Sometimes I will use something and realize I’ve owned it forever. It’s a nice change in our throwaway reality. I think my personal record is a bicycle multi-tool I got for one of my first bikes, ~25 years ago. Still have it, still use it. When it comes to electronic devices I have a Panasonic mini Hi-Fi from ~2005. Never felt like changing it.
What’s your record?
My toilet.
Easy: I have used my Norwegian teapot every day for as long as I can remember - easily 50 years, plus some 15+ years where my dad used it before me, plus another unknown number of years before him, because he picked it up doing his rounds as a garbage man in his student years (1960s). That thing is ancient, and still going strong. Never gonna let it go.
That teapot must be tied with the Danish dinner tableware inherited from my grandparents. That stuff has also been in use literally daily since the 1950s.
Talk about built to last, and buy it for life. Amazing.
I don’t know why, but I really want to see the magical teapot. Can we see?
Bought some walking boots in 1991 that I only got rid off last year (they finally broke). Except Antarctica they’ve been on every continent. Felt quite sad saying goodbye.
Which brand/model?
Trezeta, which is an Italian brand of hiking goods. Not sure of the model, it’s been so long ago.
https://x.com/BjornToftMadsen/status/1213442646594772992?s=20
Alright, it wasn’t quite last year, I realised :) Time moves fast in your 40s.
I got confused with x.com I was like what was this person wearing boots on a porno site?. And then it hit me, this is Twitter and not some shady port site
I know, it looks so weird. Just how twitter creates share-links now.
Old boot porno. Internet rule 34 in action.
I’ve had the same pair of earbuds since 2003, but they kicked the bucket two years ago. That would make it 18 years. As a teen I was very careless with them, regularly forgot them in the pocket and they went through countless trips through the washing machine and dryer, so I am amazed they lasted that long.
I grew up decently poor, always getting cheap shit.
But now that I’ve got an education and a good paying job, I’m starting to collect nice things that are nice to have and use.
The one I’ve had the longest w actual daily use would have to be my stealcase chair. I did the frugal thing and bought it used, but it’s been a couple of years and it shows no signs of giving up any time soon.
I did the same. Got a remanufactured steelcase Leap v2 and it was the best purchase ever.
I have a Stanley Record no.5 plane given to me by my dad about thirty years ago. He inherited it from a relative when he was around the same age. It could be a hundred years old at this point. I’ve got a pre-war Wadkin bandsaw, must be close to a century.
I still have my first ever mountain bike from the early 90s, can’t kill that thing either. It is a high quality machine but looks incredibly shabby now. Perfect for shopping, nobody wants to steal it.
I just changed my mountain bike because I was running out of easy trails around me and needed something a bit better. Funny thing is I still use the shoes I bought with the old bike. They are about to fall apart but for now they outlived my bike.
A well maintained bike has incredible durability. I don’t use this one off road any more because I bought a suspended machine fifteen years ago but I can’t bear to part with my old friend. With a little imagination they can be modified for a new purpose. It’s a fun way for kids to learn basic skills.
I bought my mechanical keyboard in 1997. It has the original large round plug on it and through the years I’ve had to buy adapters to go to a ps/2 port and now to usb, but the keyboard itself still works pretty well. Definitely time for a good cleaning though, I’ve been having a lot of stuck or missed keys lately. Since I write code this keyboard has seen a LOT of daily use over the years.
OMG same here. Just posted it. But mine isn’t mechanical. Has the round connector to the wireless box, that I adapt too. LOL.
An Enermax keyboard has been my daily driver as a programmer for my career that started in 2007. It still works just fine and I still have no reason to change to something else. Lots of reasons not to, since I like the classic keyboard layout and the flat laptop keys.
Trying to type anything on the chiclet style keyboards reminds me of the days of learning to code on a ZX81. You just can’t type quickly on those without the proper feedback. If my current keyboard ever dies, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Sennheiser headphones that I bought for about $20 about 10 years ago. The cable is indestructible. I once had to resolder it to the speakers because it my cat pulled it out, but the cable itself has endured all kinds of abuse without breaking. And the sound is fantastic.
I picked up a pair of Sennheisers from a thrift store a couple years back. They sound amazing and the cord is replaceable! I love them.
They weren’t cheap but I got my sennheiser Hd650s around 2004 and still use them daily.
I’ve replaced the ear pads and cord once each, otherwise they’re original.
Same. My Sennheiser Momentum 2s over ears are god damn workhorses and I’m very abusive. And the sound is fantastic.
We got three sets of bedsheets when we got married thirteen years ago, still using all of them.
Before we were married, my spouse got me a tea set; only two teacups left but I do use them daily.
But the winner is the engraved, personalized cereal spoon I got when I was five by saving cereal box tops and sending them in.
Cereal box top redemption!
Those halcyon days!
Not sure it counts but I have an oak dining table my grandfather bought back in 1910 or there abouts… So 113 years-ish. Still used every day.
Got a picture ? I was wondering what kind of furniture would be timeless, as most consider old fancy furniture as tacky.
If it’s plain, i can imagine it without a pic :)
It’s a hay rake design by some guy called Barnsley… Arts & Crafts movement. Plain oak top, 7’x3’ ish, dovetail fit to oak hay rake frame which is wooden pinned together. The top has been abused over the years but being oak it just absorbs the abuse and turns it into character!
There is one in the same style in Cheltenham museum (UK) but mine is nicer. My cousin has its twin.
Thanks. I googled it and yea, just as i thought. Lately i was thinking about how one would make long lasting furniture and this fits perfectly.
https://images.custommade.com/0JTpEKXuUmXqNsev67_0b4AAhzs=/custommade-photosets/12588/12588.54813.jpg Pic for interested.
I have plenty of things that are really old, but the longest in daily use would probably be a Galileo thermometer my dad gave me in my early teens. It looks like this, but the colours have long since faded:
I’ve got a rice cooker that old enough to rent a car. My MIL bought me a newer one a few years back and it’s still in the box. I just like my old reliable one better.
Best way to do it. Not replacing something that isn’t broke and a spare just in case.
This may interest you https://moth.monster/blog/microwaves/
In 1990 I was running a very tiny Unix clone at home (Coherent on a 286 PC w/ 1 meg ram) and… I don’t remember if I couldn’t get a standard reader to compile on that or what the problem was, but anyways - I wrote an email/usenet reader for my own use.
33 years later, I’m still using it to read my email every day.
Also, I think I’ve had my pasta strainer since the 90s.
How are you dealing with everything being in HTML and full of attachments now?
An email of all html is an unwanted email 99% of the time. Occasionally, I save it, and open in lynx. (When a web site emails a security code.)
Attachments are more of a hassle, because I frequently need those. Save to a temp file, “munpack file”, examine extracted files.
impressive! got a source code link for those of curious?
I have my first generation Kindle Paperwhite that I still use daily, that is from 12. I don’t think that is the oldest item I have in my possession that I still uses, but it is one that I have right be side me at the moment.
My Kindle keyboard is still going strong also. I bought it 13 years ago. I’m positive it’s a dinosaur by today’s e-reader standards, but it holds my books and renders pages just fine. I don’t have a reason to upgrade.
very lucky, my KB’s battery died years ago and I never bothered to replace it.
I am eyeing a used Kindle Oasis for a while, but doesn’t really seems to have a reason to upgrade as I still have Paperwhite and Voyage.
P.S I believe the main reason for upgrading the KB is for the lights that all Kindles have now.
I bought the official leather cover for it, which has a book light built into it.
I am currently wearing a pair of shorts that I bought sometime in the late '80s. The top blanket currently on my bed was made by my grandmother in the '70s. The clock right in front of me was made during WW2, but I’ve only had it for a couple of decades. I guess I just don’t throw shit away
Edit: now that I think of it, my bed is probably from the '30s or '40s.
