Reply With QuoteWe have a Sony bedside clock radio that my other half was given for her 15th birthday in 1982,
I was watching Mrs Smith doing some ironing this morning and She was struggling and cursing trying to raise the ironing board. I said "You're always having trouble with that thing why don't you get a new one?" She said there was no need as it works fine "and I've had it 38 years from when we first got married"
I was impressed as I had no idea it was that old.
We then began to consider all the really old stuff we've got.
I have a pair of Timberland boots nearly thirty years old I still wear in winter although they've been re-soled.
We have a Sony bedside clock radio that my other half was given for her 15th birthday in 1982,
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
My 'cello was built circa 1890 and still going strong. I also have an acoustic guitar from 1934 that's a bit tatty but sounds great. Not that old for regular objects, but old for a computer. I have a 2008 Mac Pro that still works well.
Originally Posted by Harry Smith
The phrase "don't make em like they used to" springs to mind. We bought a new ironing board a couple of years ago and now it's like trying to iron on cobbles!
Tools with me - although I rarely use them if it can be avoided!
Most of my snap-on tools are 30 plus years old, I've a couple of King dick (fnar) spanner’s my brother gave me when i was an apprentice that are well over 50 that are still going.
A wooden step ladder that is nearly 50 years old . I keep repairing it. I should just buy a new set.
The Persian rug (carpet?) on the floor in the living room. It comes from my parents' house. In fact, as a child I played on that rug (and I'm 64 y/o). Knowing my parents, I'm sure it wasn't an 'el cheapo' thing back then. I know where the bought the carpet and it was a high-end store in Rotterdam. Fair chance that it was already a vintage item when they bought it. It's safe to say that the rug is between 65 and 80 (90?) years old. And still, it's not worn!
They used to spend money on good, solid items. And if things were too expensive, they simply waited and saved money until they were able to buy it. Another possession is my mum's pastry dishes. Absolutely a Mid Century Modern design; pink, greenish. They must have bought it when they bought the carpet as well. They'd come back from a few years in Brazil and needed a full decoration of their first flat in the Netherlands.
Clothing-wise: I still have and wear (sometimes) the track pants that were issued to me in 1978 when I joined the Army. Still not worn and they still fit. How's that!
Watch: my parents gave me a Seiko for my 15 b'day in 1973. I still have and wear the that watch. It has never been serviced and keeps time like a Rolex. Sadly, the H-link bracelet died in the early '80s.
Last edited by thieuster; 18th September 2022 at 19:43.
Thorens TD150 turntable gets played at least three times a week. Unsure of its age but estimate around 50 years old. It belonged to my late Father in law who bought it new. I’ve had it nearly four years. It replaced my Rega Planar 3 which was from the mid 80’s.
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I've used the same broom for 20 years. It has needed a fair bit of maintenance.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
Impressive...who made it? My 'cello is a mere 25 years old! I did have a go on a Strad once...the depth of colour in the wood was just amazing. Must say, I made a nicer sound on my own budget offering!!
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We have an old Artek 82B kitchen table. It was bought by my parents in the 70's and was in the family kitchen, then my granmother had it for a while. When I moved out I got that kitchen table and I've promised it to my son. It looks used, but it is solid and looks modern in the right way, same table is still sold new.
Stabila level, fifty years old still going strong.
Probably my house which was built 1880ish if I remember correctly.
My main house broom was given to my parents as a wedding gift in the early 1950s. (Yes, they received a broom as a wedding gift).
P.S. The broom still has the original handle and head/brushy bit.
Last edited by markrlondon; 18th September 2022 at 15:28.
Very good!
We still use a kitchen mixer from my wife’s gran. I think it’s from the 1960’s/early 70’s.
The beam holding the upstairs of my house in France up is over 500 years old. Most of my other stuffis quite new. Oh, and my C90 Cub is 33 years old and pulls like a very slow train!
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Last edited by manganr; 18th September 2022 at 15:31.
Easy Trigger -I mean Tiger!
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I still use my grandfather’s caulking chisel and a fire poker which he made as an apprentice at Cammell Laird in the early ‘30s.
My only pair of wellington boots were supplied to me a the age of 19 by the GPO when I was a postman, that was 42 years ago. Made by Dunlop, they are still worn when wellies are required and are still waterproof.
I think I need to get them on SC!
My Vincent Comet is 71 years old and is still ridden regularly, in fact I was out on it this afternoon.
She still uses the same old spring kitchen scales her mum gave her. About 48yo and looks it - the scales I mean
I have a megalodon tooth that I use as a paperweight.
Its 24 million years old.
This is going to sound awful but I have some tops that are about 20 years old, which I wear to do ‘work’ around the house in!
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That is wicked cool!
I have a Cyrus mission one amplifier from beginning 80’s. They don’t make electronic stuff like that anymore
It's a German 'cello made in/by? Mittenwald. I was told it is a factory made instrument suitable for a student. I've had it since I was 10 years old (which was a long time ago!). Great sounding instrument and I'm very attached to it.
Amazing that you had a go on a Strad! I'm impressed. I must put that on list of things to aspire to do. You're very lucky!
An old tweed jacket from the 1960s. Was supposed to drop it off at the charity shop when my grandfather passed away, but ended up at the alteration tailor instead (he was about my size).
It’s proper vintage Harris tweed, heavy wool.
Surprisingly wearable on a chilly Saturday night in the trendier parts of East London, has a bit of Ivy Look to it.
Few moth holes stitched over, new inner lining, other than that still going strong.
5513 Meters First i think, failing that my Jag at 19 years old.
I’ve got a 1978 Fender Precision bass in natural ash, albeit the neck is a newer Fender Tony Franklin fretless with ebony fingerboard. Body still in great shape with plenty mojo, and sounds great.
Wallpaper at thirty years old and i have the half roll for repairs. I hope to get another twenty years out of it then ill let it see me out.
Good thread😁
An Arkansas oilstone which belonged to by Maternal Grandfather , must be at least 85 years old and imparts a fantastic edge.
My hi fi. Technics amp, mission speakers, bought in 1994.
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Most of the things I own that I hold dear are older than I am, watches, jackets, cars, tools.
I am odd though.
I have just taken a jacket off that dates from 1940. It gets worn regularly.
I still use my grandfathers hand made tool box, it must be 60 years old. (Not every day but a couple of times a month)
Edit:
Forgot the Lee Enfield collection. They date from between 1944 - 1952 and are still used at least once a month.
Last edited by Sinnlover; 19th September 2022 at 08:32.
My late father bought a pair of miniature, folding scissors (to go in a waistcoat pocket) at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938. He carried & used them until he died in 1977.
I'm still using them.
______
Jim.
I use a pair of Melz 6H9C valves in my valve buffer stage in the hifi. Made in 1955. Obviously I'm not the original owner, but they were NOS when I got them.
I also have a pair of Sylvania VT-229 Black Base valves from 1944, and some awesome RCA 5691 Red Base Black Plate valves from 1959 (including a pair of NOS, still unused).
My oldest appliance is a rice cooker I bought from some Singaporean students as they left uni to go home.
I've used it once or twice a week for 28 years, and it was 4 years old when I bought it.
The sweatshirt I'm wearing right now is well over 30 years old - like me it's a bit threadbare, but still functions as it should
My TDL RTL3 floor standing speakers, got them from my parents for doing well at my GCSEs 25 years ago.
I have a Stanley plane of my father’s that he has had since he was in his 20’s - he is 84 this year. I have used it within the last month for trimming down a door in my new house. Razor sharp.
To the Megalodon tooth post - I also found a fossilised fern inside a piece of slate when I was a kid, from a place near Bollington in Cheshire, that my father mounted in a case and I use as a book-end.
Manchester Nat.Hist museum dated it at 165million years, if I remember correctly.
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I bought an orange Kenwood Chef from eBay in 2012 that was NOS from the 70s. Still in the original box it had never been used.
I re-greased the gearbox with the correct food safe grease, replaced the drive belt and sent the motor off for some new caps to be installed after the originals went pop the first time I ran it.
For the past 10 years I have used it weekly to make my pizza dough. One of my favourite possessions.
I still use my Westclox alarm clock that I bought some thirty years ago. Works perfectly, never been back to the AD (argos) for a service.
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My Brevetti Robbiati Atomic coffee machine from circa 1950. I’ve only had for 10 years but use it nearly every day. Makes great coffee and also steams and froths milk.
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Probably the cuddly toy rabbit, Bun, that I had when I was a baby.....from 1963.
Older than that is a rope cosh, which one of my ancestors acquired from a sailing ship on Hull docks. Such a thing was used for quelling mutinies. I keep it handy by my bed just in case I get an intruder.
Probably my Silvestri Mandolin. Not sure exactly how old it is, but I believe the company stopped production in 1920 making it at least 102 years old.
It's virtually impossible to keep in tune, the action is diabolical, and the sound is...ahem.
But I brought it back from the dead, learnt how to play on it, it's worth fifty quid with a tailwind, and I'll never part with the old dog. Love it.
Last edited by Ruggertech; 18th September 2022 at 21:07.
Bought my Ray Ban aviators in Spain 1980. Still use them regularly. Never was much for following fashion, it all comes around again.
My Rogers LS3/5A speakers 44 yrs ago.
Ray Ban Aviators too from 1984😁
Still have a Fender Stratocaster from September 1982.
I've just retired a pair of Timberland sandals I bought in 1997, worn daily, repaired often, and finally beyond further repair.
The house itself dates from ~1750 (first two stories), and ~1850 (3rd floor and extensions).
Probably the oldest thing serving any functional use is a large cobble of Lewisian Gneiss used as a door-stop to one of the bedrooms, collected on holiday a few decades ago, and which is somewhere between 2,700 and 3,000 million years old.
@notenoughwrists - your fern is probably from the Coal Measures, so nearly twice as old as you thought at ~300 million years old.
1940's Presto pressure cooker
Belonged to my grandmother, my mother and I took it after she passed as she taught me how to cook with it.
It's like having a ticking timebomb on the stove.
DON
My old Technics SE-M100 amp from 1989, still in daily use. Proper 16kg battleship!
Hah, I am reminded that I have a rounded rock with fossils (possibly of tube worms) all through it used as a doorstop in the kitchen. I think it might have been transported (by car, not glacial ice) from Cumbria.
My wife, a late 40s vintage and still going strong :)
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