Ask Lemmy

I have a Grundig radio my grandparents bought in the fifties. It's completely restored and I had the aux changed to a mini jack, so I can play stuff on it over Bluetooth.

I still have the black wooden chest my great-grandmother and her son (my grandfather who only died last year) kept all their belongings in when they fled westwards from the Russian army in 1940s Germany. The chest itself was probably built quite a while before that, but I don't know how old it is exactly.

I fold up my pants and place them on there every night.

Maybe the iron skillets. I don't think a day passes that I don't use those. Or my house, it's from the 1940s. Some of the furniture is older than that too, though I don't think there is any one piece I actively use each day.

Truly oldest? Double entry accounting, I use nearly every day and that's from around 1300.

Common sense probably.

Most of the things I use are a few years old but nothing crazy old. Some t-shirts are maybe 10-15 years old in some cases, I guess that’s old for some. I have a lot of hand tools that are maybe 50-100 years old but they get less use.

My grand father straight razor. It's at least 80 years old.

An old generic pocket knife I bought in a mall shop back in 2001.

My jansport backpack is probably almost a decade old by now. Same with some of the t-shirts I have but they can get kind of smelly if I sweat too much.

Probably my Granddads 1950s East German office chair. Got it when he passed since I always used to sit in it when drawing at his desk.

Gas spring is a bit leaky and the leather is a bit faded but it's more solid and comfy than anything new under €500 I tried.

I have 2 jumpers that date back to 2009ish. Have not found suitable replacements for them sadly.

1940s Parker vacumatic skyline.

Writes like a dream and it is neat to use a piece of history.

Probably my Ron Jon Surf shop beach towel I got while on holiday in Florida in 1997 (I live in the UK). Still in great condition and I wouldn't say I've looked after it particularly.

Also honourable mention to my oldest tech which is an HP touchsmart 600 PC I use for youtube in my bedroom, it's from 2011 and still just about hanging on.

I have a washcloth I got when I was like 6.. I’m almost 40. It’s a really nice mesh washcloth and somehow it only has one extra hole that shouldn’t be there, as well as a seam for the edging that needs to be fixed.

I’ve used it almost daily for my face that whole time.

But the oldest thing I have that I sort of technically use is a wheelchair from WWI. It functions as a chair in my living room. I don’t really think it counts, being furniture, though.

I wear a cord jacket from first grade as a bolero (I'm in my mid 30s). I got older stuff but this usually weirds people out.

I have a Stanley mug, bought it in 96 when I was working in construction. It's been kicked off scaffolding more times than I can count.

Used so much that the green started coming off ten+ years ago. So I sanded it off and it now has a brushed stainless look.

The lip cover has been gone for at least 15 years, worked well when it was there though. The mug is far too big to fit in any cup holder and has been tossed around mercilessly in every truck I have ever owned without spilling a drop up until the day it broke off.

The lid has chew marks where sharp puppy teeth of my long dead forever friend had himself a munch.

I can't see ever replacing it and I don't see it ever breaking to the point I'll need to.

I also have a knife in the running that would fit the question.

My mechanical keyboard. I bought a ducky shine 0 with mx blues when I first got into PC gaming about 11 years ago. I want to upgrade to something fancier but it just never dies!

My apartment is from 1865 but "own" is a little tenuous... Beyond that it's probably down to probably 20 year old cutlery or my tv stand which is actually a crate that's around 100 years old

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

The radio alarm clock, couldn’t find the specific year only to narrow towards the late 70s.

My flat, the building was built around the beginning of the 70s.

• house, built in 1900
• me, built in 1974
• pocket knife, built in 1994

My flat was built in the 70s. So probably that. My violin is much older but I don't play much these days (certainly not daily).

My house is from 1884 so that’s used pretty often.

I’ve moved continents so I haven’t brought too many older items with me generally speaking

Until last year I used a ski coat from 1940 as my winter coat

Got a Gillette Fatboy slim safety razor, it's over twice my age!

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

I have a folding card table that currently serves as my desk. I don't know how old it is -- 1960s, maybe, based on the style of the brand/sales label on the back? It's almost certainly older than I am, at least... Got it from my uncle back when I was in college and its still working well enough that I haven't bothered to replace it.

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)

My car’s 25 years old. Can’t think of anything else.

P-38 can opener from World War II. This little thing is the best can opener I've ever owned.

Hmm, probably cookware from the 1960's. Furniture too, if that counts. It's possible something in the kitchen is actually a generation older, although I'm not sure.

If you include decorations as opposed to just tools it goes back almost arbitrarily (I have 19th century heirlooms, pre-settlement arrowheads and Cambrian period fossils), but I think the spirit of the question is more about things finding a totally pragmatic application.

Edit: I also have a touch-sensitive lamp of a similar age to the cookware. I'm not sure how it works exactly, but I'm guessing the entire exterior is one big capacitor, and it must have a very early transistor inside to switch it. It's not quite used daily, but it's sure interesting.

We've been living out of backpacks on the road for the last ten years, so it's easy to keep track of your stuff... Only item in our bags that hasn't changed is a zip-up flannel towel. It's perfect for keeping your toiletries in order, light-weight and washable, doubles as a flannel on the rare occasions you need such a thing, and has Hello Kitty on it.

Since the bags themselves have been replaced, it's the clear winner. 2nd place is a Tony the Tiger colour-changing spoon from a bag of Frosties in 2016.

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.