Thompson and Ritchie quick-boil kettle

There must be more of these in circulation than I thought - Trojandog has two or three, Robtz another, Pineapplerose yet another and I've acquired a second one of slightly larger capacity than the other and of a different pattern, though still with that 'quick boil' boiler tube arrangement that works so well




Here it is with the other one I have




I'd some work to do on it. The lid knob wasn't original, a rather nondescript turned wooden item in place of the rather fine porcelain one it would have had




I couldn't make a porcelain replacement, but I reasoned that this piece of ebony would make an excellent contrasting alternative






I set to work on the lathe ...




... glorious shavings




End result ...




Varnished/polished








The fixing screw head for the knob on the original is decorative and I'd to make an equivalent. Again, I chose a contrasting alternative to the chromed version and silbrazed a chunk of brass onto a steel fixing screw to provide the bulk needed to create the head dimensions and shape




Lid equipped with new knob and fixing screw




Porcelain/chrome and ebony/brass




Final job was to re-wicker the handle, which had lost its cane wickering at some time in the past






John

 

Wow again John, elegant.

 

Very nice work John. Thank you for sharing,
Ken in NC

 

Ebony, the wood of Kings. I can get ebony and real rosewood in small bits, but it is sold by the pound around here and is almost as expensive as pure silver. I have some Brazilian rosewood set by, but it is in short pieces 1"X1"X10" and shorter.

Precious hardwoods.

I like the ebony knob much more than the porcelain one. Much more elegant. Fit to serve a Monarch, it is.

Gerry

 

Excellent stuff, John. Better than new.

 

Wonderful!! good work , John.

Gunsoo

 

That's a fine job, though wouldn't the properties of Ebony suffer with repeated heating and cooling?

Small porcelain knobs are available and quite cheap, though never replace the satisfaction of a home made item. Looks great.

 

Absolutely beautiful. Gee your kettle has come up a treat. The ebony knob sits very well. Thanks for the great photos. Now I can see how to get started rewickering a bare handle on a kettle. Maybe a little now about the discovery process

Cheers Sooty

 

Hey, John,

Brilliant job and a totally lovely result!! Well done!!! Seeing your rewicker job on that lovely kettle makes me want to learn that skill, too! I have a beautiful little copper kettle, sent through the good auspices and kind heart of my friend, Terry! It could use a nice bit of rewicker work, so I'll have to check into how to accomplish that task. Again, wonderful job, John! Enjoy your lovely kettle, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Mark

 

Another cracker John. Well done. I want to know where you find these beauties as I'm so jealous! As a point of interest the EPNS or similar knob screws are available as a standard item with a knurled round nut or even a wing nut from jewellers' suppliers like H.S. Walsh & Co.

 

Yet again I am stunned by your skills and craftmanship, John.

 

Nice kettle, great skills! Thanks for sharing.

 

Beautiful just Beautiful !!

 

The craftsmanship on display here, both from the original manufacturer and from John, is just drop-dead gorgeous!

And thank you for posting, John.

 

@Jack Enright
Thanks Jack!

 

John, I would love to find a larger copper kettle with these "boiler" holes!! Can you tell me where to get them? You have mentioned a few places but they don't have a website and hard to contact from here. I do a lot of camping (cold Canada!) and recently bought a military Enders in mint shape...only need a beautiful, heat efficient kettle!!

 

Now there's another kettle I want!

 

And in 2016 I acquired this one.
https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/thompson-ritchie.33076/

 

That porcelain knob look a lot like ones sold in the US as drawer pulls, but perhaps a different size?

 

I suggest online auctions and auction houses that post their catalogues online - UK-based ones in particular since that’s the country of origin of these kettles and where most survivors can be found I expect.

They’re on those lines certainly, but the only drawer pulls I’ve located have been much larger.

John