So the idea of “buy it for life” is to buy items that are durable and last for a long time, things you could buy once and have your whole life, which can save money and be good for the environment
What are some of the top items you recommend for this?
The top answer for me is always a good cast iron pan. Doesn’t have to be expensive but should be quite heavy. It’s not just buy it for life either, it’s buy it for future generation’s lives.
Sand the crap out of any new pan can make a ‘meh’ pan into a ‘muah’ pan. A lot of them aren’t nearly as smooth as they could/should be. We bought a cheap one that was quite bumpy, sanding down was a night and day difference.
I think one of the things a lot of people miss in the bifl mentality is the requirement of maintenance, care, and in this case alteration. My post mentioned knives and watches and boots. Learning the right tools and techniques and treatments for those things is just as important as buying the right thing. Good post, I never would have known sanding down a cast iron to make it smoother would make it a better performer.
I heard that the bumps were there to help the seasoning stick. Actually, looking it up and the point seems moot - with people disagreeing as a matter of preference. So there is a bit of nuance there.
I actually have a Lodge that has gone smooth just from the daily use of repeated oiling and scraping and of course carbon buildup.
The smoothness of the pan means nothing. Whatever oil you use should be sufficient to keep anything from sticking, and it’s not like .2mm of height difference is going to change the conductive properties of a honking great slab of metal to a honking great slab of meat.
Never scrap cast iron pans! You can damage factory seasoning and then it will rust in a second.
Easily dealt with by seasoning yourself. It’s not hard to get a nice initial season, then add some bacon for the good stuff.
Here to rep the ceramic gang. Perhaps not as long lasting as cast iron, but I still have my first ceramic pan from 6? 7? years ago. Still as good as the day I got it. If you like non-stick and don’t want to deal with maintinence or fear of fucking up a cast iron, ceramic is an excellent alternative with plenty of longevity.
The only consideration for care needed is just to hand wash it over putting it in the dishwasher. Which you should already be doing for nonstick. People say you can use metal utensils on ceramic but I’ve never tested that
This is my jam. I love buying only quality gear. I’ll just rattle off some of my personal favorite.
Thorogood American Heritage waterproof wedge sole work boots. Around $300. I’m a tradesman, so I actually chew through them enough to keep a fresh pair for indoor jobs, and my outdoor pair for rough conditions. If you don’t work in heavy construction like me, they’ll last you a lifetime, and when tradesmen like me see them on you’re feet we’ll give a nod/grunt of approval. They’re even union made.
An old school mechanical can opener from OhSay. I’ll never own another can opener.
Pocket knife. Benchmade Bugout in s30v steel. Get a water stone and learn to sharpen it on YouTube. A sharp blade should be in everyone’s pocket. Some minimal care will keep it going for most of a lifetime.
Trayvax element, ascent, or venture wallets. The one my wife carries is my old one, 15 years on it and it’s easily got 40 more.
A hanks leather gun belt. It’s made to be strong enough to support a firearm in a holster, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used without one. Extremely high quality, thick durable, great hardware.
A quality mechanical watch. A tool watch. I run a Sinn, but there are many brands where you can find a serviceable mechanical watch for anywhere from $300 to $3000 and much much higher. The glycine combat 6 is a great starting point, you can find them used for maybe 275, their sapphire crystal is almost impervious to scratching and the stainless steel case is as well. I just had my old one serviced and hand polished to look like new, and I have no doubt with a service every five years it would last me a lifetime of daily wear. Looking for sapphire glass and a sellita or ETA movement from any number of brands will afford you plenty of aesthetic variety.
I might post more later if I’m not busy. Let’s hear some more!
To clarify for others:
Hanks makes many belts that are not specifically gun belts. The one I have came with a 99 year warranty (I think they all might?) and after several years of daily wear, sometimes in rough work conditions, I pretty much believe it’ll last that long.
Love my Thorogoods. I don’t need them for work, just for awesome, and I have no doubt I will never have to do anything but minor maintenance on them.
A “quality” mechanical watch can be had for far less than that. Get a frickin’ Invicta for $100 or less. A Pro Diver uses the exact same Seiko movement you’ll find in TONS of watches upwards of $1,000. Watch snobs will shit their pants in anger, but the movement is what it is and it can be serviced as readily as anything.
The reason invicta watches usually cost around $100 dollars is because they generally, though not always, lack a sapphire crystal. Mineral crystals scratch very easily and are unsuitable for daily wear unless you work from home or something. Shit I ruined one changing my laundry once.
Happy to see this community, I really liked it on Reddit
As long as it’s “you can buy this as a long lasting product”
Rather than “my great grandad bought this lump of solid metal and it’s still a lump of solid metal!”
Quality tools in general. Be disciplined in storing them well and in one place.
A good chef’s knife and gear to keep it sharp. You will never want to go back.
Cast iron pan has been said. A good multi layered stainless steel pan (so layers all the way, not disc bottom). Indestructible and doesnt give you cancer like teflon.
A leatherman or similar multitool.
Good binoculars, if you’re into that kind of stuff.
In addition to the chef’s knife, a good sturdy butcher block style cutting board. Oil it regularly.
Just going to emphasise a negative here: no Teflon. In fact if you have some already you should plan to dispose of it as soon as you can afford another pan.
Ideally your local municipality can advise you on how to safely dispose of them.
AFAIK seasoning is just burnt oil, how is that not dangerous? Honest question, since quality studies are not seem to be available in this field.
A used steel case or Herman miller chair. (Unless you can afford to buy new) Instead of a godawful PU leather spine shattering gaming chair.
The chairs may not last a lifetime but are very durable and will help your spine last your lifetime.
Their CEO took a bonus and told employees in a video to work hard instead of being in “pity city” when they were left without bonuses.
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/19/1170669245/millerknoll-ceo-andi-owen-video-bonuses
Even more reason to buy used. The CEO might be a cunt, but that doesn’t change whether it’s good for your body.
The point is that a chair designed for ergonomics of sitting at a desk all day will do you much better than one designed to look like it belongs in a racecar.
That advice stands whether that’s Haworth, Steel case, Herman miller, or any other serious office chair brand.
Working somewhere that had only Herman Miller chairs fucking broke me.
Almost like ergonomics is individual and not a fucking brand name.
I’ve yet to find a “serious office chair” that actually properly supports MY spine the way my supposedly shitty “gaming” chair does.
Mainly because the concept of a “serious office chair” is horseshit. A chair is either good or bad and sucking off one particular name over and over doesn’t change the fact that a well-made uncomfortable piece of shit is still and uncomfortable piece of shit.
I’ll add Haworth to that list. Especially their Zody chairs. I swear by them for having to sit 8 hours a day on.
I worked in a building full of Herman Miller Aeron chairs, which cost more than $1000. I did not find them comfortable. The plastic frames dug into the back of my legs.
This isn’t to say that everyone will find them uncomfortable or that they’re bad. But don’t buy a chair based on a brand. Sit in the chair.
