Nice Things

[JDelage]

Wabi-sabi!

[unders]

A few years back my wife snaffled one of my denim books (pretty sure it was Paul T’s) and got this image printed on acrylic and framed. It was an excellent gift. 
 

Edited February 19, 2021 by unders

[MJF9]

Traveler's Company ballpoint pen - simple, functional, compact design

Fits securely in the pocket; can be attached to a key ring or lanyard; lightweight, apparently 16 grams

The grip area is wood; the barrel end metal

The long cap is brass and is developing a nice patina

Edited February 20, 2021 by MJF9

[nick682]

 

I recently picked up this Modernica planter and added a snake plant to it.  The plant wasn't in the greatest shape when I got it, I'm hoping it survives!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheIntelligentHoodwinker]

Great thread! Drive my wife mad with all the 'tut' that arrives on a regular basis.

This turned up today. I think it's from the 70s. Has a little pull string thing that makes him say a few (incoherent) phrases.

[TheIntelligentHoodwinker]

Also got this recently - my Grandads army hip flask. 

 

[smoothsailor]

Picked up my old cycling hobby on my “nice” bike.

made it myself, served me 15000 km so far. Since I have a workshop to make bicycles ,all the hours spent on the bike are now in the workshop. Need to find a new routine to do it all

[buler]

Sketch of Clapton, sorry for the reflection. I'm sure there is a trick to photographing glass framed items, I just don't know it.

 

[Hopethisoneisnttaken]

Beautiful! Your own work @buler? 

[buler]

@Hopethisoneisnttaken, nope. Artist by the name of Gene Crippen.

[AnOldFolkSong]

Shinki Leather

STOCK NO.MN16001 HANDCRAFTED HORSEHIDE ANIMALS - GIRAFFE

THE REAL MCCOY'S

 

 

 

 

[Double 0 Soul]

I'd forgotten all about those animals^ I remember when McCoys released them and thinking who the heck's gunna buy those...? they wasn't cheap if i remember

I don't mean that to come across as disparaging, i like their pointlessness..

Similar over-engineering, here's my 25yr old fly-swat with some dudes face in the swatty bit...

Ive no idea!?

[Maynard Friedman]

Is that the Buzz Rickson swatter or the Real McFly?

[AnOldFolkSong]

Just a beautiful little treat, my first shinki leather/toys mccoy piece.

They are sort of pointless, in the way stuffed animals usually are; sort of just guards my dresser.

Originally planned to be a toy for my dog, Ivy, but she didn't take to it the way she did the carhartt bed i got her.

I figured it would fit the theme of the thread as it is a "nice thing."

[Double 0 Soul]

Absolutely!

Most 'nice things' are pretty pointless and could be replaced with cheaper equally... and in some cases more functional objects but thats not the spirit of the thread

[smoothsailor]

Navy chair. I think they are remakes .

I see them all the time on television shows in interagation rooms.

just looked into them, to find some history.

they were originally made in 1944 for submarines. They,re still made the same way.

also saw the price sky rocketed since I bought mine 11 yrs ago

Edited March 13, 2021 by smoothsailor

[Dr_Heech]

@smoothsailor that is a really nice thing. Dont ever get rid of. A keepsake to be handed down to your son.

[smoothsailor]

Thanks Charlie, had a conversation recently with my boy, that he will get everything I own when I pass away. I saw his brain going thru all my stuff. Then he said , not until after 50 yrs

[Dr_Heech]

Haha. By that time all your denim will be trashed but that chair will be still standing.

[julian-wolf]

All of the science that I do happens inside of a stainless steel vacuum chamber. There are a few windows on the chamber, but never as many as we'd like there to be—and, as such, the areas around them are always crowded with lenses and mirrors in order to fit all the different sorts of light in and out that we can. Because of this, in the 3+ years that I've been working on this experiment, I've never really gotten a great view into the science chamber. As a matter of fact, it's been so long since the mirrors and lenses started getting added that the person from whom I inherited the whole thing, in his 7+ years working on the experiment, never got got to see directly inside the chamber either—at least not from any good angles.

Right now, after a series of mishaps, we're in the process of pumping out our chamber. A very small amount of water got into it and stuck to the walls, and this is reacting with the rubidium that we use to do science and creating hydrogen, which doesn't stick to the walls, and which causes trouble bouncing around. To get rid of the water, we need to wrap the chamber up in heater tape and fiberglass and aluminum foil and heat the whole thing up pretty hot while it's connected to a series of pumps; to wrap the chamber appropriately, we need to remove all of the surrounding optics.

For the first time in almost a decade, it's possible to get a good view into the science chamber. For me, this is a Very Nice Thing.

Edited March 23, 2021 by julian-wolf

[fre-co]

Cool!

[JDelage]

Very cool!

[julian-wolf]

12 hours ago, fre-co said:

Cool!

5 hours ago, JDelage said:

Very cool!

Yes, just around a microkelvin when everything’s working properly…

[MJF9]

Ercol 1950s-60s compact desk which I bought for my wife a few years back

Always good to buy a loved one a present that you really want yourself anyway – winner winner 

Only 69cm wide so fits an alcove nicely

Made of beech and elm – lovely grained wood

Comprises

• Base unit with single drawer (Model 437)
• Top section with two small drawers (Model 439)
• Low back chair (Model 414)

The desk could do with a gentle refurb as it looks like the previous owner might have been playing with wood stain and the handle needs repairing - otherwise solid condition

It was largely ornamental before the pandemic – home schooling meant my little lad has been using it

And top marks to the little fella - no chewing gum under the seat or initials carved and filled with ink!!!  Thereby avoiding 1,000 lines and detention

[Double 0 Soul]

That's a beauty @MJF9 the boy should be encouraged to carve his initials, if you check the prices of the old flip up school desks, with the ink well at the back, the ones with 'old graffiti' command a much higher price than pristine versions..

[smoothsailor]

 Nice combo MJF9.

was lucky enough to find two secretaries seperatly within a few weeks.

I tattooed a guy for one and stumbled acros the other one a bit later. They function as a work station in my shop .

they are 60,s danish. 
 

[MJF9]

Thanks gents

@Double 0 Soul love them old school desks... similarly I had my eye on a 2m ish bench where the back can be flipped to form the desk top... presumably old church school use.  Was thinking of having this as a garden bench but the price felt a bit OTT so I paused on that

@smoothsailor excellent find there - looks great - the style is really nice. I like the little storage drawers and the fact that you can pull down the shutter and leave it looking tidy when finished using it.  Before I found the Ercol desk, I'd been looking for a bureau / secretary style desk but couldn't find in the small width we needed

[Double 0 Soul]

31 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

Thanks gents

@Double 0 Soul love them old school desks... similarly I had my eye on a 2m ish bench where the back can be flipped to form the desk top... presumably old church school use.  Was thinking of having this as a garden bench but the price felt a bit OTT so I paused on that

A lot of timbers don't fair very well outdoors, especially in the UK so you might have only got a year or two out of it.. old flip tram seats are worth looking at for garden furniture, you can buy a battered one for peanuts and replace the seat and back rest with cedar, teak or something you can leave outside then you can have it any length you like.

One of my friends was teaching art at Harrow a few years ago (on a stand in basis) he said there's a room, maybe a cloakroom i can't quite remember where the kids have been carving their names into the benches/desks for generations, being Harrow, a lot of these became tory scum of the future.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Double 0 Soul

[bod]

3 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

That's a beauty @MJF9 the boy should be encouraged to carve his initials, if you check the prices of the old flip up school desks, with the ink well at the back, the ones with 'old graffiti' command a much higher price than pristine versions..

.. and even higher for the ones with their lids permanently stuck down with chewing gum

[julian-wolf]

I cook a lot, mostly in three or four pots & pans (and mostly with just the one 6" knife, not pictured)

 

10" cast iron, no markings, not sure where I got it (Maybe inherited from a previous partner's mom? Maybe found at a thrift store…), re-seasoned every few years but mostly just washed with soap & water then dried and wiped down with light oil after use

 

13" rough-coated cast iron, Staub, go-to for roasting just about anything

 

18 cm copper saucier, Falk, great for any cream sauces, or just for simple things like scalding milk

 

5 qt. rough-coated cast iron cocotte, Staub, great for soups or as a Dutch oven, and the lid has a grille on it that's good for steaming (see gefilte fish)

 

10" carbon steel crepe pan, unknown make, also great for omelettes, and for pressing tortillas

 

Bonus!

Cast iron meat grinder, Simmons Keen Cutter, well-used & well-loved (actually my parents', currently on loan)