Use metal on cast iron. It's fine.

Yes. Metal utensils won’t ruin a good cast iron seasoning.

People get way too precious about cast iron. That black, non-stick coating is polymerized oil—basically a layer of baked-on plastic. It’s tough. A metal spatula will scratch the surface of a new seasoning, but even those scratches fill in with use. Under a well-used pan, those “scratches” are just texture. The more you cook, the more seasoning builds up into those marks.

The real enemy is thermal shock, acidic foods, and soapy scrubbing (though modern seasoning can handle mild soap). Metal scraping? That’s how your grandmother built up decades of seasoning. In fact, a flat metal spatula is better for scraping up fond for deglazing than any silicone thing.

One note: if you’re using a brand new, very thin seasoning layer, be gentle for the first few cooks. But after that,