The Oldest Tool You Own and Use

BigTex · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:43 am Post subject: The Oldest Tool You Own and Use

I am putting this in the Planning for the Future section because I think that investing in durable products is obviously a step toward not having to worry about where you will be able to get another one if it breaks.

Unfortunately, it is hard to find stuff today that will last a REALLY long time.

I was looking around the house at the things I own that are very old and still provide good service, and found the following, in no particular order:

1. I have an ice cream scooper that is probably 50 years old or more. It was ancient when I was a kid. I have no idea where it came from, but it works great, and whatever the alloy is, it's awesome.

2. I have a pair of calf skin dress shoes that belonged to my dad that are at least 30 years old. They are the best pair of shoes I own (they look brand new). The leather is at least twice as thick as on any other shoes I own, and the overall construction reflects an amazing level of craftsmanship.

3. I have a lot of tools that are probably 40 years old (inherited/looted from dad).

4. I have some books that were printed in the 1920s and 1930s.

5. I have a travel steam iron that I received as a graduation gift 20 years ago.

6. I have a pair of small binoculars that I bought about 20 years ago.
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Ludi

A broad axe and a hand-forged froe. (probably 100 years old)

A pickaxe,( probably 50 years old.)
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dunewalker · Last edited by dunewalker on Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:03 am; edited 1 time in total

This seems like an interesting and useful thread, thanks, Big Tex.

I have the first bicycle wheel truing stand I bought in 1970,made out of cast iron. It will be invaluable for years to come.

Bought an antique one-handled crosscut saw several years ago at a yard sale--it also will earn its keep gathering firewood long after the chainsaw is a paperweight.

The hand-dug well has an old manual pump mounted atop it, which of course can be a lifesaver for another hundred years to someone.

Oh yes, a Savage 12 gauge single shot, made in 1896. Some shells won't extract, so you have to shove a stick down the barrel to pop them out, like a muzzle loader. Not handy for home defense, but for a goose or duck it should do.
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vision-master

BRADLEY HUBBARD KEROSENE OIL LAMP 1895 - works and looks like new!

L@@ks kinda like this one.

DomusAlbion

I have my dad's tools. Some of these tools, including a Black and Decker circular saw that I used just yesterday, are older than I am ( 58 ).

Though not tools I have:

-- a collection of LPs of the Beatles original English labels. These have never been played and are at least 30 years old.

-- an RCA Victrola Red Label 78 (pressed on red vinyl) of Enrico Caruso singing "Una Furtiva Lagrima". This must be at least 80 years old.
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WisJim

Things that I use a lot:
1940s vintage wind generator, daily use by us for decades.
PV (solar electric) panels that we bought new in the mid 1980s.

Many hand tools, some of which (old breast drill and bit braces and hand planes) were made by companies which went out of business in the 1850s through 1870s. I also collect these kind of tools, but generally restrict my collection to usable items in working condition.

Hand saws, from small dovetail saws through "regular" sized hand saws through one and two man crosscut or timber saws, some of which date back to the 1860s, based on trademarks on the tools.

My Leica camera which is a pre-World War 2 model, but which I don't use a lot anymore since digital is so easy.

Cast iron frying pans and Revere Ware copper bottomed stainless cookware that we got from parents and grandparents and that is older than me.

My Craftsman basic set of sockets and wrenches that I bought new in 1969.

My Chippewa lineman's boots that I bought when I got my first new motorcycle, back in 1967. Have been resoled and reheeled a few times, but the uppers are still good. And a pair of Redwing workboots that were my dad's, that he wore for many years, and that I have had for over 12 years.

Lots of farm and garden related books from the late 1800s through the 1940s, and of course lots of newer books, too--literally thousands of them.

My Hopkins and Allen single shot 22, my first rifle, that was old when I got it over 50 years ago.

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1323

My grandad's Stanley # 45 combination plane, from about 1910, and a collection of woodworking planes and chisels from 1885 up to about WWII. Also have a Canedy-Otto drill press (electrified), ca. 1890-1910, #4 Morse taper, that I've used to drill 2 1/2" dia. holes in steel, a Buffalo cast iron forge, from about 1900-1925, an American brand anvil, a good collection of tongs, hammers, hardie tools, a flatter, and a no-name crank powered post drill from the same era.

I'm always on the lookout for this sort of thing. They last forever, with proper restoration and care.

edit: Forgot the 1920's Hendey metal lathe, 16" swing x 48" centers. It has a "Lima Drive", a 4 speed gearbox on an early 3-phase motor, probably added in the 1940's.
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vision-master

Craftman skill saw from the 40's. Worm drive (no safety stuff).

Ayoob · Expert Joined: Jul 15, 2004 Posts: 1025

A knife. Knives are a couple hundred billion years old.

Pops

This is right up my alley Tex, I love old tools. Any time I see something manufactured before, say, 1965 I grab it.

Remember the line from The Graduate?
"Just one word: plastic." and of course stamped metal instead of castings.

I have my great uncles pump .22 - the first gun I ever fired. My fathers coleman stove and lamp from probably the 50s or before, several 40's or 50's automatic fly reels, a couple much older manuals, 2 split bamboo fly rods from maybe the 30's, some really nice Mitchell spinning reels and a few knives.

In the house we have lots of kitchen utensils either passed down or picked up: cast iron pots and pans, grinders, corn sheller, pressure canner, dozens and dozens of canning jars - some so old they are probably worth more than anything we put up in them. Quite a few oil lamps, crocks and this and that - oh, and our house itself is nearing 100 - framed and sheathed from rough sawn oak nailed together with 20p nails, it will be here long after I'm dust. It is probably the oldest thing with a verifiable date we use regularly. Smile

And of course piles of woodworking tools: planes, chisels, draw knives, brace and bits; pipe tools, wrenches and drivers and an ancient Delta drill press and the first carpet installation tool kit I bought 30 some-odd tears ago. {tears was supposed to be years but I'll let that slip stand!}

Then there are some 3-pt implements of unknown but early vintage; 2-row corn planter, disk, cultivator, broadcast seeder. I use those but there is also a complete and functional horse-drawn double bottom plow and 2-row corn planter serving as lawn ornaments (for now) and in the process of (or at least hopes for) restoration, is a windmill, belt driven winnower, kerosene fired incubator and a buckboard.

Really I could go on and on but those are a few of what comes to mind...
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SpringCreekFarm · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2006 Posts: 828

LOL. Almost everything I use is old so it would be hard to pick the oldest.

I use old hand tools for lots of my projects. Too many to list. I do like my cordless drill however.

I use an old old 9 quart All American pressure canner for small batches.

I just recently bought a McCormick Deering No. 9 horse drawn hay mower that I will hopefully test out this summer ( behind a tractor initially )

BigTex

I thought of a couple more:

1. a .20 gauge single shot that my dad received from his dad in 1952 (haven't shot it in a LONG time, though, so really doesn't qualify as something I use).

2. I had some tree pruners that were at least 50 years old, but have misplaced them. They had hardwood handles and steel inserts that came off the blade section that ran down the outside of the wooden handles, making it virtually impossible to break the handles. Very nice tool there--I miss it.

3. I have a Craftsman toolbox that my dad bought in the 60s. It's very nice.

4. I have an automatic movement watch I bought new in 1990.
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vision-master

RdSnt

I have a brass plumb bob that is over 200 years old.
A level, small hand plane and two-handed buck saw, that are each over 100 years old.

A chainsaw that at 30 years old is still working reliably, and a portable air compressor of the same vintage that only this year required a new regulator.

A 2 cylinder Lister-Blackwell stationary diesel engine, over 60 years old, that I use for standby power.

A primary reason why I prefer old equipment is that they are repairable.
Give me a car engine with points any day.
Besides, I can pick this stuff up cheap at auctions.
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Everything is coincident.
Love: the state of suspended anticipation.
To get any appreciable distance from the Earth in
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RdSnt

I have a brass plumb bob that is over 200 years old.
A level, small hand plane and two-handed buck saw, that are each over 100 years old.

A chainsaw that at 30 years old is still working reliably, and a portable air compressor of the same vintage that only this year required a new regulator.

A 2 cylinder Lister-Blackwell stationary diesel engine, over 60 years old, that I use for standby power.
I currently looking for a small stationary steam engine, around the 5-8 hp range.

A primary reason why I prefer old equipment is that they are repairable.
Give me a car engine with points any day.
Besides, I can pick this stuff up cheap at auctions.
_________________
Gravity is not a force, it is a boundary layer.
Everything is coincident.
Love: the state of suspended anticipation.
To get any appreciable distance from the Earth in
a sensible amount of time, you must lie.