The seasoning over time is also vastly superior because of these tiny grooves. I buy the skillet one as a gift for people and its pretty much unanimous that it's their favorite.
Not trying to hype, its just legitimately one of my favorite pans
If anyone gets that.... cook some smash burgers in it and it gets the best seasoning ive ever seen, very quickly.
Can you expand on this? What was different on the first use that made its superiority so obvious so quickly? I have only a rudimentary understanding of cookware, so the difference between a $10 cast iron pan and a $200 cast iron pan isn't immediately apparent.
Your instinct is a good one - I tried this with a 12" Lodge skillet, working my way up to 220 grit with an orbital sander, and it instantly became my favorite pan.