Things that last
- Thread starter Dazz
- Start date
I walked past a little barber shop in China Town [ I think] in Melb at xmas time and l peered in the window to see the barbers using these tools to shave a fella in the chair. It was like watching theatre.
Memories
Used to watch my dad shave with those...sharpen it on a piece of leather before using...was fascinated by the process.
Currently trying to find those old wooden blocks I had as a kid where you'd put them all together & make a picture & could then rotate them round to make 6 more pics...closest I've found are some really expnseive Peter Rabbit ones that cost about $80!
Used to watch my dad shave with those...sharpen it on a piece of leather before using...was fascinated by the process.
Currently trying to find those old wooden blocks I had as a kid where you'd put them all together & make a picture & could then rotate them round to make 6 more pics...closest I've found are some really expnseive Peter Rabbit ones that cost about $80!
Ah yes, the ol' 'rubbish drive', used to be embarrassed as a kid but my partner & I love it these days! We always slow down as we're drivinf through a suburb with a 'rubbish drive' on. Found an old kids' chair & it's so sturdy even I can sit on it. They don't make 'em like that anymore!
I feel the same and have a lot of my Grandpop's stuff.
But I wanted to post this blog. I await new episodes each week with bated breath. I reckon you guys might like it too.
http://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2009/09/boat.html
Cheers,
But I wanted to post this blog. I await new episodes each week with bated breath. I reckon you guys might like it too.
http://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2009/09/boat.html
Cheers,
Using those old razors sounds a bit daunting Disposable razors are ok with me . My biggest trouble is cleaning up the mess i've made so i'm told
I love old rifles and shotguns , plenty of good steel and solid wood amongst them . A military firearm is something that is hard to compromise .
I dream sometimes of being able to say , have a collection of tanks from WW2 and just admire the workmanship etc . How much would a mint condition German tiger tank set me back (if i could find one for sale ) ?
Disposable razors are ok with me . My biggest trouble is cleaning up the mess i've made so i'm told I love old rifles and shotguns , plenty of good steel and solid wood amongst them . A military firearm is something that is hard to compromise .
I dream sometimes of being able to say , have a collection of tanks from WW2 and just admire the workmanship etc . How much would a mint condition German tiger tank set me back (if i could find one for sale ) ?
Absolutely - the old Metters stoves with the big cast iron plates. Keep the whole house warm for free using one of those things in the winter, and if never moved, would see the occupants out for sure. Old soup pots bubbling away in the background for when the kids come home from school with some crusty bread. Now that's living.
What else - I've got some shovels and old rakes out in the shed that will last me out. Need to oil the handles with some linseed oil every now and again. What we don't have is a sturdy bucket. The wife keeps buing these plastic pieces of junk with flimsy handles and paper thin bottoms, which invariably get turfed. I've also been looking for a decent metal dustpan and brush set. These plastic ones are hopeless, but the stores won't sell proper ones anymore.
I guess we'll all eventually get sucked into the technology vortex, and travel or progress to our final destination, where everything is disposable, everything is automatic.....and the only thing left for us to do is lie on the lounge, eat, and end up as a 400 lbs lump. Nope - don't like that progress.
Disposable society of today,
Have a look at what it costs to buy a new DVD player, then what it costs to repair one (or even to look at it to decide if it needs repairing).Every time we turn around there's a new and improved version out of what we already have.
Our oldest items would be some hand me down furniture..you know the bookshelf that takes three guys to manhandle down a hallway, not any of this MDF, Particle or Chipboard fluff. We also have some old tools in the shed that have stood the test of time; Mum would argue however the oldest tool she has laying around is her hubby?
Some Tupperware would feature well in the kitchen, especially the old measuring cups
Some of the traditions of old are interesting as well, I recall Mum teling me about taking the bed mattresses outside in the sumer sun and turning them over during the day (airs them of any musty winter smell and kills any bugs?)
Have a look at what it costs to buy a new DVD player, then what it costs to repair one (or even to look at it to decide if it needs repairing).Every time we turn around there's a new and improved version out of what we already have.
Our oldest items would be some hand me down furniture..you know the bookshelf that takes three guys to manhandle down a hallway, not any of this MDF, Particle or Chipboard fluff. We also have some old tools in the shed that have stood the test of time; Mum would argue however the oldest tool she has laying around is her hubby?
Some Tupperware would feature well in the kitchen, especially the old measuring cups
Some of the traditions of old are interesting as well, I recall Mum teling me about taking the bed mattresses outside in the sumer sun and turning them over during the day (airs them of any musty winter smell and kills any bugs?)
I was lucky enough to grow up in Broadford which is a pretty old-fashioned kinda place (or it was). The guy that sold my parents the place left HEAPS of old stuff in the huge shed. Even old furniture that now I'm sad we chucked after we had all moved out. The little telephone tables are so trendy now and we had two of 'em! (from the 50s I think).
If you really want to find things that last, get yourself to a clearing sale in the country. Take the family, us kids used to love them.
If you really want to find things that last, get yourself to a clearing sale in the country. Take the family, us kids used to love them.
I've just come in from the shed.....been meaning to sort through 15 years of stuff for the last few weeks, and made a start tonight.....
I've got this big pile that'll go in the ute next week. Some of the things I'm chucking
- IT crt monitors, modems, couple of 7-10 year old notebooks, external backup devices, network cards etc etc......all redundant for all intents and purposes...
- 300kg of books. I won't even take em to the library as they never seem to want anything older than 18mths.
- lot of old university papers and notes. always hard to know when to toss that stuff, especially for my profession. If I ever get sued by a client, I'll need to make a defence of why I did what I did.
- 50 odd Haminex cassettes of full of slides.....man, those cassettes were the duck's nuts in the 70s....with the automatic projector.... will have to scan them onto dvd first.
- three mobile phones no more than 6 years old......I presume you can't get batteries for em anymore. (A mate rang me on his new i-phone four times today....he's having trouble with it already......)
Interestingly, I found a hammer I got for my 12th birthday....and thought how it would still be around after I die.
I'm going to put a bit of stuff on ebay too. There's a Concept II Rower, which were/are the best rowers around and could forever.
I like stuff that is held together by nuts and bolts, that you can take apart....and put back together cos it didn't break when you took it apart. I liked a lot of stuff that came out of the USA in the 60s and 70s....they always gave you a good manual and you could strip the things down, and you knew they'd last forever if you maintained them well. I've got a camping stove I bought in 1982. still going strong.
I bought a new bike today...couldn't wait for a magnesium bike from the US so got a Trek Carbon Madone ...... not much different to my old bike....
I know the key parts will be worn within 15,000km.......I sometimes think it'd be good if a bike could last longer, but I also accept that invisible stress fractures occur and the groupset wears out....when I am belting down a hill at 60-80kph, I want to be 110% certain the thing I am sitting on isn't going to fail.
While out in the shed, I was reminded what is really important, and that's knowledge, wisdom, skills..........not stuff.....though tools that build stuff and the knowhow to use them, rank high....
I've got this big pile that'll go in the ute next week. Some of the things I'm chucking
- IT crt monitors, modems, couple of 7-10 year old notebooks, external backup devices, network cards etc etc......all redundant for all intents and purposes...
- 300kg of books. I won't even take em to the library as they never seem to want anything older than 18mths.
- lot of old university papers and notes. always hard to know when to toss that stuff, especially for my profession. If I ever get sued by a client, I'll need to make a defence of why I did what I did.
- 50 odd Haminex cassettes of full of slides.....man, those cassettes were the duck's nuts in the 70s....with the automatic projector.... will have to scan them onto dvd first.
- three mobile phones no more than 6 years old......I presume you can't get batteries for em anymore. (A mate rang me on his new i-phone four times today....he's having trouble with it already......
)Interestingly, I found a hammer I got for my 12th birthday....and thought how it would still be around after I die.
I'm going to put a bit of stuff on ebay too. There's a Concept II Rower, which were/are the best rowers around and could forever.
I like stuff that is held together by nuts and bolts, that you can take apart....and put back together cos it didn't break when you took it apart. I liked a lot of stuff that came out of the USA in the 60s and 70s....they always gave you a good manual and you could strip the things down, and you knew they'd last forever if you maintained them well. I've got a camping stove I bought in 1982. still going strong.
I bought a new bike today...couldn't wait for a magnesium bike from the US so got a Trek Carbon Madone ...... not much different to my old bike....
I know the key parts will be worn within 15,000km.......I sometimes think it'd be good if a bike could last longer, but I also accept that invisible stress fractures occur and the groupset wears out....when I am belting down a hill at 60-80kph, I want to be 110% certain the thing I am sitting on isn't going to fail.
While out in the shed, I was reminded what is really important, and that's knowledge, wisdom, skills..........not stuff.....though tools that build stuff and the knowhow to use them, rank high....
Using those old razors sounds a bit daunting
I love old rifles and shotguns , plenty of good steel and solid wood amongst them . A military firearm is something that is hard to compromise .
I dream sometimes of being able to say , have a collection of tanks from WW2 and just admire the workmanship etc . How much would a mint condition German tiger tank set me back (if i could find one for sale ) ?
Ok there you go Dazz this bloke is gonna need a big shed to house these tanks and a bit of dirt to burn around in them, and a cement wall or two to shoot up
Is this thread known as a brainstorming , networking, cash in my account, shoot up kinda thread
Yes, it's actually quite nostalgic going for a slow wander through your shed and spending a few hours going through your own stuff, talk about memories come flooding back.
We were cleaning up my FIL's shed after he died last year, and he had metal parts and motors / gears etc going back to the 20's. They were all placed there in the late fifties by his uncle before he moved in, and then just sat there for another 50 years. 99% was junk, but the thick metal parts were as good today as they were back then - robust. Nothing is compatible however - the world just moves on.
We've got one of those "bring out yer dead" weekend kerb collections, so tomorrow we're all going in and sorting stuff out.
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