Build A Simple, Handmade Cooking Stove


If you’re camping and forgot the stove, need another cooking surface and don’t want to build a fire, or (more likely) just want to show off a cool camping trick and cook a meal at the same time, go outside, take a saw with you and grab a log. That’s all you’ll need for this simple, handmade stove, brought to you by our friends in Russia.

English Russia (careful, ads may be NSFW) walks us through how to make a “Russian Stove”, using a log, newspaper, and a chain saw. The chainsaw is optional — a normal saw would work just fine. Cut the log evenly on both sides so it stands up freely. Then cut it into vertical segments most of the way down the length of the log. Stuff in some newspaper into the cracks as deep as you can get it, leaving a wick at the bottom, and light it up.

That’s all there is to it — the log burns from the inside out, and you have a simple, handmade stove. The top is flat, so you can put a frying pan or other vessel on top with food or liquid inside you’d like to heat. Practical? Absolutely not — you’re far better bringing a camp stove or building a fire if you’re actually going to be roughing it, and it’s unlikely you’ll happen to have a frying pan, a saw, newspaper and food to cook but somehow forget the camp stove. Even so, this trick wins points for being fun, unusual and a reminder that you can get the job done without modern conveniences if you’re roughing it.

It might be worth a try for fun, just be careful — there’s no safety guard or anything to keep you from getting singed. Check out the photos at the link below (again, fair warning: ads on the site below may be NSFW) for a step-by-step with photos. Would you give this a try, or planning to stick to the camp stove? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks to Conrad for sending in the tip!

Simple Handmade Stove [English Russia — NSFW]


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