In my never ending quest for all things Swedish, I figured that I'd be slowing down on my discoveries and additions to the collection. However, much to my surprise, it seems that things have picked up recently in the Swedish Mess Kit department!
I finally found an original aluminum, green, Swedish mess kit with the wind screen and alcohol stove. These aren't hard to find, but picking one up at an affordable price these days is the challenge.
I spotted this this beauty up for sale, offered by a seller that didn't know what he had. To him it was just an old "army surplus cook pot". I bought it for an "old cook pot price", and smiled all the way home.
This pot is the same as my unpainted mess kits, but has the "value-added" addition of authentic Swedish Army green paint. Now all the slots are filled in the Swedish mess kit series.
I won't go on much more about these kits, as I have covered them a number of times in previous posts. You can read up on them here (for more blog postings, you can search the blog using "Swedish Mess Kit" in the search bar).
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2011/07/swedish-m40-mess-kit-svea-stove.html
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2018/08/swedish-mess-kits-m40-and-m44.html
This particular kit is stamped and dated, ST 89, with the Three Swedish Crowns. (1989)
The windscreen is unmarked, with two additional air vent holes. I'm not sure if that means this is a newer "reproduction" screen, or if it is another variation. Here is a comparison of the two windscreens.
When compared to my other screens, it is identical, down to the press tool marks. The only difference I can see is that there is an additional air vent hole on each side, under the handle slot. The other slight difference is that the stove hole in the bottom of the unmarked screen has a sharp metal edge. The marked screens have a slightly rounded edge.
The alcohol stove is the classic Swedish issue stove, marked and dated SVEA 64, (1964).
In addition to the "new" mess kit, I also picked up a couple of the newly produced copies, of the original Swedish Army cups.
The original cups can be a bit pricey, so when I spotted these cups for a couple of dollars each, I couldn't pass them up.
The large cup is a Kåsa Cup, more often called a Kuska Cup in bushcraft circles these days. These large cups are designed to nest perfectly in the bottom of the Swedish Mess Kits. They are BPA free, hard plastic, and fit nicely in the hand.
The smaller cup is the classic Fold-A-Cup style, collapsible cup that was also designed for and issued to the Swedish Army. This little folding cup "folds in half", with the top half folding down into the inside of the cup. Very ingenious! The cup nests inside the larger cup, so if you want to carry both, it's easy to do so. This cup is also BPA free, and quite sturdy.
Now that the Swedish Army no longer uses these cups, and all of the remaining stocks have surplussed, the Wildo company has been reproducing them for the civilian market. It is interesting to note that the Wildo company was the original manufacturer of the army cups. In 2011 the company ownership was transferred to the founder's son and the company was renamed Wildo. The Wildo company now produces an expanded line of camp utensils, plates, bowls and cups, all based on the originals. Oh yes, and everything is still manufactured in Sweden!
You can check out the company and their products here:
https://www.wildo.se/
UPDATE: I picked up an original cup to display with the mess kits. You can read about the cup, and see a side-by-side comparison here:
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2019/07/orginal-swedish-army-kasa-cup-kuska-cup.html
To finish things up, let's take a closer look at the new mess kit and cups.
Well, I finally did it..... I picked up a Swiss Military Wool Blanket!
Actually, I have to be honest with you, it's not an original,, but you wouldn't guess it at first glance.
I have had my eye out for one of the original blankets from the Swiss Army, but these days they are very tough to find, and when you do find them, the prices are crazy high. So, the next best thing is a quality reproduction.
The stars must have aligned perfectly for this deal. About a month ago I received an email, promotional offer from a surplus company that I haven't purchased anything from for several years. It was a coupon code for $10 off my next order, no strings attached. I never ended up using it because their shipping was too high for my liking, so I just let that coupon sit and languish (glad I didn't delete it!).
Then, as we were heading into our Memorial Day, holiday weekend, I started receiving all kinds of great discount offers from various surplus and gear companies. The same company that sent me the $10 off code, then posted that they were offering free shipping for the entire weekend. Now that's a deal that I can't pass up (especially with a free $10 burning a hole in my pocket!). I headed over to their web site to shop around.
One of the first things I spotted was the the Swiss Military Blanket reproductions. They had put the blankets on sale for $14.95 ! With the coupon code and free shipping, my final cost was $5 out the door. What a deal! I ordered it right up, and it arrived yesterday.
Here's the interesting thing about these "reproduction" blankets, many of them are low quality and have been treated with questionable (and very smelly!) "moth repellent" chemicals. All of them seem to be made in India. Of all the reproduction blankets, the very best, and highest quality, are produced through Swiss Link surplus down in California. I had always said that if I ended up with a reproduction, it would have to be Swiss Link. This purchase was a gamble...........
The description on the site, did not give any information on the manufacturer, other than the blanket was imported from India. The blanket weight, and size, however, matched Swiss Link's blankets perfectly. I had a hunch that they were selling the Swiss Link reproductions. It turns out I was right!
When the package arrived, I opened it, and was thrilled to see the Swiss Link packing label and blanket label, inside the plastic wrapper! In a round about, and gambling sort of way, I finally had a Swiss Link blanket!
First off, I have to say that Swiss Link is one of my all time favorite surplus companies! I have purchased from them both through their website, and directly from their old warehouse in person. These folks are the real deal, real people, family owned, and not a "corporate mail order" company. You can actually just call them up and talk to someone who is right there at the store. They usually have a number of hard to find items that you can only find from them, and always at a great price. If you have never shopped Swiss Link, give them a try!
https://swisslink.com/
Swiss Link was a victim of the Camp Fire down in Paradise, California in November of 2018. The entire business, the warehouse, and ALL the surplus was incinerated to ash. It's now been six months down the road, and Swiss Link is putting it all back together, and they are back in business. Their website is filling up with great new surplus deals and they have their classic line of new gear back on the shelves, in a new warehouse. (Can you tell I love this company?)
Now back to our blanket............
This blanket is tightly woven and no funky pesticide smell! I would expect nothing less from Swiss Link! It weighs just a bit under 4 pounds. It measures 60 inches by 80 inches. It is made from 70% wool, and 30% "natural fiber" according to the label. I'm not sure what the "natural fiber" is, but at least it's natural! I'm OK with that.
The blanket has a very nice bevo weave, Swiss Link label sewn on one corner.
The "Made In India" label is loosely sewn into the end binding stitching, and is very easily removable.
The red stripes on each end are woven in and not painted on (like some cheaper models).
The white Swiss crosses are stitch-embroidered, one on each end.
This blanket is just about perfect in every way, and looks great strapped to the bottom of my Frost River pack!
For those of you who may be interested, here's a link to my blog post on my pack:
https://sharky-fourbees.blogspot.com/2015/06/frost-river-ilse-royal-jr-bushcraft.html
I haven't taken this blanket out any further than the front yard, but I am certain it'll be a great addition to my bushcraft gear! Let's end this with a closer look at this wonderful blanket. Enjoy!
We have been blessed with some amazing Late-Spring, Early-Summer weather here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest lately, and that got me thinking about packing a picnic and heading out to the countryside for a little adventure.
With that inspiration in mind, I decided to load out the Polizei Dienstfahrrad for a little "off duty" excursion. By the time I got done playing around with equipment, it was too late to hit the road, but not too late for a few photos.
I recently picked up a vintage, wicker wine carrier at a local yard sale with the plan to do a little conversion on it for the bicycle.
I removed a carrying strap, added a closure strap and buckle, added a vintage identification plate, and oiled up the leather. As you can see, the carrier has that "official" look, and doubles as a great carrier for a bottle of wine, beer, or even a few picnic supplies. I am always amazed at how the addition of an old identification plate, really gives an unofficial item, that "official" look!
I strapped one of my Bundesgrenzschutz zeltbahns on the back rack, topped with a Swiss Army mess kit.
On the other side, I hung a Bundesgrenzschutz bread bag and a restored, Bundeswehr coconut canteen.
I hung an old Bundeswehr - THW document pouch from the top tube. The pouch was used by a THW Jugend unit as a document holder in their Ford Transit vehicle.
Overall the whole set-up looks quite nice. I'll play around with some other bits of equipment, but for now I think it looks quite sharp! Obviously I was not going for a "period correct" set-up, but this does show that you can get that "vintage, authentic look" with quite an assortment of odd gear. Don't be afraid to have some fun with all this old stuff!
I hope everyone gets out there to enjoy a little sunshine. And while you're at it, why not drag along some vintage gear for an "old-school" camp out, or picnic!
As usual, here's an album. Enjoy!
