/en/shop/product/woodtech

[Timpanogos Slim]

Uncanny resemblance to the chinese knockoffs, down to not having the stiffening channel right after the handle attachment.

But with a urethane or shellack finish on the handle.

I have no doubt that they've used a better alloy of aluminum allowing for a thinner paddle though.

[Quebert]

Uncanny resemblance to the chinese knockoffs, down to not having the stiffening channel right after the handle attachment.

But with a urethane or shellack finish on the handle.

I have no doubt that they've used a better alloy of aluminum allowing for a thinner paddle though.

Well now I'm wondering about GI Metal in general, it wasn't about this peel. But I was just watching a YT video on one of theirs and saw this comment.

I own 8 peels by gi metal (pizza business). The design you hold we have the 20" version which has worked well at extracting semolina from under. The issue every peel by this company has is that the rivets end up becoming loose. Customer service never emailed me back (3 months ago) when I requested where to buy new rivets. The 20" peels end up warping over time as well which is basically impossible to fix. Good peel but not worth the price when every peel will have loose rivets

And this wasn't for their "cheaper" models, it was the expensive Evoluzione line. 8/8 having lose rivets is really bad, and the warping is bad too.  In an actual pizza shop I'm sure they'd see more use in a day than I'd do in a year. But it's not reassuring to hear that a guy has 8 $250'ish pizza peels and every one of them has fallen apart on him.  Also CS not getting back to him is sad to hear, I hate companies that don't have basically non existant support.  My plan was to buy the 20". The wood handle line is cheaper than the Evoluzione one so if anything I'd imagine they'll be a step down quality wise.

Maybe I should look at the cheap Chinese knockoffs lol.

[Timpanogos Slim]

Well i make a few pizzas a week at most, usually, so i can't speak to the kind of wear and tear a pizzeria would experience.

The chinese ones aren't riveted, they have "sex bolts" -- female inserts in the wood and male screws from the metal side, and they do get loose from vibration and heat cycling if you don't put some kind of thread locker on them. I put a dab of PVA wood glue on them and it's been fine since.

Massimo Nocerino (youtube) uses Gi Metal peels for the street vending and catering business that appears to pay all his bills and allows him to travel internationally from time to time, and it appears that he replaced his last one because the front edge of it was wearing away from use.

[halfprice]

I've had my gi peels for over 4 years.  No issues at all

Jerry

[Timpanogos Slim]

Warping might have something to do with how hot they get in use? All rolled metals have internal stresses and can warp when hot.

[TXCraig1]

I saw a video on YT showcasing these, and I geek out for stuff with wood. 

Don't geek out too much. The handles are not wood. They are aluminum with a fake wood finish.

[Timpanogos Slim]

Don't geek out too much. The handles are not wood. They are aluminum with a fake wood finish.

Yikes.

Well, two of my chinese peels have wood handles.

[Quebert]

Don't geek out too much. The handles are not wood. They are aluminum with a fake wood finish.

$200 for fake wood? BAAAH!  Sounds like chipping and fading just waiting to happen. I'm shocked an Italian company would use fake anything lol