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.
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.
Disappointing, yes? Well, not sure what you expected an indestructible thing to look like. This thing must be from the 1940s or so.
The pot itself is made of some non-magnetic metal, and it was probably all black when it was new, but years of gas stove-top use before I was even born must have burned away the color near the base – I have always known it to have this gradient. It holds 1,5L of steaming hot black tea (preferably Lady Grey or Darjeeling) and has an absolutely drip-free spout. It has a stein-like hinged lid with a glass insert that used to be removable until my dad epoxied it on, untold ages ago. The handle is made of bakelite so it never gets hot, not even when used on a gas stove-top.
The handle is marked with the logo "HØYANG" which sounds Norwegian. If anyone can tell me any details aout that, I would be extremely interested.
(The mug is another contender for this post, by the way. I've had it from the late 80's.)
Mine has stretched a lot in the abdominal area and the dense, protective covering on the top is thinning and gray. Probably not worth trading in at this point so I'll run it into the ground.
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.
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.
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.
Bought some walking boots in 1991 that I only got rid off last year (they finally broke). Except Antarctica they’ve been on every continent. Felt quite sad saying goodbye.
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:
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 struggled with the same thing. I’ve got some ties from my dad from haberdasheries that hadn’t existed for a couple of decades before I was born. They are in regular rotation but that means they get worn once every few months like all my other ties.
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 just changed my mountain bike because I was running out of easy trails around me and needed something a bit better. Funny thing is I still use the shoes I bought with the old bike. They are about to fall apart but for now they outlived my bike.
A well maintained bike has incredible durability. I don't use this one off road any more because I bought a suspended machine fifteen years ago but I can't bear to part with my old friend. With a little imagination they can be modified for a new purpose. It's a fun way for kids to learn basic skills.
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.
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.
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.
Sennheiser headphones that I bought for about $20 about 10 years ago. The cable is indestructible. I once had to resolder it to the speakers because it my cat pulled it out, but the cable itself has endured all kinds of abuse without breaking. And the sound is fantastic.
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 have my first generation Kindle Paperwhite that I still use daily, that is from 12. I don't think that is the oldest item I have in my possession that I still uses, but it is one that I have right be side me at the moment.
My Kindle keyboard is still going strong also. I bought it 13 years ago. I'm positive it's a dinosaur by today's e-reader standards, but it holds my books and renders pages just fine. I don't have a reason to upgrade.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
That here is one of the more sensible approach to buying expensive stuff, I guess.
Try the cheap shit until you know what to look for or it breaks. Then, if the opportunity arises (new household, new tools) get the best you can afford and what suits your requirements.
I have a key ring that at its core has remained the same for at least 20 years. Keys have come and gone and some extra rings have as well but the original ring is the same.
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.
Glad that yours is holding up so long. I bought a R2 around that time and keep the chassis barely 2 years. Some designer thought it was a great idea to put a single vent GPU 1cm above the HDD, resulting in regular overheating of the GPU. I extracted all the components and moved them to a new chassis. It died 4 years ago.
Do you do much to maintain it? I always find that the Micra will loosen after a year or so and end up replacing it rather than hammering the rivet of the scissors to tighten it (especially since the blades get damaged and worn too).
All I've ever had to do is sharpen it. It was pretty tight when I first got it but it loosened up after a couple weeks. The joints on the Skeletool are also star bits rather than rivets so I could adjust it if need be.
I love it. Other multi-tools feel so clunky after after using it for so long. It just handles so well. It doesn't have as many tools as a lot of the other ones but it has the ones I actually use the most.
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
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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
Similar for me. I still use a chest of dresser drawers my grandmother gave my parents, and they used it for me from day one to store baby stuff. I’d eventually use it for clothes and still do.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
My brown leather Levis brand belt is from about 1986. I have other belts, but that one is my favorite. Still fits, I still wear it two or three times per week. About 20 years ago, the stitching around the buckle broke, so I used a heavy needle and thick thread to restitch it. It has a great worn patina that can't be faked.
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 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.
I didn't even think of the TV. I bought a (then) top of the line Hitachi Plasma TV in 2006. It has seen daily use all this time. I can easily believe I'll get 20 years out of it.
Fun fact: the kids have actually probably watched it more than I have, and I had a 5+ year head start.
We have a similar vintage 55" Toshiba TV. It would be nice to upgrade, but it's hard to argue with something that's worked so reliably. It's also nice to have a decidedly dumb TV...
My Secrid wallet. Bought it around 2016, use it every day and it's still in very good condition. I was very happy with it when i bought it and still am. It was a bit on the expensive side but i like to pay for quality.
French ID cards were bigger size than standard credit card for a long time and thus I have used the same wallet of that size for like over 12 years now. It's time for me to replace it but as I don't need it to be this big anymore I have no clue about what I want
The wireless keyboard I bought in circa 1996 as a keyboard/mouse combo is still going strong and I abuse that thing. Frankly I can't believe it still works. I'll be heartbroken when it finally fails. Funny thing is the mouse is long gone.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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...)