Upcycling means re-using an item without breaking the material down or changing its shape. Danish Fuel designs are made from old, used jerry cans collected from military surplus warehouses. This is how we do it.
Zero waste
Our rule is to stay as close to the original design as possible. We only use salvaged military jerry cans, so the world history icon gets a new life. After decades of military use on the front lines there will be traces of corrosion and dents in the body of the cabinets.
The eight steps
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Collecting
Our jerry cans come from military surplus warehouses, where they were left to be scrapped. We salvage them and keep them in our warehouse in Denmark.
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Cleaning the metal
Decades of weather and use leave rust, layers of old paint and the smell of fuel. To loosen it all, the cans spend 24 hours in a furnace.
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Sandblasting
A mix of recycled sand and water, blasted under high pressure, brings out the clean metal in every corner of the can. Not too high, though: too much pressure would put tension into the metal. Our master of sandblasting is Kim.
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Laser cutting
Precision is everything. A 3D laser cutter cuts the door and the details with very small margins, so every line aligns.
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Washing and painting
The cans are steam cleaned to remove the sandblasting dust and dried straight away in an oven to avoid rust. Then we paint them in the colours that told the cans apart during the Second World War, when the colour showed which liquid a can held.
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Wooden shelves
The interior is moulded plywood: layers of veneer glued crosswise at 90 degrees under heat and pressure in a press tool. Canadian oak is our base wood; you can also choose black stained oak, American walnut, zebrano or red gum (Australian eucalyptus).
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Assembly
Hinges, mirrors, ID tags, locks: many custom parts go in, and building a cabinet is a bit like building a ship in a bottle.
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Packaging
Some say the packaging is half of the experience of receiving a gift. Ours is a box inspired by the WWII ammunition box, the box used for every kind of supply from food to ammunition. It stacks and has a rope handle.
Questions and answers
How is a jerry can turned into a cabinet?
In eight steps: collecting the cans from military surplus stock, 24 hours in a furnace to loosen paint, rust and the smell of fuel, sandblasting, laser cutting, steam cleaning and painting in the original wartime colours, moulded plywood shelves, assembly with hinges, mirror, ID tag and lock, and packing in a box inspired by the WWII ammunition box. See every step.
Are Danish Fuel cabinets made from real military jerry cans?
Yes. Our limited edition cabinets are made from used military jerry cans collected from military surplus warehouses in Europe. Dents and corrosion from their years in service may be visible. The Tribute series (also called Originals) is different: it uses our own reproduction of the 1939 German jerry can, with clean lines and no traces of corrosion.
Which woods and colours can I choose?
Oak is our base wood. Depending on the design you can also choose smoked oak, black stained oak, walnut, red gum or zebrano. Colours include Army Green, Nano Black, Aviation Grey, Racing Green, Gas Red, Glacier White, Normandy Yellow, Copper, Gold and Rose. The configurator on each page shows exactly what is available for that design.