What is the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
What is the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
Just wondering what passes the test of time? I personally have an old Casio watch and if you count fruit trees, those are pretty old too.
Probably my legs, or something 😜
My brain (since 1990), or at least I have been trying.
About 15 years go I had to go somewhere that was much much colder than I anticipated, so we made an emergency drive to the closest town, and I bought the warmest jacket they had. It was like $300, but I never regretted it. Its the most practical, comfy, jacket ive ever owned and doesn't look half bad - even has a hoody you can clip on and off. Got me through snow as well, but its not water proof.
Love that jacket.
My back. Its getting creeky though.
I put a little string of fake pearls on my daughter about every day, and they were mine and my sisters' when I was a toddler, so they're about 30. I don't know how they've survived so many toddlers cause they'd break with any real pulling. She loves them though and is very careful with them. She also uses tiny baby sized silverware from my mom's babyhood(early 70s) It's cute and funny to watch her use miniature stuff that's just her size
I think that's the oldest thing other than furniture (we use my great grandfather's bedroom suite)
For me, the house I'm in was built in 1912 but it's still holding strong. My parents have me beat though, they got the original governor of south carolina's front doors which were from somewhere in the late 1700s
Physical item: LL Bean Laptop Bag. Was designed for laptops much bigger than the one I have now and it’s held up well… except for the buckles.
Digital: Rollercoaster Tycoon got it in a cereal box and I still play it today.
I use a nice handmade wooden desk every day. No idea how old it is but my mom bought it at an antique store in the 70's, so it could be 80+ years old. And it's still in fantastic shape!
Edit: I heard back from my mom and she said it's (supposedly) from the late nineteenth century, so it's way older than I thought!
I've got this little blue plastic cup I've had for almost 30 years. Use it for my toothbrush. Got it when I was a kid and it's the only toothbrush holder I've ever had since.
TI-83 plus
Not exactly daily but the shovel I use to clean out my grill ashes was my grandfather's, hand forged and used for branding iron fires, gotta be 100 years old. Then a phonograph from 1960.
My '97 car?
Clothing? Furniture?My wallet is the last piece of leather I will ever own.
Fender Stratocaster, bought from a Best Buy musical instrument department probably 19ish years ago. Just put new strings on it yesterday and continued learning Dokken's In My Dreams. Fuck that second part of the solo..
Used to use a double edge razor from the 1960s, I still have it. Gillette Slim.
I just use a modern DE instead, 2015 I think. Feather AS-D2.
Both of them will probably outlast me. Especially the Feather, even though it's newer and therefore theoretically made with less care, it was made in Japan, and it's entirely stainless steel, not pot metal. Very strong. You'd need to run it over with a truck to break it.
If cared for, nothing is stopping the Gillette from going another 60 years either.
I have a stove that is a little older then me. I have a cheese grater that no one in house kniws where it cane from or when we bought it. I have a towel i go in the 90s on a trip. That's about as old as a robotech art book i have kept since around then. And I have my grand father's dresser. Not sure how old that is
3 piece safety razor from the 1950s. And soon a watch from 1950 too. Its a wind up watch.
I have a 1973 Gibson ripper bass and a 1971 ampeg svt v9 with a late 70s 8x10 ampeg cabinet. I don't use them daily but more than twice a week, they both still work perfectly. Just regular maintenance
Maybe the iron skillets. I don't think a day passes that I don't use those. Or my house, it's from the 1940s. Some of the furniture is older than that too, though I don't think there is any one piece I actively use each day.
Truly oldest? Double entry accounting, I use nearly every day and that's from around 1300.
Probably my Ron Jon Surf shop beach towel I got while on holiday in Florida in 1997 (I live in the UK). Still in great condition and I wouldn't say I've looked after it particularly.
Also honourable mention to my oldest tech which is an HP touchsmart 600 PC I use for youtube in my bedroom, it's from 2011 and still just about hanging on.
I have a washcloth I got when I was like 6.. I’m almost 40. It’s a really nice mesh washcloth and somehow it only has one extra hole that shouldn’t be there, as well as a seam for the edging that needs to be fixed.
I’ve used it almost daily for my face that whole time.
But the oldest thing I have that I sort of technically use is a wheelchair from WWI. It functions as a chair in my living room. I don’t really think it counts, being furniture, though.
I have a Razer mousepad that I've used for probably 15 years now.
"Heet" liniment. I have an old bottle found when my father died. It still burns but it helps with the arthritis and other pain.
The radio alarm clock, couldn’t find the specific year only to narrow towards the late 70s.
My flat, the building was built around the beginning of the 70s.
- house, built in 1900
- me, built in 1974
- pocket knife, built in 1994
P-38 can opener from World War II. This little thing is the best can opener I've ever owned.
A large tooth comb I’ve had since middle school. I used it everyday until a couple of years ago when I switched to a brush better designed for my hair type, but I still use it on occasion. Not sure how I haven’t lost that thing throughout the years.
ETA: I’ve had the thing for over 2 decades!
If it's truly daily use only, then surprising myself, I think it might actually be my phone.
Probably my Granddads 1950s East German office chair. Got it when he passed since I always used to sit in it when drawing at his desk.
Gas spring is a bit leaky and the leather is a bit faded but it's more solid and comfy than anything new under €500 I tried.
I wear a cord jacket from first grade as a bolero (I'm in my mid 30s). I got older stuff but this usually weirds people out.
My flat was built in the 70s. So probably that. My violin is much older but I don't play much these days (certainly not daily).
Probably my original day 1 psp.
The house that I'm in was built in the 1950's. It's small but cozy!
I have a Marvin the Martian mug I got in 1995 for my 10th birthday. I don’t use it daily, but every few days for sure.
I have a cheap plastic hair brush my mum bought me over 40 years ago when I was about 6 or 7, she said it cost a dollar and surprised I still use it daily.
There is nothing wrong with it, so it lives on.
I've been using the same coffee cup almost every day for the last 50+ years.
Yup, I'm old.
My dad was friends with the guy who designed the Aztec Hotel. He didn't want regular light fixtures originally, so he came up with an idea for lighted columns, and he made a prototype table-lamp sized. The was in 1925. The prototype is in my living room and I use it every day.
I have a 100 year old porcelain doll. Her name is Agnes, she has real human hair and is definitely cursed. Does that count?
Other than that, I have a pre-WW2 windup clock that still works perfectly. It's a solid steel brick.
My keyboard is almost middle aged
IBM Model M. I bought 3 at a garage sale in the late 90s, 1 for use 2 for backups, and I've never needed the backups
I have a refrigerator from around 1988 or 1989 that still works perfectly. Around 1999, it stopped working, so we bought a new one. We didn't throw away the old fridge because we used it to store plates and cutlery, but we were sure that it was completely broken. Then, last year, a technician saw it and told us that only a component needed to be replaced for it to work again. Lo and behold, the damn thing was revived, and after a two-decade slumber it worked again as if no time had passed.
A Kenwood amplifier made in Japan in the 80s.
2007 Toyota Corolla.
Osprey backpack I bought about 12yr ago.I have an orange sweater that I got for a christmas present all the way back in 2001 that, despite nearly daily use a my "lounging around at home sweater", is still in almost perfect shape except for the colours fading a bit in the places that see a lot of robbing (elbows, etc...)
When my grandma passed away, we had to sell the family farm that had been in the family since the 1930s. While mounting the massive undertaking of cleaning out 100 years of stuff from 2 houses and 3 barns, I stumbled upon 2 old wooden cheese boxes being used to store screws from a brand called Blue Ribbon Cheese. I googled it and that was how Pabst Blue Ribbon survived prohibition. One sits in my sock drawer with a few pocket knives for me to choose from each morning.
I don't use it daily, but I also have a 3 foot long homemade level with my great grandfather's initials carved in it. He died in the 1950s but it could be older than that.
I still use a first gen iPod.
I still have the black wooden chest my great-grandmother and her son (my grandfather who only died last year) kept all their belongings in when they fled westwards from the Russian army in 1940s Germany. The chest itself was probably built quite a while before that, but I don't know how old it is exactly.
I fold up my pants and place them on there every night.
An old generic pocket knife I bought in a mall shop back in 2001.
My apartment is from 1865 but "own" is a little tenuous... Beyond that it's probably down to probably 20 year old cutlery or my tv stand which is actually a crate that's around 100 years old
Common sense probably.
Most of the things I use are a few years old but nothing crazy old. Some t-shirts are maybe 10-15 years old in some cases, I guess that’s old for some. I have a lot of hand tools that are maybe 50-100 years old but they get less use.
I have a drip coffee maker that's gotta be almost 40 now. It was given to me by an older family member when I moved into a new apartment. It still works fine as far as I can tell...
Your mom
I have a Stanley mug, bought it in 96 when I was working in construction. It's been kicked off scaffolding more times than I can count.
Used so much that the green started coming off ten+ years ago. So I sanded it off and it now has a brushed stainless look.
The lip cover has been gone for at least 15 years, worked well when it was there though. The mug is far too big to fit in any cup holder and has been tossed around mercilessly in every truck I have ever owned without spilling a drop up until the day it broke off.
The lid has chew marks where sharp puppy teeth of my long dead forever friend had himself a munch.
I can't see ever replacing it and I don't see it ever breaking to the point I'll need to.
I also have a knife in the running that would fit the question.
My grand father straight razor. It's at least 80 years old.
My car’s 25 years old. Can’t think of anything else.
My house is 1880s so that maybe, or I've got a few very old chisels and a spokeshave that are a comparable age
I have a chisel from 1910, and a vice from the 1890s, the barn doors I open to get at them are from the early 1800s, and the well that our water comes from is probably a hundred years older than that. Most of the doors in our house come from its first renovation, in about 1880.
Hmm, probably my weightlifting gloves. I've used them at least five times a week for ten years, but they are starting to fall apart.
Still a great buy for $15.00.
My house was built in 1955, same year my parents were born. I’m not going to count that though. I have a pair of high speakers from the early 70s that get daily use.
A plastic stepping stool that is probably older than me. It holds a subwoofer off the ground so that the downstairs neighbours don't get thumped too hard (they have never complained).
Not daily my l but I've gone hunting every year with a rifle from 1971 I think it said on the licence of the old man who gave it to me.
Got a Gillette Fatboy slim safety razor, it's over twice my age!
I have a folding card table that currently serves as my desk. I don't know how old it is -- 1960s, maybe, based on the style of the brand/sales label on the back? It's almost certainly older than I am, at least... Got it from my uncle back when I was in college and its still working well enough that I haven't bothered to replace it.
I have a mix of hand tools like scrwdrivers, wrenches, and hammers inherited from my father in law who said some were from back in the 60s that I use as needed.
They are still in decent shape so they get put to good use regularly to make up for being left in a closet for a few decades.
We have a formica dining table made in the 50s, I think. It looks cool, is in great shape, and I love spotting them in older movies.
A Mackie mixer and two nearfield speakers I bought 25 years ago still see hours-daily usage. When the fancy Kenwood tuner died 2-3 years later, I replaced it with a Boss 50w/chan 12vdc transistor amp that still never even gets warm.
Speaking of Casios, I have an F-105 [1572] 'Illuminator' that's 20 years old and still using the same battery. It gains about 1 minute per year.
1940s Parker vacumatic skyline.
Writes like a dream and it is neat to use a piece of history.
Honorable mention for my truck. 1997 F-150. Turns 28 this year, just put a rebuilt motor in it, hoping for another 20 years.
A pair of toe-nail clippers my grandfather gifted me. I'm guessing late 1940s. As far as I can tell, it was something he bought from the on-base military store as things were winding down after WW2. It's rugged in a way you wouldn't expect - it was clearly built to last, well, indefinitely. Has this excellent leather carrying case in military olive green that is also wildly over-designed. Not flashy, just built to last.
It really makes me appreciate - we used to know how to make things here (USA). And we were so good at it, even the dumb little things could be built to last.
Still using my microwave from my wedding. It's from 2009 and it's a Panasonic. Also my Kettle is from around that same time too and still chugging along, it no longer beeps though.
I have a teeny tiny screwgate carabina from about 1997 that I use as a key ring.
My teapot probably from the 1940's
My dining room table was originally owned by my great grandmother and was passed down through the family and transported almost 2000km to it's current location in our house.
A great-grandparent's dresser.
My car and also my scooter are from 2009. I use them (for commute) alternately depending on which season it is and if it's raining or not.
We've been living out of backpacks on the road for the last ten years, so it's easy to keep track of your stuff... Only item in our bags that hasn't changed is a zip-up flannel towel. It's perfect for keeping your toiletries in order, light-weight and washable, doubles as a flannel on the rare occasions you need such a thing, and has Hello Kitty on it.
Since the bags themselves have been replaced, it's the clear winner. 2nd place is a Tony the Tiger colour-changing spoon from a bag of Frosties in 2016.
My razor handle was manufactured in the 50s
I wet shave. Ordered a vintage Gillette Fat Boy from the 70s. Definitely my oldest personal item. I've had it only about 10 years though.
Probably my razor, shaving brush and soap mug. Bought them around 2012.
The soapmug is an Old Spice mug I got second hand off ebay. Not sure when it was made. 80's maybe. The others were bought new.
I have some old wooden chairs at the dining table that could be old. Certainly before 1940s.
Hmm, probably cookware from the 1960's. Furniture too, if that counts. It's possible something in the kitchen is actually a generation older, although I'm not sure.
If you include decorations as opposed to just tools it goes back almost arbitrarily (I have 19th century heirlooms, pre-settlement arrowheads and Cambrian period fossils), but I think the spirit of the question is more about things finding a totally pragmatic application.
Edit: I also have a touch-sensitive lamp of a similar age to the cookware. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I'm guessing the entire exterior is one big capacitor, and it must have a very early transistor inside to switch it. It's not quite used daily, but it's sure interesting.
I think the apt. building I live in is from the 1920s or so.
Oldest thing I use frequently may be a 100~ year old ring.
I bought a 1200w power supply in 2013 that is still going strong. Daily driver I've moved from case to case as I have upgraded over the years.
My mom bought me a little Leatherman squirt on my birthday in 2010 and I've been carrying it ever since. 15 years on it's still my most consistent EDC Carry.
I have the metal 'polenta spoon' that my great grandparents brought to the US from Italy in 1896. I don't use it, but it sits in the utensil bin by my stove. No idea how old it is or why it was deemed important enough to bring on a boat.
I have several vintage film cameras I use pretty often, oldest are probably my Nikon F or Leica M3 from the late 50s.
Two things come to mind.
My recently acquired Technics hifi system from the early 2000s from which I listen to the radio, my music tapes and my CDs.
And my old Telefunken HDTV from 2006. It's remote doesn't work anymore but that's okay.
In terms of actual daily use the oldest thing that I can actually date would be the table my computer sits on - that's been in the family since at least the 60s (when one of my uncles scratched his name into the drawer). It's just a basic solid wood desk, still holding up fine and unless abused will continue doing so for quite some time yet.
Aside from that some of my dinner plates are over 30, the motorbike I usually commute on is a '97 model, and the butter knives I like are not dated but I believe could be anywhere from early 1900s onwards (faux bone handles, made in England with various Sheffield makers marks).
I do have a few tools, cameras, and telescopes around which are also reasonably old but they aren't daily use items.
Probably the silverware that I grew up with.
I have a cupboard from 1789. I use it to store stuff, so yeah, I use it every day.
My house but it isn't really that old, around WW2.
Although I have some games that are 100s or even 1000s of years old, but that is a set of rules rather than a physical thing.
A 1797 George III Cartwheel penny, and some other old English coins. I don't use them as such, but I look at them daily. It's a great distraction from trivial issues to look at them on my desk and wonder how many people have owned them and what the owners bought with them.
I have balls of yarn, knitting needles, and crochet hooks from the 60s and 70s. Also, most of my home appliances, like fridge, tv, washing machine, and microwave/oven, are about 20 years old and working perfectly.
One of my bike's is 30 years old, and I use it all the time.
But as far as oldest stuff I still use, probably things like certain furniture, tools, and kitchen stuff, which would have been inherited from grandparents who have long passed.
A vehicle.
My pocket mirror had a copyright date of 1914, but it's reasonable to assume it's a bit newer than that. It's probably around 100 years old.
I bought recently a Psion Revo organizer and now use it to, well, organize my life
My 1880 foursquare.
Bedside table.
Maybe 50 years old.
Crumpler bag, Ibanez guitar, lammy pens, and darn tough socks have all held up well
My wallet was a gift on my 12th birthday.
I am ollllld.
