Hello, my first post here. Thanks for all the useful information. Thought I'd share some information on these inexpensive Swedish mess kits currently flooding the market. I bought one of the 8 stoves, windscreens, bottles, 4 mess kits $21 deals at Sportsmans Guide. The mess kits were kind of beat up but I was very impressed by the quality and utility of these old stainless steel beauties. So I bought a couple more hoping to mix and match into good sets. Well, the following order was all brand new. I found the different manufacturer markings on the mess kits interesting and took a quick picture of the 5 main "types" I received: These five are unused. From left to right: -Large 3 crowns and "DV3-2875 Cr" stamped deeply into both the pot and pan. Medium green paint, 29.8 ounces. -"PRESSBOLAGET ESKILSTUNA" stamped lightly in the pot. Sandpaper textured, medium green paint , 30.4 ounces. -"Gense" in an oval stamped into the pan. Rough black finish resembling parkerizing, 29.2 ounces. Came wrapped in Swedish newspapers from June 1942. -3 crowns "5011 Cr" stamped in both pot and pan. Rough light green finish, 30.8 ounces. -3 crowns "5115 Cr" stamped in pot, "5116 Cr" stamped in pan. Very smooth dark olive green finish, 27.7 ounces. Came wrapped in old brown or blue paper. Some of the used mess kits included unmarked sets, had been repainted by brush, and weighed over 2 pounds. Some had a four-leaf-clover with a letter on each leaf stamped into the pan handle. The windscreen/burner/bottle sets were nested together all dated the same. For instance, one box included 8 burners from 1988, 8 windscreens from 1991, and 8 identical bottles - all unused. The box with used mess kits included older used burners from 1962 - 1965, unmarked or 1968 dated windscreens (unused), and older style bottles. Each lot from SG was sealed in its own box and had similar contents (one box all Gense mess kits in 1942 newspaper, another mainly 3 crowns with all 8 windscreens and stoves dated alike, etc.). A lot of history in this old stuff. If anyone is interested I can post pictures of the different stampings, bottle styles, etc. Thanks for letting me ramble, Lloyd
Please post further, and welcome! As you see, we talk about the Swedish Army kit now and then, and everybody needs one, or more. (I have 3; about 8 bucks each over the years). But we haven't had the kind of comparative detail you're talking about. We'd be interested.
Anyone know where to find these in the Denver/Frontrange area? I just called Arvada Army Navy Surplus and Jax in Ft.Collins and no luck.
Hi Lloyd, what a fine collection of Swedish Military alcohol stove kits you have. I believe that many of the ones you show in your photos were probably made by in Sweden by: K.F. Erikssons Metallfabriks A.B. based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. This company used the brand names: Three Crowns, Eskilstuna, Prince, Svecia, Imperator on their stoves, and they also made high-quality blowlamps. If the set has Three Crowns or the word, Eskilstuna stamped on the items it was very likely made for a Govenment Contract by KF Erikssons. I have a similar military set but it was made by the Max Sievert Co. and the burner is stamped Svea. Thanks for the interesting post. Aren't stoves fascinating? Best Regards, Kerophile.
Thanks for the welcome Ed. Kerophile, here are those 5 original stainless steel mess kits again, this time with their manufacturer marks next to them. Some otherwise unmarked (and well used) mess kits had this mark stamped into the handle of the pan: One more: Does anyone know if these stainless steel kits were only made during the war years? The 1942 Swedish newspapers with some of these were a good clue. The dates on the brass burners and windscreens are no help as these were bundled with the mess kits at a later time. Thanks, Lloyd
Hey, Lloyd, Unfortunately, I do not have one of these as of yet, and so can offer no information, at all. However, I wanted to welcome you to CCS, and compliment you on the fine photos you've posted here! Please keep it up, and welcome to our Ship of Stove Pyros!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
One thing you may of overlooked while trying to date these. Is the plastic alcohol bottles. On the bottom is the numbers that I believe are the month and year of manufacture. I have one here that says 66-03 Mellerud. Some others say 67 -07. Theyre all different. I bought the same ones at Sportsman guide. The price is very reasonable.
Hey Loyd My s/s one has 3 crows and DV-2875 Cr on the main pot and 3 crowns 5010 Cr on the mug bit. The burner 3 crowns Trangia in floral writing. The windscreen 3 crowns NC 66 SVEA So I suppose its a bitza put together . The handle is bent at a 90 ish dregree bend and not rounded like me alu one and the same as the corrisponding numbured pictured one. I think it was issued and then re painted roughly to be sold. The handle of the cup bit is bent into a more dish shape and sits nicely in the hand. Umm hope it helps a bit. Barra
Lloyd, I also wanted to thank you for the info and pics. I noticed the bail wire on the left four is shaped very different from the one on the right, interesting, I had not seen that before (mine look like the right hand one). I'd picked up an aluminum 3-pack and a couple of stainless steel versions of these a couple years back and also thought the differences in stamps made them sort of an interesting item it that alone, but I had no idea of the many different manufacturers. Then again, I'd mainly been comparing the different burners so I'll go back and look them over. The two kits I use, I "stripped" the paint off and let them blacken naturally. Whatever aluminum alloy they used for the pots can really take the heat, as I found out when mine sat on a wood fire without water too long and the paint blistered, so I scraped it all off and the pot was just fine (I don't recommend this method, but it worked). The odd shape is a bit irritating but this is my fool-proof kit for making hard-boiled eggs just the way I like them: 3-4 eggs covered with H2O, light it up with ~35 ml of alcohol ( I sub a tuna can burner for the brass monster), cover pot, walk away and get distracted, and whenever I get back those eggs are ready to eat.
Doc - Thanks for the welcome! Diesel - Yep, many of the bottles are dated but several of the styles have no numbering of any kind to indicate date. Eight different types so far. The bottles, windsreens, and burners that are together seem to be all the same date within a couple years so I've used the dates on the other items to date the undated bottles. Barra - Thanks for the info. I wonder if the different numbers on the SS pots indicate a different manufacturer or just a different date/lot from the same 3 crown manufacturer. Most of my burners were Svea or simply letter coded in the newer ones. I did notice the burners from 1962 were a couple ounces lighter than for the later years. I think the brush repainting was just part of the maintenance, some seemed to have been repainted and then used some more before being sold. reggas - I didn't even notice the different shapes to the bail wire before your comment. Now on the used ones they have been rebent so many times it's hard to tell how they started out. I've noticed a lot of difference in the burners over the years I have. Lloyd
Chuck heap of them into a pile and clean and sort out !!! Probably why they are not corresponding numbers etc. Maybe some poor grunt got to clean up everyones gear after a stupid mistake after a exercise or something!!! Cleaned before selling maybe Same as it ever will me I guess. unless they are packed and unused NOS. Barra
Well, most of what I received was NOS. The packs with the unissued ss pots had unused windscreens, burners, and bottles all the same year (just not the same year as the WWII era pots of course). The packs with the used pots had used burners that matched the year of the bottles plus had new windscreens. Really was a great buy for the money. Lloyd
Yep, much the same as old military watches often have mismatched cases and movements. Ive had 3 of these Swedish army sets, the stainless ones seem a little harder to find than the aluminium ones over here, particularly in NOS condition. My one used stainless set had been painted and when I removed the paint the pots appeared to have been cleaned with an angle grinder, no stamps left on them at all, I refinished them and then sandblasted. Where are the stamps on the stainless sets?
On the pots the manufacturer stamp is generally on the outside front above the latch - covered by the pan when together. Some (but not many) of the pans are stamped on the inside. One brand has a four leaf clover? stamp on the handle. Lloyd
That clover comes from a manufacturer that used to be shortened as ESAB. ESAB in this case stands for Eskilstuna st?lpressnings AB, not to be mistaken with our more famous ESAB; -the welding and cutting giant! This smaller company specialised in tin vessels of many kinds and related items. They also made helmets for the army at some period. The name means Eskilstuna Steelpress Ltd (or Co, if you prefer...), where Eskilstuna is the name of a small, but very nice town for anyone interested in old industrial history. /Christer
Is is possible and safe / advisible to use the windscreen from the Swedish Army kit with a "naked" Svea 123, or would that be too enclosed and overheat the fuel tank? I have both the 123 and the cook kit, but would like some advice before I do some experimenting. Thanks. Paul
Hey, Paul, I don't think this would be a safe match-up, as the SVEA would not get enough air to keep the tank cool, and I do believe you would pop your safety cap valve in a very short time. Not worth the chance, me thinks. Keep your eyes peeled for a Sigg Tourist cookset, which was made for the SVEA. That is a match made in heaven, and worth any price you must pay to get it! Hey, you might even get lucky and score one for a very good price! Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I think it would overheat a Svea. Wrapping foil half way around a Sigg Tourist cook kit can overheat a Svea, and these Swedish Army cooksets are more enclosed than that. ....Arch
Thanks Doc and Arch. I'll leave this experiment untried..... Just another reason this forum is such a valuable resource. Paul
I agree with them, I wouldn't with a svea. I saw a photo somewhere on this site of a primus 96 with it's legs cut short so that the swedish mil windscreen/cookset fits on top. It looked interesting, and I bet it would work fine. The font on the 96 doesn't get that hot in normal operation, plus it's kero. Oh look I saved a copy! That is one turbocharged swedish cooker, plus with the proper bag, it'd fit inside the pot set. And it need not be a permanent modification!
