Objects that last a lifetime...

66Mustang · July 2023

We live in an increasingly "throwaway" world where things aren't built to last, or are designed to be thrown away and replaced every couple of years, like smartphones (planned obsolescence).

I would be interested to hear what things do people have that will, should or have lasted a lifetime, and the stories behind them, if applicable.

I will post a few of mine as examples..

- I have a few Swiss Army knives that are several decades old and still going strong.

- We have some tea towels that belonged to Grandparents, they absorb water better than any of the modern ones I can find.

- Have a watch that was purchased in the year of my birth, which is now mine. Still ticking away.

- We have a KitchenAid food mixer which has had to be repaired a few times but is still going. When you open them up you can see they are built well when you take them apart, and designed to be repaired, not replaced.

Over to you.

poppy123456 · July 2023

I have a hand electric mixer that i've had since 1991. Never been repaired and still works perfectly. It does look a little discoloured now but other than that it's absolutely fine.

I also have a serving spoon that belonged to my great grandmother, that was passed down to my nan and now i have it. I still use it to make my gravy. 100+ years old.

emancherry33 · July 2023

I have my grandmas table +chairs grans cooking equiptment, got my aunties + mums towels, flannels, sheets, pillows, blankets, tee towls , 2 comfortable chairs, students beds, grans cuboards, aunties pictures grandads pictures. familyies xmas decorations and a sledge thats not been touched in about 25 odd years.
all still in good condition for there age and very strong and hard waring , the towels flannels, sheets , blankets are either 100% wool ,cotton and again good condition for there are and usage and one of the blankets is a blackout from world war 2 but in good conditon still and got some of my aunties gardening gear over 25 years old and in good nick. stuff made today only seems to last a few months then falls a part.

66Mustang · July 2023

thanks for sharing, I love stuff like that with the spoon, why buy a new one when that one is perfectly fine

When my brother moved out of the family home he was bought all lovely brand new stuff for his flat like pots and pans and cutlery. ... I said when I move out I would like to have all the stuff from the attic that belonged to the past generations of family, I think they are better made and also have more character

edit to remove the tag sorry I forgot again, ha ha 🫣

66Mustang · July 2023

@emancherry33 thanks for the post, I totally agree

We took down a shed in a relative's garden a few years ago that was built during the war. It was impossible to take down so we had to burn it down... the new one we put up looked nicer but a lot flimsier, I reckon you could break it if you leaned against the wall... as long as the owner is happy but a nice comparison I thought

JessieJ · July 2023

I'm lucky enough to have my grandmother's roasting tin, that my mother also used. It's seen some service & really battered, but it roasts perfect potatoes. Also use every day, a knife dad had from when he worked on the Mauretania liner, he had used it every day & it looks like it too, but it's my go to kitchen knife.

Also, a beautiful lamp that was my great grandparents, that I use every day, as did my grandparents & parents. It has been rewired a few times though, still, perfect for that.

C_J · July 2023

I've got a clock that was owned by my grandparents I remember it always being on their mantle now it's in my home still ticking away and keeping good time.

WelshBlue · July 2023

I've got my Grandfather's wood chisels and wood planes ... they're 60 years old and will out last me, modern ones haven't got the same quality steel that takes and holds an edge like them.

rustledjimm · July 2023

Anyone mentioned cast iron yet? No?

Cast iron pans, it's so durable, and with just a little more maintenance required than a non-stick pan it's lasted an age.

An odd one from my parents but a plastic Christmas tree. They've had it since 1992 and it's still going fine, no mess and no need to buy a new one every year. Especially since most real christmas trees just end up being dumped somewhere.

If I was to get a real one I'd use one of those schemes that replants it every year.

66Mustang · July 2023

Those are good ones @rustledjimm thanks for posting.

We can't decide whether real Christmas trees are good or bad. On one hand they get chopped down prematurely and dumped like you say. On the other hand, if there was no demand for them, they wouldn't be grown (and clean the air) at all. Is it better to grow a tree and cut it down than not grow it at all? Maybe not, have no idea, haven't done any research into it just a thought.

WelshBlue · July 2023

66Mustang said:

Is it better to grow a tree and cut it down than not grow it at all? Maybe not, have no idea, haven't done any research into it just a thought.

Responsible tree farms will always have the future in mind. Plantations need to be thinned out to enable trees to have the space to grow to their full potential. Usually being thinned out 2 or 3 times before you get the final stand ... I speak from the literal blood, sweat and tears of killing myself doing forestry work

I used to hate Christmas, every year we would lose more money looking for a suitable tree to take home than going to a shop to buy one. Penny pinching to a fault

rustledjimm · July 2023

66Mustang said:

Those are good ones @rustledjimm thanks for posting.

We can't decide whether real Christmas trees are good or bad. On one hand they get chopped down prematurely and dumped like you say. On the other hand, if there was no demand for them, they wouldn't be grown (and clean the air) at all. Is it better to grow a tree and cut it down than not grow it at all? Maybe not, have no idea, haven't done any research into it just a thought.

As said, there are tree farms that will take the tree back. They then replant it and give it back to you the next year (if you keep up the subscription) until it's too large to fit in your house. They then plant it in a forest! Personally, I would make such a thing mandatory for real Christmas trees. The number of trees I just see dumped in January is saddening.

My partner and I don't have a large tree like my parents 30 year old plastic tree. But we do have a small plastic tree and a small plastic hannukah bush that we plan to use for decades. Creates less mess and is less hassle and as long as we look after it it'll survive for decades, so seems the better long-term option even for the environment?

66Mustang · July 2023

Interesting thanks for the responses.

@WelshBlue were you a tree surgeon? My brother is into tree surgery/forestry/grounds maintenance and all that sort of stuff. Even will do gardening if he is paid his normal tree surgeon's rate.

WelshBlue · July 2023

@66Mustang ... no I was on forestry production. The ones that go into the forests to cut and harvest the timber for things like fence posts, building timber, pulp for paper and kronospan for chipboard etc.

Think Sky's AxeMen. Tree surgeons start from the top down, we start by taking the whole tree down in one. Working on banks that only goats would sensibly go on. Machinery does the bulk of it now but I started when everything was felled by chainsaw, delimbed using a chainsaw, extracted in tree lengths by tractor and cut into graded lengths on the roadside ... and stacked by hand. 8foot posts got to be a challenge by the end of the day ... especially when they were going above your head lol 12 foot saw logs ... why oh why did we think it was a good idea to stack them ...

My best day was felling and cleaning 100 trees before lunch and then cutting up and stacking 20 tonnes after lunch

It was a good living, 9 hours of physical work that kept me gym fit and only stopped when my body stopped a misplaced tree from hitting the ground ... at least I got a ride in a heliciopter

Good days. But some bad ones too. I've lost a thumb and finger, chainsaw cuts to the leg on top of the crush injuries. Sadly lost a couple of friends and saw some terrible injuries from the face down to the feet, the worst being someone begging us to get a 10 tonne tractor off his leg, after it rolled over, threw him out and landed on him. Took 4 hours of specialist equipment to release him ... but thankfully still here

Hard work doesn't kill you but it batters you in later life ... but someone has to keep the country in toilet roll

66Mustang · July 2023

Thanks for the stories @WelshBlue really interesting stuff...

My brother talks about similar stuff but not quite as dangerous as you mention, health and safety today I think is stricter!! Also, I guess the equipment is safer, they have special trousers that if you try to cut them with a chainsaw, the trousers shred up and gum the chainsaw and stop it from working.

I think you are quite right ... I think any tree work is great money but they do make you work for it. Brother is earning in his mid 20s as much as my Dad earnt in early 50s, adjusted for inflation. Also, he hops between jobs like it's going out of fashion, my Dad was only on that salary for sticking at the same job for 30 years.

The issue my brother has is when he gets older like 40-50 and can't do the physical work anymore. He doesn't have any other skills and this is all he knows. A lot by that point have their own business and have younguns doing the hard work but he doesn't have the capital to start in a business.

WelshBlue · July 2023

@66Mustang

This used to be 8 hours a day ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-RRyniq9Pw&ab_channel=HighlandForestryServicesLtd

Mostly now it;'s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTRFN68hztk&ab_channel=Berlju

My last years were spent felling and crosscutting the trees too big for the machines.

Lord I miss it. Up a mountain, fresh air, going home smelling of sap and petrol. Satisfaction of putting a big tree exactly where you wanted it ... but most of all I miss the camaraderie and craic with workmates

Now I couldn't get out of the van, let alone walk a mile up a mountain lol

66Mustang · July 2023

Ha good comparison. That makes sense about the camaraderie / being outdoors all day @WelshBlue, sorry to hear you miss it so much.

@stormy sorry missed your post as was typing, thats a really interesting one, thanks for sharing.

Objects that last a lifetime...

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