My dad died nearly 27 years ago and

[ssd]

I've only today threw out the brushes he used to clean our shoes with, old fashioned well made brushes, he'd written 'brown' and 'black' on the back of a couple of them. We were clearing out the shed and came across them. They are gone now (well apart from a small one i hid in the garden in thick foliage..)

Its funny how we can't be parted from some stuff, isn't it. Those wee brushes brought my dad right back today. He was in the navy in ww2 and always kept his shoes and boots well polished. He is from such a different era i can't imagine what he'd think of things today...although if he walked up this path right now (I'm sitting outside), i wouldn't be surprised to see him. Its more of a surprise I've not seen him in so long.

I inherited my grandma’s and mum’s sewing paraphernalia. The best bits are the button tins and boxes of ribbons. I could open my own haberdashery with it all but I do enjoy sewing using their bits and pieces. The button tin used to keep me quiet for hours when I was a kid; not much has changed!

I also have all of grandma’s silk scarves which my grandad bought her on his travels around the world. I’m planning to frame my favourites.

I have my great-grandfather's carver chair, which he turned a replacement leg for because the original had rotted. My grandfather then had it and would sit in it listening to the radio with his cat on his lap. It now sits in my living room and is primarily occupied by DCat(13). In my head, DCat is sitting on his lap.

My Dad has been dead for almost 31 years now. He was another Dad that used to polish shoes, my shoes and my 4 sisters shoes and my Mum's shoes as well as his own, each evening before he went to bed. He'd line them up like a little regiment. He used to be in the army. He used to put runner beans through this sharp little gadget thing to cut them up. I've still never seen runner beans cut up as beautifully as he did them.

Did anyone's dad have a toffee hammer? My dad have a lightweight small hammer that must have been used to break up a sheet of toffee when it was made in a pan and put onto grease proof paper. Im sure its in my house somewhere.

Yes my parents had a toffee hammer. My mum used to call it Maxwell’ssilver hammer

Op you have triggerd a nostalgic moment for me also there especially the detail about brown and black!

I have my GGM’s chopping board.

Recently, I decided to start using hankies rather than tissues, thought on another day “I wonder what’s in that plastic bag Auntie gave me?” and there was a collection of my GM’s Irish linen hankies, many never used. Just waiting for me. I have a linen table cloth that was either my GM’s or GGM’s wedding present. It’s been used so often it’s wonderfully soft and supple.

I have my DM’s nativity set she won when she was six but there is a whole house waiting for me there one day. I also have her school reports.

I have my Great Aunt’s employment flimsies from when she applied for advancement and other roles. Her first reference from her first job. Fifty years as a government stenographer. They are fascinating.

My dad is still with us but he was and is definitely a shoe polisher, he has brown and black written on the shoe brushes as well! I have shoe brushes that I'm sure I remember him giving me from his collection when I left home. I still polish the school shoes and my work shoes. The DCs aren't bothered but I think the shoes wear better if looked after.
I also have FIL's old and very well-made clothes brush, it was going to be thrown away after he died but DH thought I'd like it... it's actually really good at getting cat hair off my clothes!
MIL kept all sorts of things and we took in quite a lot of them, heaven knows what I'm going to have to sort through to save my children from having to do the same thing.
Same as a PP, we have the in-law's old artificial Christmas tree and some old decorations which were handsewn by SIL when she was a little girl. SIL didn't want them. I also kept MIL's pile of white cotton hankies, each child (she had had 4) had a few hankies and she'd embroidered them with the child's initials so that they didn't get muddled up with someone else's. DH remembers her doing his. How she had the time to do all this sewing and embroidery I do not know

20 years for me. My Dad’s university trunk - great big old thing. It did for my student life too but is now falling to pieces and just too big to be of use, so sits in a corner reminding me of all the places we went and all the hope and excitement of the journey.

Not quite the same, but he’d spent time in the army and was a champion packer. Every time I go on holiday, I do my very best to pack my (much larger) suitcase in a way that he would have approved of and think of him, doing the same task with such art!

Dad also died 27 years ago, still have a few bits of his, mum just died two years ago and have a number of things of hers, she kept a bag of pictures cut from magazines and postcards for the 25 years since he died as he used to paint and used them for ideas, can’t bring myself to throw them out despite DWs insistence, my daughter has most of his painting stuff

although if he walked up this path right now (I'm sitting outside), i wouldn't be surprised to see him. Its more of a surprise I've not seen him in so long

I know exactly what you mean!

"although if he walked up this path right now (I'm sitting outside), i wouldn't be surprised to see him. Its more of a surprise I've not seen him in so long"

That part of your original post really touched me OP. I know exactly what you mean.

Whenever I would stay with my maternal GPs my grandad would insist he polished all our shoes on a Sunday afternoon. There was no arguing with him about this! He passed away in 1986.