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?
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.
An ikea desk that I got shortly after graduating college. 13 years, over 3,000 miles, 5 apartments, and it’s definitely bowing a bit these days, but it’s still a desk, and it still works.
Been thinking of upgrading to a Secret Lab adjustable, but part of me just doesn’t want to say goodbye 🥲
I got a stealcase desk from a used office furniture place, it’s huge, rock solid, and only cost me $150. When I get tired of it, I’ll just replace the top. Legs are adjustable width so I could make it work anywhere.
You are going to need a credenza. A desk shaped credenza.
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.
I would be like you but my wrists scream on anything that isn’t split! Thank you for living the dream!
Honestly I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been. I have been writing code for over 40 years now and the only time I had trouble with carpal tunnel was at my first job stuffing circuit boards. If that ever changed I’d be in real trouble because there’s not much else I can do which doesn’t involve working at the computer.
The switch to something like a Microsoft natural fixed me very quickly! That’s all I use to this day but a day doesn’t go by without me thinking fondly of my heavy, noisy, IBM PS/2 keyboards. :)
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.
My electric razor
I got it 16 years ago and it’s still going strong
Somehow the battery still holds a charge long enough to only need charged once a week or so
You got a rare immortal battery!
Every so often I encounter a device with a battery, rechargeable or not, that’s lasted an insane amount of time given its size and use
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.
Bought my ridge wallet in 2015 and use it every day. Replaced parts on that sucker a few times bcz the straps wear out and screws come lose and fall out. Only nearly lost it once.
Second iitems are a safety razor handle and brush I got in 2008.
I bought my regular wallet in 2006 and I use it every day. No parts to replace, and it cost $12 not $150.
The Ridge is hella overpriced, but there are clones which cost $20-$30 and do pretty much the same.
Couldn’t go back to a regular-sized wallet now.
I hate wallets without coin pockets. My current one has the one that kind of ‘clamps’ and doesn’t have a button. It’s nice and thin but still way bigger than the Ridge. If one day I don’t carry coins any more I will switch
Mine has this coin basket thing. Card sizes, a bit thicker though of course. Works for like 6-7 coins, more than good enough for me
The coin tray thing? Which clone do you have?
The switch on the light by my bed has been in my family for over 30 years. It’s been “mine” since my birth and still working perfectly.
Oooh, you just gave me a thought of mine! My bedside stand was a hand-me down from a college friend in the 90s. So I’ve been using that for close to 30 years now.
a stainless steel, vacuum sealed French press (coffee plunger), which I bought back in… 2011? i think? when I broke my glass one a week after getting it.
I got my Frieling stainless press in 2013 and it still rocks. I’ve replaced the screen twice now. However I don’t use it daily since I moved in 2020, I use it on weekends mostly now.
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.
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 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.
This may interest you https://moth.monster/blog/microwaves/
Best way to do it. Not replacing something that isn’t broke and a spare just in case.
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.
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.
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.
It’s so simple but yes, same here. Didn’t even cost much
I’ve been using the same belt since the late '90s. I recently lost a bit of weight so I’m in the market for a new one. It’s tough trying to find a replacement for something that’s been with you for more than half your life.
FYI - “genuine leather” just means the material contains some leather and generally indicates that it’s the lowest quality.
I don’t know if that’s accurate in the EU. But my belt has been great for quite a long time now.
Regarding your belt, maybe you could put a few new holes in it instead of buying a new one.
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.
