Hey folks,

Well I finally scored at the local thrift stores after what feels like years of searching for outdoors gear. I saw the big pot with lid and bail on the shelf with a $5.99 price tag and was already happy with the find. I was completely surprised when I picked it up and it felt heavy.  I popped it open and, well you can see in the pictures what I found inside. I put a death grip on my find and headed right for the register, worried a little that they would tell me that it was priced wrong when I got to the check out.  It feels like the same metal military cook sets are made from, aluminum I'm guessing?  No stamps or other identifying marks anywhere on the set so if you have a clue about who or what the set is, please share.

On to the pictures!

The pot as I found it on the shelf. It's big, easily holds a gallon or more of liquid. On sight I thought if nothing else I could collect and boil water in it at a family or hunting campsite.

This is what I saw when I popped the lid!

All pulled out. all the pots and lids have a slot for the handle attachment and most of the pots have what I am calling bail nubs on them. Little protrusions that a wire bail can be attached to. 5  drinking cups, 1 collapsible cup, 5 - medium sized plates, 1 handle that fits all the pots and lids, the big pot and lid everything fits in, and 3 other pots and a lid. The numbers work out perfectly as I have the wife and I and three kids in the immediate family.

A previous owner even did a mod on this pot to add a pour spout.

A final shot of just the pots and lids.

From feedback on some forums these sets were made by various manufacturers. Some have mentioned that they are very similar to cook sets designed for boy/girl scouts. I'm still on the look out for good cast iron pieces but the Chow hall is that much closer to being fully set!

Thanks for looking, and thanks ahead of time if you have any info to share.

I just celebrated a birthday in late September and I decided to get myself a little gift. As I believe I have mentioned before I have a large quantity of Military Surplus gear, thanks to a long career in the Army. I've been trying to collect a few more...traditional...pieces of gear as of late.

 For over a year now I've had my eye on a little canvas and leather version of a dump pouch. A dump pouch is a piece of kit some soldiers and the like use to throw empty rifle magazines in to quickly collect them up. Often it is a collapsible pouch the folds up to a small size, easily kept out of the way of other gear. Well, I found a craftsman who makes a beautifully done leather and canvas version and ordered one.

John from Badger Claw Leatherworks makes many fine leather and waxed canvas goods and has built a solid reputation as a sheath maker for custom and production knives. John is a skilled craftsman whose talent with design and craftsmanship is evident with even just a casual look at the products on his sight, www.badgerclawleatherworks.com.  The transaction between us went flawlessly on his part. I received my pouch about 3 days after he shipped it. Probably would have come sooner had I not delayed the process by not sending the correct payment on my first go.

The item I ordered was the Bushcrafter's Dump Pouch. It is a waxed leather and canvas collapsible pouch with stainless steel hardware. The pouch rides nicely on a belt and stays out of the way until needed. There is a decent sized fire steel loop an a nice steel D- ring for external attaching. Keep in mind anything attached to the ring will be obstructed by the full pouch when it is opened.

This photo shows me wearing the pouch just in front of my Turley Green River. You can see how compact it is and you can just make out the D-ring on the bottom right near my pocket.

In the top pic you can see the fire steel loop better. That steel was a last minute add for the photo, in real use I will have it tied off by a lanyard. The bottom picture shows it fully opened.  In actual use, I pushed the pouch around to the front of my belt more so it rested more on the front of my thigh.

I wore the pouch out on a quick little hike around the woods near the cabin. Figured if I was planning to use it as a foraging pouch I had better do some foraging. Found some thistle down still on the plant, a hand full of acorns but I could have had as many as I want, and some birch bark. 1 hand full of each barely started to take up much room in the pouch. It has plenty of size to hold tinder, foraged edibles, interesting rocks, etc...

This picture shows how the retaining strap snaps inside the pouch to help secure it...and another shot of my Turley Green River knife ;)

A better shot of the back of the pouch. That belt loop is very generous, I'm guessing a 2" belt would slide right in just fine. You can also see how that D-ring is covered when the pouch is opened.

I'm completely satisfied with my Bushcraft Dump Pouch from Badger Claw Leatherworks. If you are in the market for quality leather or canvas goods with a more traditional styling, you could do much worse than checking out John and his work.