Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

[Will Eichler]

Hi all,

Just checked the search feature and the info I need is currently in the "lost for now" category our mods are working so hard on.

Just before the crash there was a discussion on how to clean Osman nesting kettles for first use and advice on how the care for them to keep them from being rust buckets.

I'm sorry, but I didn't make any notes on the discussion. Can the original posters please re-submit their ideas? Thanks to whoever asked the question the first time.

Best to all,

Will

[Spinster]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

Wash 'em as they come from the maker with Dawn dishwashing liquid or some good strong soap--to get off that initial coat of storage grease.

After that, coat lightly with mineral oil.

Let the outside get black, and stay that way. Keep the inside clean (more or less, well maybe) and reoil it after each use.

You can use pig grease, but it will go rancid a lot faster than mineral oil.

Don't leave water standing in them. Bad idea, unless of course you like brown red drinking water. :tounge_sm

[Charles Heath]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

Will,

If these are new kettles, check the packing materials for the "Care and Feeding" instructions. Should that not be in your possession, shoot Ron Myzie an email, as I believe he posted a scan of his instructions on the last cycle of this question.

Otherwise, Terre's advice is good to go. Mineral oil, by the way, was an issue item under the nomenclature "armor oil." You can use sweet oil, aka olive oil, but like lard, it also goes rancid after a while. Some sharp sand and some elbow grease will put a shine to the insides of those kettles, too.

A couple of six inch square blanket scraps will be your best pals for moving pots and kettles from the fire, especially when you have to pour something. They are also good for scrub rags when they get too old for much else.

The sheet iron (mild steel nowdays) kettles are designed to go into the fire, unlike tin plated pots and kettles. If you do have the opportunity to dig a regulation slit trench, and erect a crossbar, then they'll work much better. If you don't have scrap trace chain or those nice S hooks, a few "Z" cut branches from saplings will work just fine. Yes, they do grow on trees. Recycling an Indian/Paki bayonet as a potlifter or S hook is also a fine idea.

The kettles did not come with lids, but they were designed to stack small-medium-large, because the handles are punched into the sides, and not installed with protruding ears. The issue mess basins can also serve this same function, and a man with an eye for skillets can use those for lids, as well. Yep, a box top works fine, until some wag stokes the fire a little high.

If you can find a nice Sibley tent tripod, you will no doubt instantly realize that is the handy dang thing you've seen in so many period photographs hovering over the cookfire with a steaming kettle suspended below. The City Point image of precisely that is one of my faves.

The small kettle seems to feed a platoon of about 25-30 men. The middle kettle does well for a company of 45-60 men, and the large kettle is perfect for a single serving size coffee (black, hot, and slightly bitter) for the cook. :wink_smil

[Will Eichler]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

Thanks for the advice, everyone. They saw light use last weekend, but are on their way to being a great tool for our company.

Regards,

Will

[Mark Somerville]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

I was wondering if someone could provide contact information for Osman. I would like to see the cost of purchaseing company pots.

Thank you for you help
Mark Somerville

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

Mark,
Osman, Wendy

foragecaps@earthlink.net

Send them regards.

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

I was wondering if someone could provide contact information for Osman. I would like to see the cost of purchaseing company pots.

The last I checked (at least the price list I have from about 2 years ago) the set of three mess kettles was $165; the mess pans were $35 apiece.

[ephraim_zook]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

I just went back and checked our order. I wonder if the price went down? We bought ours last July for $130 including shipping.

Ron Myzie

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

I just went back and checked our order. I wonder if the price went down? We bought ours last July for $130 including shipping.

Ron Myzie

You're right... Looking in my little black book, I had marked "$165" when trying to account for the expense, but that included not only the kettles but a mess pan, too.

Contact info, btw, is

W.K. Osman
5424 Elliot Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55417

E-mail: foragecaps@earthlink.net

[Mark Somerville]

Re: Osman Kettle prep and maintainance

To All

Thank you for the help. I will be contacting them this week.

Mark Somerville