Ask Lemmy

I think my laptop, a Samsung Notepad with touchscreen. Before I got it it was already used and has been with me for more than 10 years. A couple of years ago I gave it a new life by installing Linux and I hope it will last me another 10 years.

A spoon. One Sterling Silver spoon that I have used in my coffee cup since 1978. It has survived every move. It knows more about me than any human on Earth. It has become so ubiquitous that I get really annoyed if I misplace it and I will look for it before that first cup.

I have no idea why.

Everyday tools? Scissors and knives I've had at least since 2000. (Fiskars stuff is indestructible)

Computer stuff? My Commodore 64. (Don't use it daily but pretty regularly, sits in a box in my living room for easy access)

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.

The old, big chest we store stuff in under the stairs is from 1883

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.

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.

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 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

My Laptop from 2009 still works like a charm

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 have several vintage film cameras I use pretty often, oldest are probably my Nikon F or Leica M3 from the late 50s.

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.

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 a teeny tiny screwgate carabina from about 1997 that I use as a key ring.

Oldest thing I use frequently may be a 100~ year old ring.

Until the oil pump shaft broke: a 1965 Holder AG3 European vineyard tractor. Centre articulating, 35+ Hp diesel, close to 2 metric tons, and a third the size of a VW Beetle. We used it extensively on our orchards for a good four decades, or just shy of that.

Sucker was stupidly strong for its size, and could out-pull most tractors twice its physical size. Last I was using it for was some pretty extreme landscaping in the front yard. Another story, because it takes some explaining, but yeah.

So apparently the oil pump shaft broke late 2023, and we thought it was just overheating. Nope. Plus, the mechanic also found a rather severe hydraulic leak into the oil system, which was about the only thing that kept the engine from totally seizing.

Unfortunately, we are about three decades too late for most of the required parts. The engine place does a lot of remanufacturing and machining, so I did ask them for their “fuck off” price (gotta have a benchmark in that regard). But they did strongly suggest a Kubota engine as a replacement, primarily because the original oil pump required some pretty unusual maintenance to avoid breaking like it did. Whoops. No-one in my family realized that, least of all my father who had bought the tractor in the 80s.

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.

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.

A great-grandparent's dresser.

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.

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.

TI-83 plus

My teapot probably from the 1940's

I have my grandma's speed square I use it every day, it's from 1987

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.

I have some old wooden chairs at the dining table that could be old. Certainly before 1940s.

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.

Probably the silverware that I grew up with.

I think the apt. building I live in is from the 1920s or so.

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.