Taking a cue from Snubbyfan's post on microwave ovens, what do you have around that has given good service for numerous years?
We have three,, a set of Melmac dinner ware that is almost 50 years old and still in service, mostly intact, very well worn and faded, but shows every indication of going for another 50 years.
A set of Salad Master stainless pots and pans, about 50 years old too (and still look new ((yep, she uses them everyday)),) they have a lifetime warranty and about all we've had to do is send a couple of pieces back for new handles over the years. BTW, as a premium foy buying the set of pots and pans I selected a stainless steel fixed blade knife, mounted on a display board, still got that too.
And, last but not least, still got SWMBO, stuck with me 53 years so far, and way more to her credit than mine, (and, still a looker too!)
olcop

A VegAMatic we bought back in the late 60s. Still works fine. It chops, it dices, it slices....some of the old timers will remember that commercial.

A Craftsman vise from the mid 50s. An atomic bomb could go off in my shed and all it would do to it is clean 60 years of crud off of it.

__________________
LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

What is an SWMBO?

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

I have a Sunbeam toaster my great grandmother bought in 1948. Still works perfectly -- certainly much better than the fancy Cuisinart we got for a wedding present that lasted less than two years.

I have a bunch of pots and pans from the old country. Some my mom got from her grandmother. I'm guessing I'm cooking on 50 - 100 year old pots

i have a dual cylinder Dayton air compressor that has been in service since 1969 and all i have replaced are the two mufflers. Quitest compressor I have ever owned.

__________________
NRA Life 1969
OGCA

Bought a Sharp "Carousel" microwave from Grangers back in 1980.It's been maintenance free since day one.

1984 Honda Push Mower $548 new, still starts on the first pull, cast-iron skillets that are no telling how old that the kids try to talk her out of, two Disston hand saws that the man try's to talk me out of when I have them sharpened, case butcher knives, Planet Jr. Garden Implements, eye-hoes, various hand tools, Sunbeam Mix Master, my Pilot stapler. I'm starting to notice that everything I have is old !!!!

__________________
and everything Kentucky !!

I have a few old guns, everything else tends to break or stop working

I have a Weber grill from 1976. It lives on the back porch and is used a lot. Still looks about new

I have a vintage RCBS loader that still gives yeoman's service after many years. I bought it used around 30 years ago and have no idea how many thousands of rounds have been loaded with it.
Do these things ever break?
Jim

We have a Waffle Toaster which dates back to the te twenties to early thirites and is made by Sears. The original cloth powercord still attached,and this heavy thing cooks perfectly.

We have a GE toaster which my aunt gave us as a wedding present in June 1968. Still works like a charm.

A Subeam Mixmaster from 1975, that just won't quit. I bought her a new Kitchenaid, and it sits in the basement mostly unused. The Mixmaster is that ugly tan, that was being closed out, and we paid $40 for it.

She has some Wearever aluminum cookwear from the 1930's she got from her mother when she gave up her home. The stuff is really ugly, but cooks food perfectly. The wooden handles are grungy looking, but they're hanging in there.

I have my original Craftsman socket sets, and a variable speed fixed head Craftsman jig saw; a 1/4" B&D single speed drill (1968); and my J.C. Penney (Skil) 3/8" variable speed three-way drill (drill, hammer drill, power chisel) (1972).

I have a whole bunch of tools that were my Dad's, My Grandfather's and my Great Grandfather's. Just used them yesterday.
Up until a few years ago I used a coffee pot that was my parents from the early '70s. It was of course a perk pot and made GREAT coffee.
Then there is my "blankie". My Grandmother made it for me about 35 years ago. It is huge. I have to have it to sleep. Even took it on my honeymoon. It had it's own suitcase. Missus Fan has rebuilt it several times, and it's falling apart now. I intend to be buried with it.
Jim

I inherited my mother's 1950's Revere Ware. Talk about built to LAST!

Me! Although, there is some debate.

Springfield 30-40 Krag rifle made in 1899. It belonged to my grandfather who I think got it in the 1920's. My dad kept it in a broom closet when I was growing up and I played with it as a kid. When I got into reloading I made some ammo for it. It is in great shape, has a nice patina and shoots like a dream. My most valuable possession besides my wife and my portfolio.

It slices, it dices, it bruises your hand.

That is the very first mail order product that I remember, ever.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have some old Disston Handsaws. They were already pretty old when my Dad bought them about 70 years ago at an auction.

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

I agree on Revere Ware pots and pans. I don't think the real ones have been made since 1995.

I have my first hunting knife, a Bavarian pattern made by Anton Wingen in Solingen, and a Henckel's lockblade folding hunting knife with a saw blade and a corkscrew, gift from my father in 1963, and a .410 shotgun that my grandfather gave me at age six, although I had to grow some to shoot it.

I have a pair of Timberland shoes, sort of heavier boat shoes, handsewn, that I've worn for 30 years. Had to change the leather laces twice.

I once owned a Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle. It was very well made. The last left the factory at Steyr about 1971. They don't make 'em liked they used to!

I have a set of little lead dinosaur models from the Ft. Worth Museum of Natural History that my aunt got me when I was six or seven.

There are other items around here, including some books, that are pretty old and which I treasure.

One thing that hasn't changed a lot is the quality of Victorinox Swiss Army knives. Except that they eliminated the groove in the corkscrew, it's hard to tell new ones from old ones. (At least since the 1960's. Really old ones are different styles.)

My mom's family owned a bakery till the 1940s.
We still have a dough nut cutter and some other tools from that
enterprise. Still going strong. The recipes still work fine too.

Got some tools down in the basement that were here when my
dad bought this house in the late 1960s. I still use some of them.
My great uncle said he saw the house built when he was a kid.
He's been gone for many years.

First thing that popped into my head's my table saw. It's a 12" Craftsmans saw from the 70's and requires 240 volts. It's a cast iron beast and I've yet to bog it down.

__________________
Keep on Chooglin'

My girl Beep, she just turned 30. Twisting the throttle always puts a smile on my face.

My Mother bought a Hotpoint freezer at the company store in 1953. It served us well until 2002 when my 17 year old niece decided she was going to take over Thanksgiving dinner as my mom was now 82. She made a plan to come over to the house, prepare everything under my mom's guidance, put it in the freezer until T/G morning when she would come over, take it out, and make all the final preparations. She came over, went to open freezer and the handle broke off in her hand. Since when this was made there was an actual latch, the food was trapped! She called me in a panic (about 60 miles away) I had to come over drill the hinges like a safe cracker and rescue dinner. The compressor was still running fine when we unplugged it and took it to the curb.

My 84 Mercedes 240D has over 400K miles on it. Other than valve adjustments every 15K miles, it runs like a Swiss watch and returns 30mpg.
I have a pair of White's 10 inch packer boots that are over 30 years old and have been rebuilt twice. Several pairs of Red Wings and Chippewas that are pushing 20 years.
I taught my son to scramble eggs on the same little cast iron Griswold skillet that my mother taught me on and that her mother taught her on after being given it by her mother. It's well over a century old and still in daily use.
My dad's Gillette double edge shaves me daily.
Grandpa's F100 is in the barn, awaiting resurrection. I'm going to give it to my kid. Still runs strong but needs love. My dining room table, chairs and sideboard were a gift from my dad to my mother in the 40s. There's lots more.
It's kinda sad to go to these yard sales where all you see is cast off cheesy Chinese junk that somebody paid good money for. Seems nobody buys for quality any more.

I drink beer out of a old stein. Crystal from the 50's

I play an old guitar or two through an old amp. or two. 60's and 70's

My tools are old. Lots are real old.

My cookware's old. Revere, Cast ron and Corning. As well as my dinnerware.

I fish with old gear. Oldest Mitchel 300 is from the late 40's. I have them up until the 70's

My Toro lawn mower is a 79.

My newest gun is an early 80's Security Six.

My pocket knife is a case from the late 70's.

If there's one thing I believe in. It's "Buy once and never look back, Quality always wins in the long haul".

I gotta add this one.....

I have an original set of Ginsu knifes my Grandfather bought. Probably in the late 60's. They're great for keeping the good stuff away from those who don't know any better. AND they actually work quite well after all the years of abuse.

I could go on.

__________________
Dum vivo cano

Just remembered my Dad's old set of 1/2" sockets and ratchet wrench. They're in my garage, in my tool box now. He's had them since I was old enough to know what tools are.

__________________
Keep on Chooglin'

We have a Kenmore washer and dryer that we bought 26 years ago. It averages three loads a week and still going strong. I have never had to repair either one or change out any part except for the water hoses. I don’t think they make them like that anymore.

__________________
A gun has no brain.. use yours

Polarguard Sleeping Bag, Buck Knife and North Face Tent from 1975

I have my Grandmother's Singer sewing machine. It dates from the 20's. I keep it set up and use it to mend clothes, just as I remember seeing her do the same thing.

I have several tools that my Grandfather used when he did contract work for the Navy. I looked up several of them, and they have been out of production for over 100 years, and still as good as the day they were made.

I have some carpenter tools (like a carpenter plane that must be 80+yo), Some blacksmith tools that are probably older, a very old double barrel shotgun I need to take a close look at, the surface is pitted all over so I never could find markings. I have some glass electrical line insulators for 30 years that were easily 50+ years old when I got them, maybe much older. I finally had to get rid of a card table a few years ago that was a wedding present to my Mom in her first marriage 10 years before I was born.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Bought my house in 1985 and needed a riding mower as it has about an acre of grass to cut. Bought a new John Deer tractor. My neighbor came over as they were delivering it. He told me I over paid for it and should have bought a Sears tractor , as he did the year before. Well I just finished mowing the lawn , with the same John Deer tractor today. He has had 3 other brand tractors since then. I have only had to replace the belts, a seat and oil & filters. This past year he called me up and said to look out side. He is now Riding Green.

__________________
Not so Free in the Free State

I have a lot of old stuff that has lasted better than me, but I treasure my father's Zippo lighter with his signature. I don't know how old it is, but he died in 1948. Someday I will have my signature engraved on it and give it to my son.

I have an old stanley wood bodied plane from my dad. Sharpened up the cutting iron with a series of stones and will cut shavings you can see through. Also a old set of assorted 1/4" sockets,wrenches and ratchetts that he used when working on the Long Island Railroad. One old monkey wrench and a couple pipe wrenches. And my body which will be 69 this year, missing the tonsils and gall bladder but still keeps on ticking. Frank

I have an eight-inch cast iron skillet that has been in use in my family for around a hundred years. I use it only for baking cornbread, which it does superbly.

I have a heavy OD wool GI shirt, given to me many years ago by a retired Army colonel, that is about sixty-five years old. It has two small moth holes (I was careless some years ago) but otherwise is in wonderful condition.

I have an ABU Garcia 5000A casting reel I've owned for forty-seven years. It runs like a watch.

__________________
Oh well, what the hell.

Off the top of my head:

Plomb sockets and wrenches from my grandfather made in the twenties and thirties that I still use often.

A toaster from my great aunt that works fine and reminds me of the front end of a '57 Chevy. Not sure how old it is but I'd guess '40s or '50s.

Franciscan dinner ware my folks started assembling back in the fifties and that I ate off of when I was a kid. I've added to the set here and there and we use them daily.

A gear puller also from my grandad in the original wooden box along with the sales receipt. He paid a few bucks for it in the early thirties. Last time I used it was to pull a steering wheel a few decades ago.

I have a monkey wrench from him as well dated 1878, if I recall correctly. I've used it a few times too.

Coleman stove (white gas) my Dad bought in '68. Replaced the leather seat for the plunger about 8 years ago. Still used 3 - 4 times a year.

John Deere riding lawn mower from the mid 60s I use (reminds me of my dad every time I use it).
I also have a Veg-o matic which I rarely use.

Just remembered
I still have and just retired this spring the refrigerator my parents started out with in the late 40s. Worked continuously till this Spring and finally gave up. I had taken it to work for use. My co-workers were amazed. I think it is a Coldspot refrig.

Allis B-10 riding mower from the early '60s.

Warther knives from the '50s.

A '72 BMW motorcycle that has gone close to 200,000 miles without engine work. I have put about 60k on a '77 R100 that I rebuilt from a wreck. Dunno how many it had before that.

A 40-million-year-old turtle coprolite. To be fair, it no longer serves a function, but it looks like new

My '94 Ranger is a bit of a relic, but still running smoothly at about 160K. They don't make 'em like that any more.

__________________
Not in jail.

A couple things off the top of my head. I have basically every hand tool made by SK Wayne in the 60s. Started buying in 62!

SK tools have gone through a few name changes and owned by different companies but these oldies are far superior to the quality of the things now with that name. I still have an original price list. A ratchet that cost 3 dollars back them is now well over $30 and not half as good as the old stuff.

I also have an 18’’ self propelled Lawn Boy 2 stroke from the 60s. It gets used every summer. No way in heck can I find anything as dependable as that and best off it has none of those nanny devices on it. It survives well on neglect.

__________________
14 S&W Revs none with locks!

Donated an old refrigerater to the local football team,still works great,runs on propane,,,,two moving parts, handle-hinges,

My dad bought this Homecraft drill press (used) in about 1945 when I was 10. I inherited it in 1983. When I got it home, I disassembled it to repaint it. Same chuck, same key. As far as I know, it's the same motor. Not a single piece of plastic in it's construction.

Attached Images

IMG_5318.JPG (130.6 KB, 21 views)

I love old stuff and wish I could have saved everything from both our grandparents.

Now, new reproduction items look nice but the prices are over the roof...

Kitchen Classics | Jacob Bromwell®

But what I really would like to have one day is an old, classic, solid safe like one made by Cary Safe Co. Ltd. or something like that.

__________________
Jorge

I had a Garcia like yours which I got for my birthday about fourty years ago.It lasted all the way till a few years ago--when my dumb brother borroed it and forgo to take it back with him--after a camping trip.He was gone for about an hour--realized somehting was wierd--realized he left my reel--reached the campsite--itwa no longer there.

I guess brain damage runs rampant in my family.