Heirloom Product Blog

[gekko15]

I am looking at either finding or starting some form of picture blog with heirloom/quality/forever products. Sort of like an ERE shopping guide. Does anybody know of a site like this? Or alternatively would anyone participate if I create a site like this?

[frugalinCalifornia]

I think it is a great idea. I would participate.

[JohnnyH]

Certainly a good idea... Checkout these threads for ideas:

viewtopic.php?t=1321#post-17586

viewtopic.php?t=505#post-6137

viewtopic.php?t=1064#post-13723

[FrugalZen]

I would suggest if you're going to try selling you set up on Etsy first and see how it goes...wider audience that IMO is also into quality items.

[GeeBee]

I'd like to participate as well.
The posts mentioned above are good. I would add these two items to a list of heirloom/quality/forever products :
Woodworking tools: Lie-Nielsen - some of best hand tools ever made. I have several L-N planes that I bought new back in the 80s, have used nearly every day since then, and they still look new and work perfectly. My grandkids will be using them.
Astronomy: Questar telescopes - timeless observatory-quality telescopes. I have two Standard Questars, bought used within the past 10 years (one for each child in my family). Both telescopes are nearly 40 years old and look and work as if new. They have no unnecessary electronics (like you will find in modern telescopes) to go bad or become obsolete. The performance is flawless... I can find any celestial object (visible in a 90 mm 'scope) within seconds using the Questar oversized setting circles... those who say you need electronic "go-to" features are wrong. I get weeks of accurate clock drive use out of one 9-volt battery as well. And because Questars focus down to 10 or so feet, they act like long-range microscopes for daytime nature observing (you should see a spider at 80X magnification... wow!)
I think that those looking for heirloom/quality/forever products should try to avoid anything electronic, and look for items that are made as if it's still the 1940s. Solid heavy-duty overbuilt items are what I want, especially if I can repair them myself. That's one reason why I drive a 1940 Dodge truck. There are only two plastic things on Maxine, the distributor cap and the speedometer needle, and I can easily repair anything that breaks... plus a tune-up costs just a few dollars.
GB

[FrugalZen]

@GeeBee
Love the L-N tools myself though I don't use them every day....The planes are magnificent..works of art really.
Have you looked at a Garrett Wade Catalog??? Great stuff for us tool junkies.
I always thought the Astroscan Telescope made by Edmund Scientific would be a good reliable one if I ever though of buying one.

[jacob]

+1 on L-N.. I got a #4, #5, #7, and a #60.5.
@OP - Do I understand correctly if you're just going to post the pics with little text? I think a key difficulty will be in getting noncopyrighted pictures that also look good.

[GeeBee]

Astroscans are great and certainly fall within the "classic" category. They are, however, in a completely different league than the Questar telescope. Astroscan telescopes are mostly plastic, have no motor (thus no clock drive to compensate for the Earth's rotation and keep up with the moving stars) and their optical design means you are limited to low powers. The Moon looks pretty good in one, as do larger celestial objects, but they are almost useless for things like double stars or planetary observing. Nonetheless, I do have one (that's almost 30 years old!) and my kids loved it when they were younger. Once I bought the Questars, they didn't want to use the Astroscan anymore, as it was just too limiting. But it's a great way to get started with astronomy.
Be careful with Garrett Wade. They DO sell some nice things, but some of their items are Chinese or Indian junk (I am thinking specifically of a hand cranked drill that they still have in their catalog that is so poorly cast and machined that it was unusable when it arrived and had to be sent back immediately, also a pruning saw that simply would not keep its teeth sharp because they were improperly hardened... But GW stands behind every product and cheerfully refunded every cent, so I have no real complaint).
GB

[dragoncar]

I would subscribe. I'd use something like uncrate.com as a style guide (nice photo, no more than a paragraph of text).
For photos, there are issues to consider, but they are manageable.
If the company is in business, you could probably just ask permission to use their photo via an email with your proposed post. It's good publicity, after all.
As for companies out of business, do some research on fair use and damages provisions (especially for non-registered works). If you get big enough to be a target, you can always pay for the photos.

[GeeBee]

I forgot to mention old clocks... Recently, I've been teaching myself how to repair clocks from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. You know, the old weight or spring driven brass movement clocks, the things our great-grandparents used to tell time with before electricity came to the farm. I was given an old Seth Thomas mantle clock that had been in the family for years but didn't run, so I took it apart, cleaned it, polished some pivots and put in a few new bushings and a new mainspring. It's now ticking away happily on my fireplace mantle, and surprisingly, is accurate to nearly a minute a week, certainly close enough for me or my sod-busting ancestors. I see no reason why it shouldn't keep going for the next hundred years.
Word's getting around that I can fix old clocks and I have nearly a dozen people who, money in hand, want me to repair one for them. I still am three or so years away from my own Early Retirement, so I can't take on too much repair work, but it looks like a fun thing to do with my free time in around 36 months. Jacob's mentioned that he too is interested in clock repair. I do see it as a way to bring in some spare-time cash when retired, and tap into a love of heirloom/quality/forever products. Most of the old clock repair guys are going to be gone in a decade or two and I think there will be a nice demand for this type of know-how.
GB

[FrugalZen]

Got some stainless steel folding scissors from GW...Nogent of France...super fine and work like a dream..razor sharp with a nice leather case..maybe all of 1 1/2 by 2 inches closed up. Great for carrying in the briefcase.
So are the Push Drills modified to take Hex bits. Makes driving screws near effortless....especially if you use the square head drive kind...see McFeeleys for them.

[Skinnyneo]

I'd like to chime in here.
For those of us that are still stuck in the rat race but want a briefcase or backpack that will last us far into our retirement I recommend something from the really friendly folks over at www.saddlebackleather.com/
They guarantee that their bags will last through all normal daily wear and tear and more so or your money back. Everything is backed by a 100 year guarantee. They are pricey but as the last bag I will ever need it's actually not that bad.
They have a section on their website called "Dave's Deals" as well where you can get new products that might have had been slightly damaged during production. This is where I bought my bag from and frankly I thought it looked new when I got it.
You can also find them used on craigslist and ebay as well for more $$$ savings.

[George the original one]

@Skinnyneo - agreed that leather is tough, but don't you find the extra weight to be annoying?
And the thought of a 100-yr-lifetime case for a disposable iPhone seems... well... inappropriate.

[gekko15]

I have created a Tumblr blog at Heirloom Products. Please submit all your products there. I had a look at all the image copyright implications and I figured it would be best if everyone takes, and submits, their own pictures.

[alaskan]

Heirloom products I own:
Orvis and House of Hardy flyfishing rods and reels. Some are upwards of 40 years old and still in excellent condition. I also have an Orvis fishing bag that is 40 years old and still in use.
Carhartt double knee canvas work pants. $45 and my main pair is 9 years old with extensive use in welding, car repair, field surveying, hunting and hiking.
HP48G calculator. 16 years old with an insane amount of use from school and professional engineering. It has preloaded formulas for unit conversions, physics, finance and engineering.
S-K, Proto, Matco, Snap-On and Craftsman (old) tools. Plenty of them are 40-50 years old (inherited from my grandfather) and still in use.

[Skinnyneo]

@George the original one

It is a bit heavy but I make sure not to over pack mine and maybe I fool myself by saying "It will make my back stronger over the years."
You are certainly correct that some of their products are frivolous. I certainly don't need an iphone/ipad,etc. cover. I own their small wallet and the briefcase and have stopped there.

[JasonR]

o

[gekko15]

@JasonR - Glad you like it! Thankfully Tumblr makes it really easy. Just use the submission form on the site to submit your item. I will include any link that leads to a page where the item can be purchased. Just include the link in the text of the submission form.
If you don't want to use the Tumblr submission form just send me a mail from the Contact page.

[C40]

Here's one:

Electrolux Vacuum cleaner. Totally bad-ass. I inherited it when my step great grandmother passed away 8 or so years ago. It works great.
I forget the model number, and I don't know how old it is. I might be able to figure that out though. If you want to use it, I could take a better picture.

[drbl]

I forgot to mention old clocks... Recently, I've been teaching myself how to repair clocks from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. You know, the old weight or spring driven brass movement clocks, the things our great-grandparents used to tell time with before electricity came to the farm. I was given an old Seth Thomas mantle clock that had been in the family for years but didn't run, so I took it apart, cleaned it, polished some pivots and put in a few new bushings and a new mainspring. It's now ticking away happily on my fireplace mantle, and surprisingly, is accurate to nearly a minute a week, certainly close enough for me or my sod-busting ancestors. I see no reason why it shouldn't keep going for the next hundred years.
Word's getting around that I can fix old clocks and I have nearly a dozen people who, money in hand, want me to repair one for them. I still am three or so years away from my own Early Retirement, so I can't take on too much repair work, but it looks like a fun thing to do with my free time in around 36 months. Jacob's mentioned that he too is interested in clock repair. I do see it as a way to bring in some spare-time cash when retired, and tap into a love of heirloom/quality/forever products. Most of the old clock repair guys are going to be gone in a decade or two and I think there will be a nice demand for this type of know-how.
GB

Reviving this after 9 years since I'm interested in getting into clock repair myself. @GeeBee, can you share how you learned to repair late 19th-/early 20th-century clocks? Also, do you have a recommendation of which such clocks would be good to buy/obtain? Thanks!