Help Identifying Camp Stove

[Bob P.]

Hi all, found an unmarked camp stove today (camp oven?). Picked it up, with a second lid, for twelve dollars. I could use some help identifying it.

https://i.imgur.com/4p2zsDR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pyJjsnT.jpg

Underside of lid:

https://i.imgur.com/ckqR3NB.jpg

There's a '2' stamped into the underside of the lid:

https://i.imgur.com/gPyjVM2.jpg

More photos in the next post...

 

[Bob P.]

https://i.imgur.com/KBHPO2q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tjjYu2t.jpg

And then there's the second lid I picked up. I doubt this really goes with the oven, but it does seem to fit:

https://i.imgur.com/HhL2CKx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RgFkqAE.jpg

The top of the pot is about 9 3/4" measured across the opening. I noted that the bail feels a bit thinner gauge than I expected, and it has a 'pinch' in it's center (to hang in the center more easily I'd guess). The helper handle and the bail ears are grooved out on the underside. And the feet are round - I've read that older stoves had squared off feet on some of the sides?

Any ideas what these are? Or how old they'd be? Thanks everyone - I picked this up because my buddy likes to camp, and his wife told me two years ago to keep my eye open for a camp stove in my thrifting trips. I finally found a small one that I think will work for them. Excited to get it cleaned up, and if I can share some of it's pedigree/history all the better!

 

[GTurner]

I'm not sure, but the second lid might be a Griswold or remade from a Griswold pattern due to the cross pattern on the underside.

Doug, did Griswold make this design under its lid?

Bob, I don't have any Griswold lids so I'm not familiar at all with them, but did the information in the unmarked section of the site not help you?

 

[Bob P.]

I'm not sure, but the second lid might be a Griswold or remade from a Griswold pattern due to the cross pattern on the underside.

Doug, did Griswold make this design under its lid?

Bob, I don't have any Griswold lids so I'm not familiar at all with them, but did the information in the unmarked section of the site not help you?

No, I didn't find anything useful in the unmarked section. There's not much there about camp stoves/identification, and the entries for basting didn't talk about this pattern.

I did find via Google one entry that claimed this is a Lodge basting lid. That was from Worthpoint (one of those price tracker sites)...who knows if they identified it correctly. I know I've seen that 'quadrant' basting pattern before, likely while browsing this site, but of course now that I need it I have no idea where I saw it.

I've been searching this afternoon for information about identifying camp stoves, but so far I've come up with almost nothing. A few articles about cooking with them, but that's about it.

 

[MDFraley]

Camp Ovens were normally associated with two major suppliers (Lodge & BSR). The lack of markings/style of the three leg camp oven you have posted suggest to me that it is a Lodge made piece along with the flat lid. Per your dimensions provided it would be a small size camp oven as compared to the larger ones we usually see at flea markets and or antique stores such as 12 and 14's.
The lid with the tear-drop basting spikes follows the Lodge patterns normally seen on Lodge made pieces. I'm somewhat confused about the wide spaces between the spike pattern which resembles a cross so to speak. Normally Lodge puts a inscribed size on their lids but possibly because it may be an older piece there wasn't any sizing indicated. It's definitely a Dutch Oven lid due to the lack of ear tabs. I'm not an expert and may be totally off base with my assumption and it could be that all three pieces are/were foreign made.

 

[Bob P.]

Thanks MD! Appreciate the info.

Before the sun went down I paid a visit to the lye tank, just to see how things are going. On the bottom of the pot I think I can see two very, very faint numbers. It looks like an '8' and a '5', but they're not next to each other:

https://i.imgur.com/mZPgwCT.jpg

Here it is with the marks outlined:

https://i.imgur.com/rejhu6U.jpg

As I said, they're very faint, and a bit easier to see in person. Maybe more cleaning will bring them out. Or maybe they're just random formations, like those faces they've found on Mars.

I hesitated to even mention them, but if there's a chance that they help identify the pot, why not? Thanks again guys.

 

[Doug D.]

I'm not sure, but the second lid might be a Griswold or remade from a Griswold pattern due to the cross pattern on the underside.

Griswold was never coy about marking its wares. Any unmarked goods they did produce always had a pattern number on them. Nothing about this lid says Griswold, neither the shape, the handle nor the basting spikes.

 

[Bob P.]

Griswold was never coy about marking its wares. Any unmarked goods they did produce always had a pattern number on them. Nothing about this lid says Griswold, neither the shape, the handle nor the basting spikes.

Thanks Doug. I'd mentioned that a Worthpoint entry listed the basting lid as Lodge. Is that possible? Have you seen that sort of pattern before?

As far as the camp stove goes - any idea/hints on who the manufacturer might be? Thanks!

 

[Russell S.]

Texsport is the only manufacturer that I’ve ever seen with the offset/bend in the bail. They put their name on their Ovens now but may have had an unmarked version in the past. I don’t think it’s Lodge or BSR because of the following observations,
1. I’ve never seen a Lodge or BSR Camp Oven with this style bail.
2. The legs look too long for Lodge and BSR.
3. Lodge and BSR both marked their ovens with at least a size number, and with a good size font.

 

[Jeff S.]

The small crudely cast bail attachment holes identifies your camp oven as an Asian made piece. The other is believed to be a Wagner made Merit lid.

 

[Doug D.]

The other is believed to be a Wagner made Merit lid.

I'm curious as to the source of that information. Hopefully, not just facebook speculation repeated as fact. We know Griswold made Puritan and Merit store brands for Sears. And that Favorite Piqua made Puritan for Sears as well. But it seems unlikely another maker would produce an unmarked Merit and also decide to potentially infringe on Lodge at the same time. Granted, the handle is Wagner-like, but nothing else really is.

 

[Bob P.]

The small crudely cast bail attachment holes identifies your camp oven as an Asian made piece. The other is believed to be a Wagner made Merit lid.

Thanks Jeff! Appreciate the answer.

Just got the basting lid cleaned up and re-seasoned last night. Now that it's clean I can see 'butter' marks where they took out the center rows of basting points:

So, this style of basting point is usually associated with Lodge (I think). But you'd said it's Wagner. Was this lid likely done after the two companies were merged?

Oh, and those mystery marks on the bottom of the camp stove - they were just mystery marks. Now that it's clean I can't discern anything, I don't see a mark on the bottom of the pot at all.

---------- Post added at 07:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:29 AM ----------

Here's another shot of the ghost marks:

 

[Doug D.]

The buttering brings an interesting aspect. There was no Lodge/Wagner merger.

 

[Bob P.]

The buttering brings an interesting aspect. There was no Lodge/Wagner merger.

Doh! My eyes were reading Lodge/Wagner but of course my brain was thinking Griswold/Wagner.

What could the buttering imply? Since I can't find any marks on the lid at all, and the casting isn't the finest, smoothest quality, is it possible somebody did a knockoff of a Lodge pattern and changed it 'just enough' to not get into trouble?

Or did you have another theory? Theories are interesting.