I'm a pyromaniac who accidently like to cook, so combined the hobby's :-) I hada few camping stoves, till I start reading here. So it's not my fault. :-)
My first Stove was a Grill off a Coleman 2 burner placed over a ring of rocks. Lasted until I joined the military. My next stoves were a Camp Gaz Bleuet or the Esbit hexamine I took on my Hunting trips. I got my hands on a Military 520 stove that ended up becoming a Frankie and then I found this site. My collection is not my fault it is CCS. I have some European stoves and mostly U.S. Military stoves and a few Coleman 2 and 3 Suitcase stoves.
Oh, shute..."Enough, no more" turned into "well, only if a good deal presents itself" which in turn...well, I have just added a Op.timus 111 to the Svea123, 8R, 5 S and Nova+...
i had an uncle who used to give me stoves now and again, he was what they now call an 'early adopter' and he had to have the latest msr kit at any price i got some of the cast offs!
User mostly. Only 3 shelf queens. Not sure I'm a collector. I'm with some of you others - I like to play with fire. Stoves are my favorite fire, but I like to play with other things that make fire, like lanterns, heaters, blow torches (lamps), welders, matches, firearms, wood-burning stoves, old and new lighters, small engines, large engines, etc. I also like to play with things that make fire, like flint and steel, ferrocerium rods, two sticks, bow and rod, etc. I had no idea other people collected stoves or lanterns. I always thought I was weird. Now I've found a bunch of other weird people with the same fetish. I started with a Coleman 425b or c, then a Svea 123, and the rest is history. sam
Howdy, We were happy cooking on wood fires, until we read our first book by Colin Fletcher, who we consider to be our "Backpacking Guru", as he started us on the proper path!!! Once I saw that there were other stoves besides the venerable Coleman suitcase stoves, I was hooked, permanently!!! In truth, I have no idea, anymore, exactly how many stoves I have, now. I used to estimate it to be around 600 stoves. But, I've traded, gifted, and otherwise shuffled my collection so much over the years, that I could be a bit less than that, or even a good bit more!! I am one of those Stovies who appreciates both the collecting, and the using of my stoves, and I'm very happy to have a specific number of mint, and rare stoves, that will remain unfired! I take exceedingly great pleasure in just looking at those wonderful, and mint stoves, and as long as I am their caretaker, they will happily remain virgins!!! IF I has to, I guess I could winnow my collection down to about 100-150 stoves, and in truth, probably should do just that. But, I would shed many a tear, every time I sold off one of my Babies!!!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. I used to think that one of our former members, Fr. Laurence, from Down Under, had me beat by a mile, as far as the amount of stoves he had. I'm not so sure, anymore, and probably can give him a good run for his money, these days!!
Hey, Tony, I have no idea. He was only really active intermittently, and seemed to come and go in spurts. Then, I noticed he was no longer posting, or at least, if he was posting, I missed them all. Today, I can't seem to recall his user name, and "Fr. Laurence" garners no results, in a member search. Same lack of info on "Father Laurence". I seem to recall that Handi Albert (Albert White, of the Handi Stove Works, knew him, though how well, I have no idea. It would be nice to hear from both of those Gents again, actually! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Hey, gremlin70, Yep, thereabouts!! My oldest one goes back to 1866, and I have them from most of the Countries where stoves were manufactured from that time, to this. Call it a labor of love, or call me a first class, slack-jawed moron! Either way, I'm happy being a deeply addicted Stovie!!! Just remember, my whole collection began with just one, single stove, and.... well, somehow it got out of hand!!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I am a hiker/bushcrafter and just like using vintage gear. Everything I carry is basically 50s and 60s gear as that is what I remember as a child when my uncle and my dad would take me to the woods to explore. I recently got a Svea 123 that I enjoy using. Now I am on the hunt for a Primus 96 and maybe a little coil burner like a Taykit for brewing up tea of coffee.
Try this Odd that a search for Lawrence, just in case the spelling was different to what Doc remembered, found him when the correct spelling had failed. Regards John
Hello Heir, That was a nice brief yet informative first post and you subscribed right away, well done my man and WELCOME to Classic Camp Stoves fellow stovie! Pardon my drift (this could be a post to itself). Re your interest in 50s/60s gear: CCS focus is stoves but discussions are welcome and frequent re all types of camping / hiking gear. Among CCS global membership there is a wealth of information re stoves and beyond. The Svea 123 you have and your interest in a 96 lends itself to this post, as one example. "US" camp stove memories c1960 are often car camping Coleman stoves (consider a 502!) but maybe for you and your Dad it was pack stoves? Your endeavor here is pack stoves and interestingly enough includes the Swedish variety (we like "all of the above" btw). You mentioned: Taykit alcohol and Svea 123, a 4.5 oz white gas (consider 8R too) and Primus 96 a 9.6 oz (a half pinter) kerosene. This is a diverse list but are all good small pack stoves. For a brew-up for 1 or 2, in all-weather, you already know, for your 123 this is easy duty. A SIGG Tourist cook set will take your Svea 123 to a whole nother level. FYI: Re the next level, if you go there, consider a 1 pinter kero ie Optimus 00 (consider 111 too). As I said your quest for a 96 is worthy of another post (fyi we can not post a reply in your 96 want ad, or I would have). once again welcome sir. thx omc PS I find your posts and quest for a 96 is interesting. I can not point to a 96 available for you (or I could have made that response to you with private message). tag @Heirphoto @magikbus
@ Jeopardy, Hi, John, Huge thanks for sussing out how to contact Fr Laurence!! Thanks to your excellent detective work (just like when you helped me find out more historical info on my old British Bowler hat!! ), I was able to find, and have sent a PT to, "darlton"!!! I hope he will reply, and let us know how he's doing, and if he is still deeply involved in collecting stoves, and furthermore, how his battle to make sense of his ever-growing collection turned out! Thank you, once again, John, for showing me the way!! You're a true and First Class Gentleman, and I very much appreciate your help!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark
It started for me in the mid 1950's. I am an ex-collector of pressurized items, lamps, lanterns,stoves, blow torches,irons and smelters. Now days I am just a user with less than 10 items. In lanterns I collected only Coleman Quick-Lites of the late teen's and early 1920's. I also concentrated on teens and 1920s with stoves, mostly suitcases of all makes but then centered on black Coleman's. I have no shelf queen's ,the few I still have are used regularly. I started young camping with parents and their friends with Coleman products at about 3yrs of age. At 7, I was in charge of setting up fueling and lighting the Coleman's, around ten I was repairing all the neighbors pressurized items Coleman or not. It all went down hill from there. I decided I would collect all makes of pressurized items, that did not work out. As years went by I was more intrigued by researching the items and using them then collecting. Did I mention I was into antique cars,fans, phonographs,clocks,radios,pocket watches, firearms,books,phones etc,etc. Mike...
not sure where to start, always used a 2 burner Coleman on our family camping trips back in the 50/60's, then fast forward to mid 80's when I joined Scouts Canada. That was perfect because they supplied everything that made fire. Then around 2004 I aquired an old lantern and stove from my wifes uncle, used both of them but had no idea what they were except they were Coleman. with some internet search I found Old Coleman Parts, joined their forum and found out I had a Canadian 2A camp stove and a Canadian 220B lantern, but then the lantern addict, collection grew to around 75 lanterns and only 1 or 2 green stoves. My favorite part was the restoration. I never got into the brassies, little Svea's but I have owned and used MSR stoves. I discovered this great site several years ago and now have a few Brassies Then the Old Stove bug got me, and if its pre 1940 I have to have it. I can quit anytime I want to, but not yet kind regards Jan
Thanks for your post OMC Most of my childhood outdoor adventures with my dad or Uncle were just wood fires but the woods where I currently live are a no fire zone so stoves are all I use now. I still have a Coleman Peak 1 (model 400) from my compact car camping days in the early 80s and the matching lantern. The Svea 123 was on my want list since the 70s and was just bought this year and I got the earlier version, not the self cleaning. Did just get a Handy Camper coil burner. Until these I used the Trangia quite a bit for quick brew up and a little Esbit titanium which is effective but rates a zero on the fun scale. The 96 appeals to me because it seems a bit fiddly to assemble and light which for me means more fun than just turning a knob and striking a match. Really looking forward to exploring this group. Thank you for the warm welcome
