Using Old Items in the Present Day

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by Chuck Naill, Dec 21, 2019.

  1. Timwcic

    Timwcic Well-Known Member

    I still use a 125 year old coffee grinder weekly and Christmas breakfast will be made on 100 year old waffle irons

    127ADC44-2DCF-4011-829D-32811D0126EF.jpeg A29E9977-411B-44C5-B304-B7618DE794C8.jpeg
     
  2. lightcs1776

    lightcs1776 Well-Known Member

    Looks awesome!

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  3. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Now those are nice. I've always "coveted" an old Enterprise coffee grinder like that! Far enough back when you could still pick one up, from time to time, reasonable. Hate to see what they are now! I did come across an old "counter-top" tobacco plug cutter. Those old waffle irons are a new one to me. I've never seen them before! You have a jewel in those. Now to the item in the corner with the irons. From what I can see, it looks like either an old apple peeler or a cherry pitter. ?? Second closer looks has my vote as apple peeler??
     
  4. BigD

    BigD Well-Known Member

    How Older things were designed;
    How do we make this product to do exactly what it needs to do, last forever, and able to be repaired?
    How New things are designed;
    How do we make this so it can be cheaply mass produced, break soon after the warranty expires, and unable to be repaired so we can sell the exact same item to the exact same person every three to six years?
     
  5. Timwcic

    Timwcic Well-Known Member

    Thank you Both,very much.

    I have had that grinder close to thirty years. A lot of coffee has gone thru. Yes it is a apple peeler. It is fun to use and does a good job as long as the apples are fresh and hard. Mushy apples make a mess. I do have a cherry pitter. It is also made my enterprise, but never used it. I love my waffle irons. They are high top Griswold’s. The one in the top left is the Heart and Stars model. Rather uncommon and rare. The waffles are in the shape of hearts and comes out at Valentine’s Day. Good for getting out of trouble that I am usually in
     
  6. Terry

    Terry Tool Admirer

    I seem to be afflicted with ORAD and OBAD, Old Razor Acquisition Disorder and Old Brush Acquisition Disorder. Seems I can make theses old items come back to life with a small amount of work and/or parts that are still avalible.
    They work really good too.

    Shame someone with the ability and machinery doesn't bring some back to life, in a new sorta way.

    tp
     
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  7. Carson West

    Carson West Well-Known Member

    I made a purchase the other day, and next door was an antique shop. I spent about a half-hour in there browsing. On my way out, I said to the proprietor, "Looking at all this stuff, you know what it makes me realize"? "What"? "That everything made today is junk."
     
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  8. Leo501

    Leo501 Well-Known Member

    For sentimental reasons I have my father's old watch that needs winding, some of his tie clips, and Cross pen & pencil set. Kitchen items are some of the oldest things in the house but rarely used- an old meat grinder that attaches to a kitchen table or counter, and a potato masher, both hand-powered.
     
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  9. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I’ve got a couple of century-old mason jars that are still in use.
     
  10. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    What're you using them for?

    Homemade moonshine? Or, burying your money in the backyard?

    :D
     
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  11. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Sorry to disappoint you. I use them to store gum and candy.
     
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  12. SharptoothC

    SharptoothC I bite..........

    I use a cast iron skillet that was my great grandmother's.

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  13. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Good uses! Moonshine and money was meant in jest!

    I've got a few old jars myself. Couple of blue quarts with old zinc caps, another quart, and a quart with the old wire bail and lid. Not used for anything beyond setting on/in my "doctor's cabinet to look at.
     
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  14. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    Nothing like cast iron, especially frying pans, to cook in. Things fry better with a nicer "crisp" in cast iron.
     
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  15. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    Wife just has a couple of old hanging lamps rewired that she just panted gold to use in the bedroom. While we have an air fryer and instant pot, I love to cook on my cast iron, probably have over a hundred pounds of the stuff old and new, old Old Hickory knives, old oak teachers desk, many little tables, chairs and lamps(floor and table), curio cabinet.:happy088:
     
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  16. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    I'm introducing my grand children to old things. My grand daughter now has a pre 1930's Alcock Lindley Bloore "Brown Betty" with which to brew a cup of Indian loose leaf tea. Another grand daughter has a late '40's Esterbrook Deluxe restored and properly inked en
    route.
     
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  17. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Those are the kind of jars I use too. Some neat facts about those;
    1) The bluish color of the glass was nothing deliberate. It was simply caused by the chemical composition of the sand the manufacturer used.
    2) Modern Mason jars are no longer that color, because that sand supply got used up.
     
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  18. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    I suppose any fountain pen collector knows about the iconic Parker 51 first produced around 1941. I was able to acquire a first quarter 1942 model this week. This pen has been restored.

    51A.jpg 51B.jpg 51C.jpg
     
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  19. Chuck Naill

    Chuck Naill Well-Known Member

    So, I am continuing to find and use old fountain pens everyday. My latest is a late '40's Esterbrook "transitional" J. A few weeks back I bit the bullet on a 1942 second year Parker 51, then followed up with a chance find near matching rotary mechanical pencil. Did I mention the '54 Parker 51 21 Deluxe unused with original box. I am not spending much on this stuff and I use them a whole lot more than razors.
     
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  20. S Barnhardt

    S Barnhardt Old, Crusty Barn

    "Not much" is a relative term!

    In what price range could a person expect to find a functional fountain pen? Or would it be better for someone who merely wants functional to go with a new one?

    :signs002:
     

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