Forging a Small Wok for Camping

I already have small folding handle frying pans. I stuff these into my backpack to take on camping trips when I need to fry things. I like stir fry a lot, so I decided that I needed a wok. I’ve never made a wok before so I figured I’d give it a try.

I started off with a really thick sheet of steel about 1/8” thick.

I drew a chalk circle using a compass, then I cut it out with an air grinder.

I placed the disk on my coal fire and got it red hot.

Using the bottom of a cut off gas bottle as a rounding form, I started slowly working the edges upwards into a heavy bowl shape.

If I were to do this on a regular basis, I’d probably buy a special rounding hammer. As it is — the ball peen portion leaves far too many shallow dents.

I used a die grinder and 40 grit disc to remove the worst of the dents. I went to a 100 grit disc for final cleaning.

I haven’t decided yet if I want to add a folding handle to the wok or not. I may just leave it as is and use a pot catch to move the wok around the fire.

I have yet to season my wok. I fear it might be just a little too small. I was aiming for a size thats packable, but enough to stir fry just for one. I’m thinking about adding a handle to it once I make a slightly larger wok.

I’ll give this a few test runs to decide what I’ll end up doing.