What item have you been using on a daily basis for the longest amount of time?
What item have you been using on a daily basis for the longest amount of time?
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?
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 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.
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.
Wired Headphones 🔌🎧
Basically can't live without them 🎵❤️
I'm pretty sure some of my T-shirts could win this if we don't take this whole "daily" I aspect too seriously. There are a few from my teenage years that are still in good shape and still fit, which I've had for literally more than half my life by now.
That "daily"-aspect makes it really hard though, since there are days when I don't even need my house keys. Lighbulbs die after some time, so they ain't it either. And would wardrobes count as "items"? I tried thinking about this question so hard for way longer than I probably should've now, and got to no unanimous conclusion so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter, so I'll just go with: probably my glasses
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:
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.
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 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.
The speakers from a Yamaha 5.1 theater. The receiver has long been replaced and the center channel has been replaced but the left and right front speakers I’ve kept. Damned good sound ,bought in 1996
I don't use it every day, but today I used the pizza cutter that I bought for myself when I was maybe in my early 20s and I thought about how long I've had it. I had been pretty fed up with the cheap ones that my parents had around and decided to spend some money on a good one. I was pretty poor so it's not like made of marble or anything, but it's still sturdy and cuts pizza well after 20 years, so it was probably worth whatever I spent on it.
Vizio TV I've had for about 17-15 years. 2005 car that I've owned for about 7 years. Thermos bottle for about 6/5 years. Chippewa Boots I've had for about 5\4 years. Hope I have a longer list in 5 and 10 years
Not daily but very regularly: zoom H1. Small handheld recorder that does 24bit 48khz wav. It can go about
8-10 hours on a single AA, has a USB mini port for running an external battery. Stereo out, xy condenser mics built in, line in for lavs and such.I use it for recording speeches at rehearsal dinners for friends and family to surprise them with, collecting foley audio, plugging into boards to get a mixdown of a band playing, and more. I use it professionally as a backup audio recorder in my video work (it probably saves the day at least five or six times a year doing that). Hell, one time someone brought out a Red but no scratch mic not realizing the camera didn’t have one built-in. We plugged the H1 into the audio input and proceeded to shoot. Day saved.
it’s incredibly portable, surprisingly rugged, and it is an essential part of my tool kit and travels. I have had the same one since 2012 and a second one since 2016. It is probably the single most important piece of equipment I own, and is just so broadly useful that I can’t imagine not having it. Best $90 or so I ever spent.
The oldest thing I use almost daily must be my bread knife which I bought around 2006. It was pretty cheap, the coating of the handle is peeling off, it’s a bit too heavy and not balanced well, I would not buy it again. But it works.
Old 2.5W phone adapter. The best thing for overnight charging.
I bought my wallet in April 2000, a cheap faux leather foldy wallet. It's a bit weathered but still works.
I have a big wool sweater I got as a present from my then-girlfriend whish looks pristine and still smells a bit of lanolin. That is from 98 or 99.
I only have one belt. It's a leather belt I got in my teens, so about 30 years ago. I use it, not daily, but close. That is also a bit worn. I don't remember it as some high-quality item when we bought it. It came with two different buckles; a simple normal one and a big gaudy texas-flag rocker-style which I never used.
I also had a The North Face jacket that deserves an honorable mention. I got it in 99 and I used for almost 20 years. Ten years in the zipper gave up and I went to the store where it was bought and asked if it could be repaired and how much it would cost. They took the jacket and asked for my address. A week later it came back with a new zipper, no charge. I really miss that jacket. The layers started to separate and the goretex membrane started to fail.
I have a Parker Pen I bought with my first paycheck in 2011. I've replaced the ink cartridge several times, but the pen is still going strong. I use it everyday at work, and it got me through High school and College.
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.
I think technically it's just my key ring. It's loop is just from a charm thing my grandmother gave to me like 20 years ago. The charm was lost a long time ago. Kind of boring though.
My favorite pair of jeans and my favorite jacket are both about 15 years old at this point, heavily worn and patched together many times. Not daily use though obviously. My most comfortable pair of boots are about 10 years old which are closer to daily use.
One of the hard drives in my computer is more than 10 years old but I rarely read/write anything to it anymore. For a long time a lot of bits from it were very old, but I think everything older has been ship of theseus'd now. My mother still uses my handy down 15+ year old MX518 mouse daily though.
There's this weird little SUV that's been in my family for years.
My dad and brother were given a bunch of Suzuki Samurai parts in 1998 or so. They assembled it into a running Samurai, and dad drove it to work for a couple of years, before my brother started driving to school. Eventually my brother took it over, and being a young guy he sunk some money into it - crawler gears in the transfer case, lockers, lift, 30" tires, crate engine, and a sweet camo paint job. Some time in 2017 the engine started knocking so he parked it until 2022, when I took it over, fixed the engine among other things, and started driving it myself. The engine is still in bad shape, and I'm trying to decide if I will buy another crate engine, or if I will do one of the many options for an engine swap.
A plastic wide-toothed comb I've had since I was a kid. I never liked the design and it's slowly falling apart (one tine missing, outer layers peeling) but I want to use it until it's no longer functional as it'll end up in a landfill :/ after which I'm going to see about making or buying a wooden one
A proper leather belt. I'm not sure when I bought it, but before that I only had belts that came with pairs of jeans, and a fake leather belt. They all felt uncomfortable, and the fake leather would split.
I bought a genuine leather belt and it's been fantastic ever since. The only signs of wear is the discolouration on the buckle, and the bend in the leather where I often buckle it.
My computer, Alienware Aurora R1 (Core I7 - 960) that I broke into my savings to get back in 2010. I use it everyday. Last year I upgraded RAM to 32GB, got a second hand GTX 1080 Ti, and just two months ago I swapped the HDD for SSD. I also use a 43' Samsung 3D TV that I got back when it was all the rage.
I have a lot of things over thirty years old, but I can't say they've been in daily use.
For electronics, and daily use, I have a 13-year-old Toshiba 55" TV. It's basically a big, dumb monitor. Still works perfectly.
I have several nightlights I bought about ten years ago, maybe 12 years ago. They all still work and have been in the same sockets around the house since I bought them. They're the flat, greenish glowing disc kind.
I've had my coffee mug for at least 25 years, it gets daily use.
This may be cheating on the daily use, but I have two brown glass horse bookends. They've been in constant use since I was a kid. I don't know where they came from, they were probably my dad's, as he had a large book collection. So, at least 60 years.
Also a knife for me. Have a chefs knife from when my ex worked in food service. Doesn't hold an edge but very sharpenable (it was from the knife service) bought for $14 in 1990, have used daily since then. Plastic handle, too. But it's survived longer than anything but my iron skillets. Which I also use most days.
Not daily, but weekly or so.
My dad had a little leather zipper pouch with two or three nail clippers and files/blades in it; a small pocket sized nail care set.
I used it weekly when I was a kid (every time I’d visit his place), probably from 9-17 years old, and then he gave it to me when I moved out on my own, so I’ve probably used it weekly non-stop for about 30 years at this point.
Electronics are tougher as they just don’t last as long; I used a Dell 24” LCD from 2006 all the way until 2022, so 16 years? It even failed around 2015 or so (power supply died) and I ordered a replacement PSU, resurrecting it. That monitor was my PC monitor and TV in college, and just kept kicking.
My coffee mug. I have it for more than 30 years and still use it regularly, even if not on a daily basis. I have obtained others through various means over the years but still hung onto it all this while. It doesn't even have a chip or flaked off bits of it's design.
I also have a hole puncher that my dad used as a young man. It's probably close to 50 years or even more. It's all rusted up now and doesn't really see much use to be fair, but it still works for what it does.
I am still using a comb that I got in high school in 1980.
Great thread.
Have a Leatherman multi tool that was a company gift for my grandmother 20 years ago.
Very sturdy, in a switchblade style so it works as a fidget too.
Also the wahl peanut electric razor. 50 dollars and the most dependable razor I've used. Had for at least 7 years
My usual drinking vessel is a souvenir cup from the 1992 Miramar Air Show. I still use a "boom box" style radio and clock timer from 1985 as an alarm clock. The tape player on the radio is long expired, but it still plays radio.
I've got this little plastic foot stool that's probably older than I am. It's not as strong as it used to be (legs buckled with me on it once), but it's holding up a speaker and doing a great job of it.
I was using a Bose Wave radio as my desktop speakers since 1997 until this summer. It sounded fantastic. One of the speakers started getting a little buzzy at higher volumes a few years ago, which was still fine for normal daily use, until I got back into playing music. Now it serves as our record player speakers but we don't use that often.
Swiss pocket knife. 40 years of constant daily use.
Not as long as you, but I've had my wireless earbuds for around four years now and they still get daily use. I can use them both to listen to music while I play my drums and to watch videos or listen to music while my husband is watching tv or whatever, they're fantastic.
Some of my kitchen stuff, hand tools and a few ornaments come from my grandparents place. Ive been handling/seeing them my whole life. Add x years to that before me.
Probably my Leatherman Skeletool or Wenger Toolbox: I don't remember when I got them but I've had them both for years and they never leave my side (unless I have to fly on a damn airplane or something...)
I've been using the same pocket knife for about 15 years. Part of my EDC.
Daily basis is what makes this so hard for me. I think you just made me realize I need to change my toothbrush soon.
There's literally nothing else I use every day without fail. Closest would probably be my around-the-house belt, but I don't always put it on. My phone is fairly new still...