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What makes something an heirloom?

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Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#61

Post by lacrimacida »

WalterBright wrote: post #10

My dad dug out of his B-17 navigator's desk a chunk of German flak that missed his head by about an inch. The only reason it missed him was because he had just turned to grab his flak jacket. It was his good luck charm for the rest of his life, and is a prized heirloom. It's about an inch and a half long, just right to carry in his pocket for his subsequent combat missions. Maybe an heirloom is an object that is simu…

This should be your hierloom as well, if your dad didn’t turn his head you wouldn’t exist today.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#62

Post by criddell »

water9 wrote: post #52

Beyond the physical value, an heirloom requires a multi-generational dedication to family because if your a bad parent and all your kids want nothing to do with you it doesn't matter how many valuable objects you posses.

I went through this with my parents (my dad has died my mom is still around). They were nothing but caring and loving with me, giving me everything I needed and most of the the things I wanted. I owe my long career as a programmer to my mom indulging me with a TI-99/4A back in 1982.

They both wanted me to go through their homes and make a note of all the things I wanted and I never have. Unlike them, I don't really feel sentimental about most physical items. If they left me something old or valuable, I wouldn't think twice about selling it or giving it away if it isn't something I want. It should go to someone who will actually love or use the thing for what it is, not sit in a storage locker.

I have two siblings and as of a year ago, they feel the same about it all. I'm pretty sure my kids feel about the same with respect to the things I own. I do have an expensive watch that I wear everyday and I know they will sell it and I'm okay with that.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#63

Post by swader999 »

pif wrote: post #56
swader999 wrote: post #53

I've got a prism that I gave to my daughter when she was three or four. I made two round wooden discs for each end so she could position it just so on her window and put a rainbow in her room. The kid never got one mark wrong her last year in grade nine. She won every science fair too. I have a giant 40 pound ball of elastics she made. It was an extended dad joke as she asked me if I could get her some elastics one d…

> With her gone now... Oh, I'm so sorry... In the last few years, I've lost my sister and my mom, and very recently my dad. We all miss him so much, it hasn't been a week yet; nevertheless, I can't be too sorry that he left, because he has stopped feeling the constant pain of the missing daughter and the departed adored wife. Losing one's parent is painful, but losing one's children is so unnatural that nobody should…

Yeah you miss them everyday. I get glimpses of her from the edge of falling into the dream state sometimes and she's glowing, radiant, calm and confident. She even hugged me one time. That gives me some peace. There's still pain and when I'm good with it, it motivates me to try harder, love more. Letting it fester and run around in my mind leads to true suffering so you got to turn that off and push through it.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#64

Post by Aloha »

ginko wrote: post #60
buildbot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ektar is awesome film. E100 Slide film is fun too!

I'd recommend shooting slide film with the F4 though, since that one has a matrix meter and slide film is quite finicky if you don't get the exposure right.

Yeah, I was not suggesting slide film because its hard for a beginner to make look nice.

Ektar is.. wonderfully forgiving to under or over exposure, it'll look pretty in either case.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#65

Post by Aloha »

buildbot wrote: post #32
Aloha wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you can, or feel up to it, try some Kodak Ektar. You'll like it, its much less grainy than the Portra with better color registration.

Ektar is awesome film. E100 Slide film is fun too!

Other than what I noted in a parallel comment, any E6 Slide film is frighteningly expensive to process compared to C41 negative film.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#66

Post by WillAdams »

An object becomes an heirloom when its significance of existence and the story which that tells becomes more important than its functional use.

My father received of his aunt, one of the last relics of his mother's grandfather, the family patriarch, a stoneware milk jug. He then gifted it to my daughter, and it's been kept safe, awaiting her getting a home of her own for it to be placed in.

I also have my grandfather's cast-iron reel mower, which I replaced the handle and roller on --- still works fine, and does a good job of cutting the grass, but I use a more modern Fiskars out of concern of the possibility of breaking a part which can't be readily repaired/replaced.

That said, I'm never forgiving my father for selling his father's anvil.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#67

Post by buildbot »

Aloha wrote: post #65
buildbot wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ektar is awesome film. E100 Slide film is fun too!

Other than what I noted in a parallel comment, any E6 Slide film is frighteningly expensive to process compared to C41 negative film.

Very true, and something to be aware of.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#68

Post by buildbot »

Aloha wrote: post #64
ginko wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd recommend shooting slide film with the F4 though, since that one has a matrix meter and slide film is quite finicky if you don't get the exposure right.

Yeah, I was not suggesting slide film because its hard for a beginner to make look nice. Ektar is.. wonderfully forgiving to under or over exposure, it'll look pretty in either case.

Not that hard with a Nikon F4 in my opinion! But certainly way less forgiving than Ektar.

Re: What makes something an heirloom?

#69

Post by WillAdams »

matthewfcarlson wrote: post #14

For someone who wants to create heirlooms today, how would you go about it? Something sturdy and well made, but not so valuable that it’s tucked away into a box (like the Rolex in the article). The watch that I rock today (a smart watch) is well made but I don’t see it being useful in 50 years much less 20.

Some things I've made, or am working on which I hope will become heirlooms:

- an Ascham (archery case) for a Bear Custom Kodiak Takedown bow: https://www.lumberjocks.com/showcase/archery-case-ascham-of-...

- a reproduction of Thos. Jefferson's Lap Desk in bamboo

- a collection of woodworking and machinist tools which I need to make a nicer case for, probably one modeled on the H.O. Studley tool cabinet, though I've been debating making a nice set of drawings from the typo-ridden book and making a replica of that

- the Spellbinder deck box which has my first Magic: The Gathering deck in it, which includes a play set of Tropical Islands

- a collection of books on type and typesetting which includes some of the more interesting books I did the composition on, or assisted with in some way which warranted my being mentioned

- a collection of fantasy and science fiction books, including pretty much everything J.R.R. Tolkien wrote: https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienbooks/comments/sfi4qp/over_4... (his translation of the Exodus poem really, really needs to be reprinted, ideally w/ a lengthy scholarly examination) as well as pretty much everything Michael Moorcock wrote in paperback, as well as some other authors, either in hardcover or paperback.

and as mentioned else thread, there are a couple of more traditional heirlooms I have of my forebears (milk jug, lawnmower, my father's Seiko which unfortunately has a broken date wheel and is too large for my wrist/taste anyway), and one which I don't have which I still rage about (anvil).

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