New handle on a Zebra billy can 5


When I was first getting into bushcraft it was commonplace to see people with kit that they had made themselves.  One of the commonest items was a billy can made from a catering sized baked bean can with either some bent coat hanger or similar such wire as a handle.  They worked perfectly well and were very inexpensive.

Nowadays there is a plethora of cooking pots on the market and a whole lot less greasy spoons to approach for their used bean cans and so like many people I’ve succumbed to buying a billy can.  I quite like the Zebra billy can (Jack Raven Bushcraft doesn’t have any connection with the manufacturer by the way.

They’re a solid pot and can be used in lots of different ways.  But I’ve always found the handle to be poor when it comes to using the pot with a traditional pot hanger, sometimes called a wagon stick.

They don’t sit well in the beak of a pot hanger so recently I put a new handle on a Zebra billy can with some bike brake cable and electrical connectors.  There’s enough room between the handle and the pot to get a junior hacksaw in and cut away the rivet.  You might need to knock out a piece of the rivet from the hole in the bracket.

Removing the handle on a Zebra billy can

Then I passed the brake cable through a pair of electrical connectors, through the hole in the bracket and back through the electrical connectors.  Lastly I tightened the screws on the connectors.

Zebra billy can modification

And then repeat on the other side.  Now the handle sits nicely in a pot hanger and I think it also makes the pot easier to pack away.

New handle on a Zebra billy can

It works really well and so I then did the same thing on another 7!

We make pot hangers on plenty of our bushcraft courses, including our 5 Day Bushcraft Course; you can see plenty of photos from this course, and all of our others, on our Facebook page.


About Gary

Lead Instructor at Jack Raven Bushcraft, teaching bushcraft, wilderness and survival skills to groups and individuals.

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