What's your oldest (functional) possession?

[waltworks]

My wife was mocking my wallet today. That's fine, it's pretty funny looking - because it's 35 years old. I bought it at a garage sale when I was 8, I believe for 5 cents. I have used it continuously since then, and it's finally getting to the point where stuff falls out when I take it out of my pocket (I've got a rubber band around it now, and yes, I'll probably get a new wallet soon).

This made me think about how old my oldest possessions are, and how long you can keep using a quality item - or alternately how crappy and breakable some stuff is. It's pretty inspiring, at least to me, to see people keep using old gear.

I have a set of pots and pans handed down to me by my parents when I went to grad school that date from *their* grad school days (ie, early 1970s) and a Bridgeport vertical mill that I got in 2000 that is from the 70s as well.  I have a stand mixer from the 1950s.

All of those items are old and cool, but I didn't start using them until much later than the wallet. So I'm not counting them as my oldest useful possession.

I want to hear about your oldest continuously (or at least regularly) used possession. I bet some of you can beat my old Ocean Pacific wallet!

Ground rules:

-Age of item starts from when you started using it, but bonus points if it was already old/used when you acquired it.

-It can be a gift or a purchase or a found item, doesn't matter. Bonus points if free/found. Extra bonus if you've repaired it.

-Has to be *useful* on a day to day basis. No antique cross-stitch you hang on the wall, no children's baby teeth, no classic car that just stays in the garage for years at a time. Recreational items are fine (ie, bicycle, tennis racquet, board game).

-No real estate.

-Bonus points for funny stories/unusual items.


So, Mustachians, what have you got?


-W

[Morning Glory]

I have some Mason jars from the 1920s that I use for storing dry beans. Husband bought them online from Goodwill. They aren't worth much but they are useful and look pretty.

I also have my grandma's old food processor from the 1960s, I used it to make baby food for my kids.

[Boll weevil]

Plates and silverware.

Plates: have the remnants of twos sets. Have 4 Corelleware plates with the butterfly gold pattern. They’ve been in the family for as long as I can remember. Then there’s a handful of dishes left over from a set purchased in 1986. I still remember the store they were purchased from (Jafco, soon after renamed Best, now out of business and site redeveloped) and that they were purchased on a rainy night soon after we moved. I don’t remember if they were still in regular use by the time I went to college, but I’ve been using them consistently since I moved out in 2003. 

Silverware: Also been in the family as long as I can remember and have been using them since I moved out in 2003. Supposedly taken from a military cafeteria; if they were, probably would have been in the 1970s.

[waltworks]

I love Correlle! We spent years scouring thrift stores for that stuff when my wife and I first met. You can stack like 20 plates in the space of 5 normal ones.

1970s stolen military silverware!

That's awesome.

-W

[Unionville]

Eggbeater from Grandma.  Less hassle than anything electric, and super smoother rotation compared to new ones.

[Sibley]

My dishes were my grandmother's everyday dishes, so at least the 60s, more like;y 50s. I have a casserole dish that is probably from the 70s. My sewing machine is from the 50s (this one: https://www.sewinginsight.com/singer/singer-403a-slant-o-matic/).

[YttriumNitrate]

My keyboard wrist pad has my Freshman dorm room number written on the bottom, so it's been in use since at least fall of 1998. As I'm writing this, I'm wearing Peltor ear protectors I received freshman year of high school (fall of 1994) when I joined the rifle team.

My current wallet dates to my second year in college (1999ish) when my old wallet was stolen.

[Alternatepriorities]

My first hammer - My father (a carpenter) gave one of his hammers in the summer of '84 when "we" we're building things on the homestead. I now realize it's a finish hammer, but in my 3-1/2 year old hands it was a framing hammer. I hammered hundreds of 8 penny "twisty" nails with it that summer and built multiple forts with it as I grew up. Eventually I got a real framing hammer, but i still the little one handy and keep it in my tool bag.

[BDWW]

I have several pre-war (WWII) stanley planes that I use on a regular basis, and a disston saw from ~1910?

[oldladystache]

When I started high school in 1959 I was issued a combination lock for my locker. It has been in constant use since then, and I use the combination as my ATM code and part of my passwords. My luggage locks are set to the same code.

[Uturn]

I have some pre-WWII hand planes, and a Disston saw from 1890.  All see use often.

Oldest daily use item is a clock radio/alarm that I bought in 89

[chrisgermany]

I am 61 and when I am feeling cold in my home office I wear a cardigan that my great-grandmother knitted for my mom when she was expecting me.
I "stole" it from my mom when I was studying for my law  exam in 1984 and have worn it ever since.
There were many good wishes knitted into it :-)

[former player]

In the room I'm currently sitting in there is a floor cushion that was a present from my mother 44 years ago this September.

[waltworks]

What is a floor cushion?

Keep 'em coming!

So far my favorites are:
-Stolen gov't property military silverware (~50 years)
-HS locker combination (which is a little bit of a cheat since it's not a physical object - but I didn't specify that!)
-Cardigan of love

-W

[never give up]

My breakfast bowl celebrated it’s 36th birthday this year. I’ve had it since I was a small boy. It only cost me 8 tokens (collected from the breakfast cereal packets themselves) and probably about 75 pence or similar for postage. It’s been in dishwashers and washed by hand hundreds of times now, but the cartoon picture has never faded. It looks brand new.

It’s a little childish for a fully grown adult I do concede, but my ambition is to never buy a breakfast bowl ever. I want this to last for life. I’ll probably request to be buried with it, to help the funeral attendees have something to giggle about on such a sad occasion.

I still remember the very first day I used the bowl before school. I’ve never ever eaten my breakfast so quickly because I was so excited to see what picture I had got.

[Samuel]

Can't believe someone beat to me the stolen military cutlery story.

My oldest item still in regular use has to be a single USN marked spoon my grandfather lifted from the USS Antietam during his Korean war cruise in 1951-52. My brothers and I would always fight to be the one to eat with it when we were kids. I continued the tradition and lifted it when I moved out at 18 (23 years ago now). Still works great.

[MudPuppy]

Nothing particularly impressive. I have a corner shelf in my kitchen that my grandmother bought with s&h greenstamps sometime in the 70s that I use as a spice rack. The dresser that was in my spouse’s nursery 30. -odd years ago is now in our spare bedroom. A T-shirt that’s 17 years old and gets worn several times a year. A koolaid man pitcher that I vividly remember saving koolaid points for as a child that I now use to make pitchers mixed drinks.

[HPstache]

I still have my Nintendo 64...  I  believe I got that in 1998.  That may be my oldest functional possession.  I also inherited a bunch of my wife's grandpas tools when he passed away, so those are OLD but I've only had them for 5 years or so.

Edit: I am just remembering now that my pellet/beebee gun I've had for longer.  I'd put that at about 1995
Edit #2: I also have legos from the early 90's that I received for birthdays/Christmas I still have and now my boys are playing with!  And I also have a book that was given to me when I was 2 years old (according to the writing in the front, so that dates back to 1987.

[gaja]

My youngest daughter sleeps in a bed that was made by my great great great great uncle for my great great great grandmother. Don't know exactly when, but she was born in 1831, and the bed was made for her as an adult, so sometime in the latter half of the 1800s. It has no antique value, since the family have always used it as furniture. Currently it is painted a bright blue. The kid takes after her father in length, so she has to sleep diagonally to fit it. I've tried convincing her to sleep the old way, sitting up, but she claims that is too uncomfortable.

[K_in_the_kitchen]

Following the rules, the first thing that comes to mind is my yellow Air Flow vent brush (full size), gifted to me in 1981 when it was the height of fashion to use these to feather your hair, and to carry it in your back pocket (or one of the Goody combs). That's 39 years of continuous service. I also have a Goody barrette of a similar vintage that is used regularly -- it may actually be older than the brush.

I have many many useful old items in my house, but it's unlikely I was using them as a child, even if they were passed down to me. And some things have a major gap -- I'm in possession of an afghan crocheted by my grandmother which played a large role in my childhood, starting when I was a toddler, but for 30 years it was at my parents' home and not mine, so it wasn't used by me on a regular basis. Likewise for the cast iron pans I use, which had been my grandfather's and from which I certainly ate many meals, but again didn't come to me until many years later. Many things in our home have been passed down to us as family members die, and we are tied to them but haven't used them continuously.

Then there are the dozens of items in the 32 years old range, which were practical wedding gifts. Just today DH used a few of the old wedding towels to dry off the car after washing it. We toss salads with the salad servers we received for our wedding. My ring goes onto the crystal ring holder I bought when I was a newlywed. I still regularly use a Stanley thermos purchased in 1990. We use the Craftsmen tools gifted to us by my dad for our wedding. One of our favorite 32 year old wedding gifts is an electric skillet we use often, which was given to us used (the giver asked my grandmother if we would mind a hand-me-down gift, and my practical grandmother told the giver I wouldn't be her granddaughter if I didn't want it).

[jinga nation]

Wallet, belt, wristwatches (Casio G-Shock and Timex dress watch).

Very common at work to see fellow IT Staff/Engineers with old wallets, the leather may be bad but they still hold together. Some guys have their velcro wallets from high school.

Khakis and dress shirts, but you can see the wear on the belt over time.

Fancy suits but still sporting a favorite old watch.

My old Makita power drill. Some screw drivers are from 1998, I've kept them at my dad's house for his use, and for me to use when I'm there on weekends.

Men things, maybe?

My wife is the same with her purses and belts. I don't know any female co-worker with the same characteristic.

We have some utensils and stainless steel bowls and baking trays when we moved here from East Africa in last 90s. Haven't seen such products in the USA. Wife (and late mom's and late grandma's) prized possessions.

[oldladystache]

What is a floor cushion?

Keep 'em coming!

So far my favorites are:
-Stolen gov't property military silverware (~50 years)
-HS locker combination (which is a little bit of a cheat since it's not a physical object - but I didn't specify that!)
-Cardigan of love

-W

The padlock is still in use, on a gate at the moment. It spent most of it's life on a garage door.

[NotJen]

Looking around the room I'm currently in, my TI-82 graphing calculator, bought in 1994 for my HS geometry class.  I use it almost daily, but only for simple addition/subtraction.

I'll have to think if I have something better.

[ketchup]

I have a great duffle bag that I got from my karate studio around 1996 or so.  (I was born in 1991, and haven't done karate since shortly after acquiring said duffle bag.)  I wouldn't say it gets daily use, but multiple times per year.

Until the seal blew and I couldn't find a replacement, I had my grandpa's stovetop pressure cooker from the 1950s.  It sounded like a steam powered freight train in your kitchen, but it worked great.

[waltworks]

The padlock is still in use, on a gate at the moment. It spent most of it's life on a garage door.

My apologies, I misunderstood. That's awesome!

-W

[oneday]

I am 61 and when I am feeling cold in my home office I wear a cardigan that my great-grandmother knitted for my mom when she was expecting me.
I "stole" it from my mom when I was studying for my law  exam in 1984 and have worn it ever since.
There were many good wishes knitted into it :-)

As a knitter, this warms my heart. I hope one of my creations lasts that long in the hands of someone who feels the love I knit into it. I bet your great grandma would have been pleased that you're still wearing it.

My oldest item is a set of stainless steel pots purchased in the late 90's. Bonus points for my mom's 70's blender and 60's sewing machine, both of which are infrequently used. More bonus points for the two buffets and a night stand, which date back to grandparents generation. The bonus items all came to me within the last 15 years.

[londonbanker]

1998 Ferrari - that’s also my 1 guilty pleasure. I know I know not very mustachian.

[MudPuppy]

Oh how could I forget! My great grandmother's cast iron skillet came to me when my grandmother passed about 20 years ago. I don't know the exact age of the skillet, as my great grandmother died maybe a decade before I was born.

[Laserjet3051]

Still functional phonograph from 1985. How else would I play my vinyl?

[Papa bear]

Oldest that I started with? A Nintendo. Probably 1988, just got it up and running again for my toddlers to mess around with. 

Oldest that I use? 

Goose down pillows from my great grandma, my mom remembers her bringing a live goose back on the street car for Sunday dinners, killing it, and plucking the feathers/down.  Used in pillows and are 70+ years old.

A handsaw and various hand tools from my great grandfather who was a carpenter, probably from the early 1900’s. And a TON of tools from his son / my grandpa, who was also a carpenter.

Cast iron pans and kitchen tools from another great grandma, 1900-1910?

We’ve also got some old furniture, an old family Hoosier cabinet and some “farm” furniture that was passed on through my wife’s family. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nereo]

I still have my Nintendo 64...

Nintendo 64?  Pthhhh.... I’ve still got my original 8-bit, with the original combo Super Mario/Duck Hunt that came with it (plus about 30 others) and two controllers... one of which is wrapped in medical tape where my dog (now dead) chewed it. 

I’ve got a 12” cast iron skillet that I’ve held for 20 years but was my grandmothers and probably dated back to the 60s or 70s.  Back-of-the-napkin wild-ass guess, it’s cooked at least 12,000 meals over its lifespan.  Still going strong...

[mm1970]

I have an old hand mixer. I am not sure how old.  The 1980s?

I have hand me down Corelle plates (yellow flower), from 1977-1979, according to the interwebs.

We have some bowls and cooking pots that are also old - they were bought from an estate sale in the late 1980s.  They could have been manufactured between the 1940s to 1970s (Pyrex).

[Morning Glory]

I just remembered I have a solar powered scientific calculator from the mid 90s that still works. I'm not sure if it was originally mine or my brother's. I still use it occasionally.

I just thought of my lawnmower too. My husband inherited it when we moved in together in 2002 from his mom who bought it in the mid 80s. The motor is original but the deck rusted through so we put it on a deck from one we found on the curb.

Also we have a 1962 tractor that we used today to pull posts out of the ground, but we have only had it since 2013.

[SwordGuy]

My oldest, still used possession is the Avalon Hill board game, "Guadalcanal", which I bought in 5th grade back in the late 1960s.   Excellent wargame simulation.   Stepwise reduction in combat strength, limited artillery ammo supply, variable supply availability, specialty military units with differing capabilities and hidden movement.   

Next oldest (by my use of it) but older (by my parent's use of it) is a French wine bottle opener.  I started using it in the early 70s but my parents got it in the late 1950s.  I used it when I was a kid to open bottles of wine for my parents.  I liked it because it was a well made, cool looking mechanical implement.   Now I use it for myself.   It's older than I am.   I inherited it 5 years ago.

Next oldest would be my dad's hammer, which I used in the early 70s and also inherited 5 years ago.  It's my favorite general purpose hammer.    Can't say whether I started using the hammer or the wine opener first. :)

[SunnyDays]

So many things! 

- microwave from 1986.  Used daily since then.
- couch (sofa bed), occasional chair, kitchen table set, clock radio also from 1986, the year I moved out on my own.  All still used daily.  Some reupholstered though.
- small coffee table that my parents received as a shower gift when they got married in 1952.  Has had various uses since then, currently holding my TV.
- solid wood table top that has had various incarnations, first as a train conductor's table, then a desk top, now another desk top.  About 100 years old.
- Snoopy garbage can from my childhood in 1960's.  Still use it.

There are probably more that don't come to mind right now.  I cherish them all.

[Zikoris]

My drinking glasses were bought by my grandfather in 1967 as a Canada centennial commemorative item, he used them every day, and when he died I got them and also use them every day. They're great. I've busted one or two over the years but still have plenty.

I'm not sure how old my rocking chair is, but I think it might be older than the glasses. I got it from an antique store when I was 13 or 14, and have used it for about 20 years now. I even sent it halfway across Canada once by bus in a refrigerator box, and it made it to the other end in one piece (I took a plane, myself). That thing is sturdy.

I have tons of clothes and household stuff that is 10+ years old.

[AccidentialMustache]

Oldest from my ownership/use is easy -- Lego from my childhood, circa early 80s. I have older bricks, but I got them much later in life. There's a Fabuland set I could probably go find most of the parts for -- it might have been my first Lego set, actually.

[deborah]

I have some black socks I was given in 1987 that are still ok, even though they have been worn (and washed) most weeks since I got them. And the t-shirt I'm wearing today I got in 1973, and it has been worn (and washed) about every second week since.

[Missy B]

Great thread. I have Corelle plates, 'Spring blossom' pattern in green from the mid seventies. They are the best plates ever and I do not understand why everyone doesn't have Corelle. I have a couch and chair that I've had since '97 that was at least 8 years old when I got it from my Dad.

I've got a pale green minidress that was homemade in the 60's or maybe 70's which I picked up 7 or 8 years ago in a thrift store. A pair of Dolce and Gabbana heels from the 50's - I've had them over 10 years.

Two rolling pins that belonged to my grandmother. One a regular wooden one that probably wasn't too old when I got it 20 years ago. Maybe 30? The other rolling pin is glass with wooden handles and is intended to be filled with ice when you're rolling out pastry to keep it cold.  It keeps falling apart and I think she kept it for sentimental reasons, and I keep it for the same. It looks like it's from the 50's or even earlier.
I have her silverware too, but don't use it. And a beautiful set of china that belonged to my mother's great grandmother but don't use because... precious.

I also have great-grandpa's leather liquor bottle satchel from Prohibition times. I have not used it either ;) The clasp needs to be repaired.

[waltworks]

I have some black socks I was given in 1987 that are still ok, even though they have been worn (and washed) most weeks since I got them. And the t-shirt I'm wearing today I got in 1973, and it has been worn (and washed) about every second week since.

How does a t-shirt last 50 years? I have gotten maybe 10 out of one if I'm lucky. What is it made of, kevlar?

-W

[deborah]

I have some black socks I was given in 1987 that are still ok, even though they have been worn (and washed) most weeks since I got them. And the t-shirt I'm wearing today I got in 1973, and it has been worn (and washed) about every second week since.

How does a t-shirt last 50 years? I have gotten maybe 10 out of one if I'm lucky. What is it made of, kevlar?

-W

It might not last 50 years! It still looks ok, but it may fall apart in the next three years. You never can tell. I don’t know what it’s made of. The writing on the label has washed out.

[LD_TAndK]

Not old in the grand scheme of things, but I have a samsung galaxy s4 that was purchased in 2013 and been used continuously since. The center button feels like it'll give out any day now...

7 years feels like alot for a smartphone!

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Probably a wooden kids chair that I've had since birth. My grandmother had it when she was a child. It's got the old shellac varnish flaking off the seat from generations of small bottoms. I've left all the wear on it because it looks so cool. It's currently the stool for my elderly cat to use getting on and off the bed. So... 48 years of use from me, and probably that again in the chair's life.

[SwordGuy]

My oldest, still used possession is the Avalon Hill board game, "Guadalcanal", which I bought in 5th grade back in the late 1960s.   Excellent wargame simulation.   Stepwise reduction in combat strength, limited artillery ammo supply, variable supply availability, specialty military units with differing capabilities and hidden movement.   

Next oldest (by my use of it) but older (by my parent's use of it) is a French wine bottle opener.  I started using it in the early 70s but my parents got it in the late 1950s.  I used it when I was a kid to open bottles of wine for my parents.  I liked it because it was a well made, cool looking mechanical implement.   Now I use it for myself.   It's older than I am.   I inherited it 5 years ago.

Next oldest would be my dad's hammer, which I used in the early 70s and also inherited 5 years ago.  It's my favorite general purpose hammer.    Can't say whether I started using the hammer or the wine opener first. :)

Was looking for a book to read and spotted 1 of a set of 4 illustrated A.A. Milne hardback books (Winnie the Pooh, etc.) I've had as long as I can remember.   I can remember reading them sometime in the 1st-3rd grade range.    It's possible they pre-date that and my mom read them to me before I could read. Printed in 1950, and remembered in the early sixties.    Still good books, which is why I kept them.

[waltworks]

Not old in the grand scheme of things, but I have a samsung galaxy s4 that was purchased in 2013 and been used continuously since. The center button feels like it'll give out any day now...

7 years feels like alot for a smartphone!

I have an iPhone5 (given to me) that I think is of a similar vintage. Ting informs me that it won't be supported after December, though, so I guess I'll have to see if it still works (for, you know, calling people) after that.

-W

[Sailor Sam]

My stuffed Peter Rabbit, who's name is Bunners. Gifted to me by my parents in 1990, as a present for having to be in the hospital inside an oxygen tent.

His coat is now red, made by my mum when his original blue one fell to tatters. He's slept on my bed every night since, though I'll admit I stopped cuddling him once the first girlfriend came along ;) He's also been the medical support rabbit for my da's prostate surgery, and his heart bypass. He's seen a few weddings, and he attended my mum's memorial service.

He's not a hand mixer, but anyone who suggests he's not useful and functional will get a nice punch to the nose.

 

[ZsaZsa]

I have a carved walnut antique child's bed ...belonged to my great-grandmother first (1880's), grandma used it too, then again for her four girls, and then used to set it up for all of us grandkids when we were small. When my son was big enough, she gave it to me. All of my granddaughters used it too, calling it "the little bed." Saving it for the next generation.
In daily use...my great grandmothers half gallon green canning jars from the 1940s or so. I use them for pasta, beans, quinoa, lentils, rice etc.

[Car Jack]

Two things come to mind.  My Guild ST-302 archtop guitar that my parents bought me in 1969.  I don't play it on a daily basis so will pick something else.

My wallet, a synthetic that I bought in 1980 at a ski shop owned by a friend.  I still use it today and while it has some wear on it, I'd say it's about half its useful life now.  So another 40 years, it'll be time to replace....although by someone else as I'll be dead.

[waltworks]

I'm not sure 50 year old large appliances are a great thing to keep around, though - you probably blow through electricity like crazy with a 50 year old fridge or dishwasher!

We had a very old freezer (maybe 30 years?) and I put a kill-o-watt on it for a week and realized it was accounting for 25% of our entire annual power bill. The $150 I spend on a new chest freezer paid for itself in about 1 year. Not everything old is good.

I recall getting a microwave in the mid-80s and it being a big deal/new thing. Did you really get one in the early 1970s? Wikipedia says they existed, but weren't in widespread use until the late 70s.

-W

[Linea_Norway]

I regularly use a kitchen machine that I bought when I was 19, in 1992. It works as well as ever.

Both DH and I have fram backpacks that we puchased second hand. Mine was about 25 years old when bought and we had it for more than 25 years. DH's bag is newer, maybe only 20 years old. But last year, we have replaced the sacks with a home made waterproof sack. Butbthe sacks are mounted on the old metal frames and we are using the old hipbelts and shoulder straps.

We have a sewing machine from the 1960-ies. Since we have a newer one, it is not the first choice of machine anymore. But it is still used for more heavy sewing. And when sewing is done at the cabin.