Sometimes I will use something and realize I’ve owned it forever. It’s a nice change in our throwaway reality. I think my personal record is a bicycle multi-tool I got for one of my first bikes, ~25 years ago. Still have it, still use it. When it comes to electronic devices I have a Panasonic mini Hi-Fi from ~2005. Never felt like changing it.
What’s your record?
Easy: I have used my Norwegian teapot every day for as long as I can remember - easily 50 years, plus some 15+ years where my dad used it before me, plus another unknown number of years before him, because he picked it up doing his rounds as a garbage man in his student years (1960s). That thing is ancient, and still going strong. Never gonna let it go.
That teapot must be tied with the Danish dinner tableware inherited from my grandparents. That stuff has also been in use literally daily since the 1950s.
Talk about built to last, and buy it for life. Amazing.
I don’t know why, but I really want to see the magical teapot. Can we see?
Here it is: https://i.imgur.com/oSyNbne.png (organic banana for scale)
Disappointing, yes? Well, not sure what you expected an indestructible thing to look like. This thing must be from the 1940s or so.
The pot itself is made of some non-magnetic metal, and it was probably all black when it was new, but years of gas stove-top use before I was even born must have burned away the color near the base – I have always known it to have this gradient. It holds 1,5L of steaming hot black tea (preferably Lady Grey or Darjeeling) and has an absolutely drip-free spout. It has a stein-like hinged lid with a glass insert that used to be removable until my dad epoxied it on, untold ages ago. The handle is made of bakelite so it never gets hot, not even when used on a gas stove-top.
The handle is marked with the logo “HØYANG” which sounds Norwegian. If anyone can tell me any details aout that, I would be extremely interested.
(The mug is another contender for this post, by the way. I’ve had it from the late 80’s.)
No, that’s super interesting. I found a newer one here -
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/461900505513536548/
I can only find red and silver currently but I think you’re right that it was black. The company is indeed Norwegian and a lot of their stuff is marked Ilovan Kjelen Hoyang which might be the name of a person? I can’t find that confirmed though. There seems to be collectors so if you ever want to know more, might be worth contacting someone who seems to have a collection for sale.
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The color looks really cool.
I think it’s quite pretty.
Ceramic or metal?
Metal, with a glass lid and a bakelite handle.
It’s non-magnetic but too light to be aluminium, I don’t know what material it is made of.
Unobtanium.
I destroy anything that isn’t metal out if clumsiness but I love this general design (the Norwegian teapot). Congrats on yours, really enjoyed the history of it.