I think that almost every single one of us has at least one of those items that we've been using for ages, and somehow, even after all this time, it still works like an absolute charm. I guess some things are simply built to last a lifetime. Or a few.
There's this popular subreddit with over 872,000 members called BuyItForLife where people post pics and talk about the oldest yet the most durable high-quality things they own and have been using for a really long time. Some of the items shared in this Reddit community have been around for more than 100 years!
Bored Panda has thoroughly scanned the BuyItForLife subreddit and made a list of the most interesting and fascinating items that have withstood the test of time. As always, don't forget to leave a comment and vote for your favorite ones!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
I Thought You Guys Might Like My 1920s-1930s Magic Chef Stove With 6 Burners, 2 Ovens, And A Bread Warmer
Our Singer Sewing Machine, 100 Years Old And Works Perfectly
I think i might know you from amino, or might've been someone else
Load More Replies...
My mum had on of these that was built into a cabinet. The top flipped over to reveal the sewing machine and inside the cabinet floor was a giant pedal that operated the machine. I use to love operating it and watching the mechanism, especially the one you can see at the front that was used to fill up the spindle with cotton.
Exactly the same as the one my mother had also. The pedal on the floor tilted frontwards and backwards!
Load More Replies...
Judging by the base, this was a "portable". A true hernia box!!! My Mom had a Pfaff that was "portable" just like this and it was a gut wrencher everytime she wanted to sew!!!
Weird thing is, these things aren't even rare or valuable. SO many have lasted and lots still in use..
They are not that rare, but they are kind of valuable. A lot of them are still around, but all in high demand because they aren't made anymore and they're still better than anything manufactured today.
Load More Replies...
I have my Grandmother's treddle"White sewing machine". I haven't tried to use it in years.
Used to help my mum make curtains with her machine. Was her mum's. I would crank, she would guide
I had one - a copy of a Singer that stated it was "Made in Occupied Japan".
I have the same one. My great grandfather bought it from the Germans when they invated our country 😅
I had one of those and used it for about 10 years. Then I got a modern electric, and realised I wasn’t going back, so donated it to Tools for Africa, for places where there’s no electric supply.
I’m getting a 15-90 from 1939 running again. Such a workhorse! And easy to work on, the owners manual included instructions for basically everything you would ever need to do for maintenance. Not like today’s machines hat say “take it to a dealer if you have any issues...”
My grandmother was very upset with my aunt Fran when - in 1916 - Fran traded in grandma's treadle Singer for an electric Singer. She still talked about it 60 years later! LOL
Well... the same in that it worked. Not exactly in as nice condition. That one looked unused. On ours the gold paint was weathered in places.
Load More Replies...
My mom's was only about 80 but still worked well. Yours is a real gem.
It's nice to see things that were built to last, before the idea of planned obsolescence set in.
I understand that SINGER had several wives and a lot of children. I guess that he had them sewing a lot.
My Mother has one of those too, 80 years old AT LEAST and it's still working.
We have something similiar at home, but it has been modified to use electric pedal.
Wow this just proves that companies are making things less durable these days for money
My mom had one too, it folded down into a table. Super clever and still worked!
same! except it was my grandmas and it connected to a flax spinner
Load More Replies...
MIne's from 1938. I saw it at Savers (Value Village) and instantly HAD to have it. Not as ornate as this one, and the original case/base is gone but even so, it's a gorgeous machine and works like a charm.
There's a wanky clothing shop in the UK called All Saints and their shop fronts (in London anyway) are floor to ceiling Singer sewing machines. It's such a waste for the sake of hipsterness. They're not cheap!
Oak Chest. Storing Family Shit Since 1682. Lock Still Working
Me In My Snoopy Sweater In 1981, My Son In The Same Sweater In 2017, And My Daughter In The Same Sweater In 2020
Found This Kitchenaid Mixer From The 1970s For $35. New Grease And Paint And It's As Good As New
Oxford Bookbag From 1880 Or So. My Grandpa Got It Used When He Started High School In 1951. It Has Since Been Used And Enjoyed By My Mom, Uncle, Aunt And Myself And Is Still Durable
About 80 Years Old. Hand-Me-Down Cast Iron Skillet, Used Daily
Grandmother Still Has Her WWII Frigidaire Refrigerator, Still Works Without A Hitch!
World's Oldest Pairs Of Levi's Jeans Found In A Goldmine 136 Years Later
Kids Played The Most With This 25-Year-Old Toy Despite All The Gifts They Got
My 97-Year-Old Waterman 52
Woah! My grandpa Has one of those- I've been tempted to touch it so many times....
My In-Laws Were Brilliant: Le Creuset, Purchased 1977
For Christmas, My Grandpa Gave Me The Sheepskin Coat He Wore In His 20s. He Is 70 Now! Still In Mint Condition :)
Stanley Thermos Used Every Day From 1970 To 2018
Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair And Ottoman. Passed Down From My Late Grandfather. Circa 1960s
If this chair is still able to be sat in without braking, You already know I'm going to be spinning around in it-
My Grandfather's Grandfather's Pocket Watch, Which Made It Through Ww1, And Still Works!
My Girlfriend's 1950s Frigidaire Stove (Which Is Replacing A Far Newer And Much Harder To Fix Stove)
Here Is My 1958 Rolleiflex Camera That Was Passed Down To Me. It Still Works Perfectly And Takes Beautiful Images
My Car Turned 30 Today And Rolled Over 247,000 Miles. KBB Says It’s Worth No More Than $1,318 ($250 On A Trade-In). Guess I May As Well Keep It
Original Game Boy Still Works Like A Charm
I want one, because I was born in the early 2000s and wanna play it!
My Mom And Dad Got Matching North Face Down Jackets After Their Wedding 35 Years Ago. Still Being Worn Today. Now That My Dad Won’t Be Wearing His Anymore, It’s Up To Me To Make Sure It Continues To Get Used
Going On Twenty Years. (Sorel)
Wow!!!! I'm always looking for good winter boots. Mine have so many layers of boot glue that they are hardly boots anymore!
My Jewish Great-Grandparents Used This Travelling Case When They Moved From Izmir, Ottoman Empire To Argentina In 1910. Still Functional
My Mom Surprised My Son And Brought One Of My Favorite Toys From My Childhood. It's Probably About 25 Years Old And He's Already Been Using It Daily - Just As I Did. Thanks Mom
Picked Up This Basset Bedroom Set From The Original Owners. Around 60 Years Old. Ready For Another Lifetime Of Use
This 117+-Year-Old Coffee Grinder From Peugeot (Yes, The Car Maker)
Sure, You May Lose A Finger, But My Emerson Table Fan Has Been Going Strong For Over 70 Years
Vintage Farmhouse (Cast Iron) Sink Is Around 100 Years Old And Still Looks Great - Just Got Refinished Last Week!
LEGO, My LEGO Being Played With Again 40 Years Later...
When My Grandfather Passed Away, I Inherited His Auto Crawler. Still Using It To Change My Oil After 80 Years. (X-Post)
My "New" 60-Year-Old Swiss Army Salt And Pepper Backpack
My Grandpa's Razor I Inherited, Used To Shave With Him (W/Out Razor In) When Little. 25ish Yrs Later I'm Here, Cleaned It Up And Threw New Razor In. 1940's Gold Plated De
Waffle Iron From The 1920s Still Working Flawlessly
My Pocket Compass Is Engraved “Eng. Dept. U.s.a. 1918”. Wish I Had Paid More Attention Who Had Owned These Things When My Parents Passed Them On To Me. It’s Too Late To Ask Them Now. But The Compass Still Points To Magnetic North After 99 Years!
Still Sporting My Dad's Coleman Classic Tent From '70s. No Leaks, And Doesn't Require A Rain Fly. All Original Poles In Tact After 44 Years
My Sheaffer Reminder Ballpoint Pen. This Has Been In My Pocket Every Weekday For The Last 15 Years. It Used To Belong To My Grandfather. I Know He Used It Because The Brass Was Already Starting To Wear Through When I Got It. They Still Make The Refills For It
This Used To Wake Me Up For School In The 5th Grade. I'm 39 Now
My 1974 Sansui 881, She's 43 Years Old This Month
30 Years Ago, I Received This As A Gift From My Grandparents. Today, I Get To Pass It On To My Son
My WW2-Era Tabletop GE Fan
Just Been Gifted My Parents' Le Creuset Saucepan Set. They Got It As A Wedding Gift 40 Years Ago. Has Had Everyday Use Since
So you can gift this set to your children, as a suggestion only, research how to maintain the wooden handles. The bottom of the handles on the two pans on the right are burnt and may need attention to prevent future problems. Also, adding some type of moisturizer would prolong their life. That being said, it's a fantastic set that I would treasure!!
My 1969 Raleigh Sports Bicycle, Still Widely Available Used, Will Last Forever With Minimal Care. I Ride Mine Regularly And Have Owned It For Over Ten Years
1976 Scrabble Board With Raised Grid-Lines And Rotating Base. Still Has All The Pieces!
My Inlaws’ Pyrex Bowls That My Wife Grew Up With. Wedding Present From 1970. The Only Thing She Asked For When Her Parents Asked Her What She Wanted From Their Estate. One Used To Be Pink. Used Daily
my mom bought a set at the thrift store the other day, she only found 2 of them
My Old Car Toy [sachs] Survived 7 Kids And Still Rolling After 35 Years...
![My Old Car Toy [sachs] Survived 7 Kids And Still Rolling After 35 Years...](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/buy-it-for-life-reddit-durable-products-6012b9e8ee881__700.jpg "My Old Car Toy [sachs] Survived 7 Kids And Still Rolling After 35 Years...")
A Camera My Grandpa Bought For 100 Dollars In 1953, Today It Would Have Cost Almost 2000 Dollars
Actually this is not too crazy because 100 dollars from 1953 adjusted for inflation is worth 1,939 dollars today.
Buy It For Several Lives, My Great Grandfather's Desk From 1922
I thought he was talking about the computer being from 1922 for a second
USSR-Made Stopwatch; Still In Daily Use At My Physiology Lab
My Super Nintendo Still Going Strong 27 Years Later
This Duffle Bag That Came With The Nintendo 64 My Parents Got Me For Christmas ‘95. A Little Dinged Up But Very Intact. Still One Of My Main Travel Bags
Note: this post originally had 70 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
I still have my 1st generation iPad. It still works great although there are many apps that are not compatible because Apple blocks it's older products from getting upgrades.
Whoever's downvoting all those legit comments need to get a life and a psychotherapist.
I got a collectible AG doll from my cousin, from about 1995, maybe earlier. mint condition, worth about $200. she just gave it to me as a birthday present.
Very interesting. I can understand why some remarks are hidden, but not all of them. Is that a decision that is undertaken by just anyone at your company?
Well one thing is for sure - if you take care of your things, they can last years
I really love this post. I wish they still made things that way. Now everything is made to break so consumers have to replace them. There are some amazing items in this post , very very cool
I have a 20 year old t shirt I got in high school. I still wear it regularly and it still fits, so I guess we're both still holding up.
I have a Metallica shirt I bought at their concert in 1992 or 93. Still wear it to this day.
Load More Replies...
I'm surprised there are no Zippos on this list. They last forever. The one in my pocket - Army Ranger with insignia plate missing - came out in 1969, same year I did.
My BF is still using his first computer keyboard. It was bought in the 1991 year... Still looks and works perfectly.
My toaster was made in the 1940's. Works better than what is in the stores today.
I have just passed on a camp kitchen that is older than I am (53). Only gave it away coz I can't bend and needed to upgrade to a taller unit (and a taller tent). Still have the 2 burner cooker and a couple of the original air beds.
Anyone noticed they are now using recaptcha to verify we aren't bots? I wonder if they'll fix all the downvoted to oblivion statements or just leave them? I just gave everyone an upvote so we can read the comments again (for now)
I love this. Items used to be made to last and to be repaired fairly easily; now it is all about planned obsolescence/being built to break after a few years. I still have my Sony alarm radio clock I got when I was in 9th grade (I’m 46 so that was a long time ago) and it still works perfectly. Probably one of the last things they made before quality took a nosedive.
I have an Amana RadarRange microwave from the 80s. It's huge but use it all the time!
So does my mother, it was a wedding present in 1984. Every 15 years it needs a new interior light bulb, that's it.
Load More Replies...
So many of these products are 1990s or older, when things were still made in USA and much sturdier
I my ... I have a lot of old stuff from Grandparents or even older that still is in use ... pans, plates, forks, knives, ... I maybe should take a closer look on all that stuff, as much of it I don't even know the value of ... have literally no idea about it. One thing I really love is ... a personal autograhp from the Rolling Stones including Brian, to my Dad.
Imagine they still produced quality like that in a modern world! We wouldn't have half the environmental problems we have now. Actually making products that lasts and can be fixed.
It's not that high quality mendable stuff isn't being made, it's just that most people don't want or can't pay what that actually costs.
Load More Replies...
I found my old ds a week ago! It was a bit dirty but it still worked!
There's some sad trolling going here by voting down lots of valid comments. I'm sure I'll get it, too. In recent times, the standard business model is planned obsolescence, meaning thing are made to break after a couple of years or so. This is simply so that businesses can keep selling their products because people have no choice but to replace things. We deliberately get sold lower quality materials in our goods when, as this post shows, we could have things that will last for ages.
Yeah very sad. I just went through as many comments as I could and upvoted everyone. Not quite back to zero but just need a few people to do the same!
Load More Replies...
Everything in our house is old. We have an MCM time warp house, although I do have 30s furniture in the kitchen and 40s in the master bedroom. Everything else is 50-70s. My engagement ring is from the 1920s. We love cool old stuff and try not to buy new made in china things when possible.
So good seeing so many older things still working, I look at the cooker, microwave over and TV here at home and all 3 of those things are having problems with failures and faults. How I kick myself for replacing the old stuff with more modern stuff.
True, but I think it goes both ways. So many things are made today that are vastly superior to past products - from televisions to medical devices. The fact that I have an SSD that's 5cm wide and weighs about as much as a feather - and can store 2 terabytes of data... 20 years ago this would've been science fiction.
Load More Replies...
I still have my 1st generation iPad. It still works great although there are many apps that are not compatible because Apple blocks it's older products from getting upgrades.
Whoever's downvoting all those legit comments need to get a life and a psychotherapist.
I got a collectible AG doll from my cousin, from about 1995, maybe earlier. mint condition, worth about $200. she just gave it to me as a birthday present.
Very interesting. I can understand why some remarks are hidden, but not all of them. Is that a decision that is undertaken by just anyone at your company?
Well one thing is for sure - if you take care of your things, they can last years
I really love this post. I wish they still made things that way. Now everything is made to break so consumers have to replace them. There are some amazing items in this post , very very cool
I have a 20 year old t shirt I got in high school. I still wear it regularly and it still fits, so I guess we're both still holding up.
I have a Metallica shirt I bought at their concert in 1992 or 93. Still wear it to this day.
Load More Replies... I'm surprised there are no Zippos on this list. They last forever. The one in my pocket - Army Ranger with insignia plate missing - came out in 1969, same year I did.
My BF is still using his first computer keyboard. It was bought in the 1991 year... Still looks and works perfectly.
My toaster was made in the 1940's. Works better than what is in the stores today.
I have just passed on a camp kitchen that is older than I am (53). Only gave it away coz I can't bend and needed to upgrade to a taller unit (and a taller tent). Still have the 2 burner cooker and a couple of the original air beds.
Anyone noticed they are now using recaptcha to verify we aren't bots? I wonder if they'll fix all the downvoted to oblivion statements or just leave them? I just gave everyone an upvote so we can read the comments again (for now)
I love this. Items used to be made to last and to be repaired fairly easily; now it is all about planned obsolescence/being built to break after a few years. I still have my Sony alarm radio clock I got when I was in 9th grade (I’m 46 so that was a long time ago) and it still works perfectly. Probably one of the last things they made before quality took a nosedive.
I have an Amana RadarRange microwave from the 80s. It's huge but use it all the time!
So does my mother, it was a wedding present in 1984. Every 15 years it needs a new interior light bulb, that's it.
Load More Replies... So many of these products are 1990s or older, when things were still made in USA and much sturdier
I my ... I have a lot of old stuff from Grandparents or even older that still is in use ... pans, plates, forks, knives, ... I maybe should take a closer look on all that stuff, as much of it I don't even know the value of ... have literally no idea about it. One thing I really love is ... a personal autograhp from the Rolling Stones including Brian, to my Dad.
Imagine they still produced quality like that in a modern world! We wouldn't have half the environmental problems we have now. Actually making products that lasts and can be fixed.
It's not that high quality mendable stuff isn't being made, it's just that most people don't want or can't pay what that actually costs.
Load More Replies... I found my old ds a week ago! It was a bit dirty but it still worked!
There's some sad trolling going here by voting down lots of valid comments. I'm sure I'll get it, too. In recent times, the standard business model is planned obsolescence, meaning thing are made to break after a couple of years or so. This is simply so that businesses can keep selling their products because people have no choice but to replace things. We deliberately get sold lower quality materials in our goods when, as this post shows, we could have things that will last for ages.
Yeah very sad. I just went through as many comments as I could and upvoted everyone. Not quite back to zero but just need a few people to do the same!
Load More Replies... Everything in our house is old. We have an MCM time warp house, although I do have 30s furniture in the kitchen and 40s in the master bedroom. Everything else is 50-70s. My engagement ring is from the 1920s. We love cool old stuff and try not to buy new made in china things when possible.
So good seeing so many older things still working, I look at the cooker, microwave over and TV here at home and all 3 of those things are having problems with failures and faults. How I kick myself for replacing the old stuff with more modern stuff.
True, but I think it goes both ways. So many things are made today that are vastly superior to past products - from televisions to medical devices. The fact that I have an SSD that's 5cm wide and weighs about as much as a feather - and can store 2 terabytes of data... 20 years ago this would've been science fiction.
Load More Replies... 