What items have you had for years that are still servicable/in daily use?

[longearedbat]

When I first left home and moved into rented furnished accomodation I bought a set of tins, one of which was a tea caddy. That caddy has been in daily use since, and that is coming on for 40 years. At the same time I also bought some kitchen utensils. The potato masher is still going! Every time I use it I idly wonder how many tons of potatoes I have mashed with it over the years.
What have you got that has lasted well? Not necessarily kitchen stuff, just anything.

A large enamel roasting dish with a lid, given to me by my late mil. It's at least 50 years old. And a really heavy solid silver ladle that belonged to her mother which is at least 80 years old. I also have some pottery salad dishes which were my own grandmother's which must be 60 years old. I love to cook and eat with other people's things.

My mum has given me her kenwood mixer. It was a wedding present in 1970 and I use it every time I bake. It's brilliant!

A tea cosy my aunt knitted me years ago as a housewarming present. She's no longer with us and it's a happy part of my day each morning to use something she made about 25 or 30 years ago.

Reading this makes me realise that old Kenwood mixers never die, and Dualit toasters last for ages (which is more than you can say for some makes.)

My nan's colander which was a wedding present in 1938. Still going strong.

I had DH’s grandma’s Keneood mixer until about 9 years ago, when it burnt out knead at least it’s 1000th loaf of bread for me. Good knows how many other things for me, MIL and GMIL before me.

Our Silampos pans, bought as a wedding present 30 years ago, are still good. There's also a large enamel pan that GMIL had as a wedding present, which must be nearly a century old by now.

My nanny's silver plated tablespoons, which she bought on her honeymoon in a canal boat somewhere near Sheffield in 1945.

Lovely thread!
It reminds me of when I got married and a friend gave me a set of knives - her mother had suggested giving me something I would use everyday so I would think of her when I used them. And that is such a lovely idea. I do like a practical gift.

As well as a lot of stuff from the 90s when we bought our first house (I also have a Braun stick blender from then) I have a duvet cover bought when I first moved here over 30 years ago. A linen tablecloth which was my grandmother’s I think. She died around 1970... And a mirror which I believe was my grandparents’ but was probably second hand when they bought it.

Ah I've just remembered the 2 battered stainless steel frying pans of my Nana's that were the best for toasting nuts in or frying onions/mushrooms etc. Moved to a house with induction hobs and they wouldn't work . Charity wouldn't have taken them as they were too knackered looking so I took them to pre school (on pancake day no less!) for the kids to play with in their small world area/mud pies etc. I'm sure Nana would approve .

And I'm just eating a slice of toast off one of her striped cornishware side plates, and I spread the toast with one of her (not real) bone handled butter knives.

My Nana died in 2011 and we use stuff of theirs daily. I love that link with the past.

The double bed I was bought by my grandma for my 21st- I’m now 52. It’s had several new mattresses in that time though.

A sharp knife that my mum gave me from her drawer when I moved out aged 18.

A canon dual fuel cooker that we bought 19 years ago. I’ve had the heating element in the oven replaced twice, but it’s as clean as a new pin and still works brilliantly.

A needle book I made with my grandma when I was 8.

My 1970s Kenwood Chef!!! It is used a few times a week for bread and cakes. My mum also has one the same age that is used more than mine!

My mam has a sharp little blue knife for chopping veg, peeling carrots etc... she got it when my 50 year old brother was a small child... still going strong!

I have an original, first edition Dyson. We thought we were so modern and forward thinking when we bought it. Loads of our friends thought we were mad. We laugh that it’s been serviced and repaired so many times, there’s probably not much of the original product left!

My broom - give or take a few new heads and handles

This reminded me of Trigger on "Only fools and horses". Or was that the joke? 🤣🤣

Breville sandwich toaster still in use after 40 odd years.

Glass lemon squeezer was my Nanas, Mums & now mine & still going strong & in daily use. Has to be at least 60 years old if not much more. Same with a Pyrex jug

Small Tumble dryer bought in the 80s & still going strong. I'll be gutted when it does die as it's going to be a bitch to replace the size

My gravdfather’s childhood bed must be around 100 years old (he would be 101 if still alive) and is currently being used by the 4th generation of our family. I had it in the 70s, DS had it in the 00s, now my cousin’s baby has it. It’s a lovely piece of furniture, oak. VN hire to move it around the country costs more than an Ikea toddler bed every time, but everyone wants it!

My Black And Decker drill, i bought it when I moved into my first owned property 20 years ago. I managed to get a giant masonry bit stuck in the chuck last summer and was very upset that it may be at the end of its life. It recovered though.

30+ year old Le Creuset pans and cookwear that DD2 has claimed for herself when we fall off the perch. I still have my grandmother's sewing box and it still has one of those sock darning wooden things in it. I have never darned a sock in my life and never will, but it is something to keep. I don't think the box is all that all, comparatively, as it is plastic, but it is certainly as old as me (mid 50s) if not older. I had my DM's Singer sewing machine until 10 years ago when I sold it at auction. It still worked perfectly.

My electric whisk is 35 years old. SIL pointed out that it says on the box "Made in Yugoslavia," a country that no longer exists.

Slow cooker, bought for about £2 somewhere 40 odd years ago, still going strong.
We've got a glass lemon squeezer too, and an ancient cast iron mincer, with different cutters, one makes peanut butter!
Also have a similar round iron tabletop device for doing runner beans.
An old enamel bread bin in daily use.
Le Creuset pans from the 70s
Most of our furniture is -old- vintage or antique, but an honourable mention to our 20s 3 piece suite in the parlour, recovered, and the bent cane rocking chair from the 70s.
We only recently retired (burnt out) our Jotul wood burning stove, which we bought around 40 years ago, and moved with us to at least 3 houses.

A really good quality stainless steel pan set, it was returned unopened to the catalogue company I worked for 20 years ago so bought it from the staff shop for £15, used daily and still looks hardly used, its a massive set that includes casserole pans and strainer, what was a huge saving all those years ago was a fantastic investment.

A suit I bought when I was 16 - though I think the fact I can still fit into it is more amazing than its longevity.

I've got a set of pans inherited from my late grandfather about 8 years ago - no idea how old they are but he almost never bought new so they probably came from a car boot and are moderately ancient.

There's a bowl in the family that was bought by a great grandparent from a doorstep seller in the early 20s.

My bike is about 17 years old but nearly everything on it has been replaced at one time or another except the frame and mudguards (and the mudguards need replacing)

A vintage Pyrex dish that I grew up with.
My razor (just replace the blades)
My jewellery box.
Hairdryer - got it for my 13th birthday!