# What branded product has remained unchanged for the longest time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373 "2022-01-07T14:31:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/61 "2022-01-08T16:56:31Z")
If you say Faber-Castell, you must say [Caran D’Ache](https://www.gerstaecker.de/caran-d-ache-schulbleistift-edelweiss.html) too. Since [1915](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caran_d%27Ache_(company)). The company is so old and relevant that pencil in Russian _is_ karandasch ([Каранда́ш](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%88)). And [Staedler](https://www.gerstaecker.de/staedtler-noris-eco-180-30.html). Since [1834](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staedtler)! Or, as the English Wiki writes: > The company was founded by Johann Sebastian Staedtler in 1835 as a pencil factory, first established in [Nuremberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg), but the roots of the company go back to 1662, when references to Friedrich Staedtler as a pencil-making craftsman were made in the city annals. Staedtler received permission from the municipal council to produce [black lead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite), [red chalk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanguine) and [pastel pencils](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel) in his industrial plant. In 1866, the company had 54 employees and produced 15,000 gross (2,160,000 pencils) per year. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/62 "2022-01-08T16:58:34Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > The talk about various biros and pencils makes me wonder about more rudimentary writing/art supplies like ink and pigments. E.g., I believe I bought some “Hu Kaiwen” brand ink once; a quick search says the company opened in 1765, but I understand that it is not related to the current one using that name? But if “Li ink” or “Hui ink” is a brand name and not merely generic then it goes back to at least the Tang dynasty. Similarly, there is “Whatman paper” since around the 1760s, or at least there used to be until 1960 or so. Similar paper is still being made, though, aka wove paper. Also Amalfi paper has been made in Fabriano since at least 1264 (according to their web site). ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/63 "2022-01-08T17:17:45Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Bergara family has been making makhilas since sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s. A makhila is a walking stick with an optional pointy end. Very nice. Although, despite their claim they are never resold, I found three for sale on Ebay. ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/64 "2022-01-08T20:16:54Z")
> **[Opinel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinel?wprov=sfla1)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Opinel company has manufactured and marketed a line of eponymous wooden-handled knives since 1890 from its headquarters in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, France where the family-run company also operates a museum dedicated to its knives. The company sells approximately 15 million knives annually. Opinel knives are made of both high carbon and stainless steel, the latter being Sandvik steel from Sweden. > Originally sold as a working man's kni... Basically the same since the 1890s. As is this gem: > **[Higonokami](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higonokami?wprov=sfla1)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > A higonokami (肥後守) is a type of folding pocket knife originating in Miki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan in 1896. The knife has no locking system, but is a friction folder or "penny knife", using the friction of the swivel or the pressure of the user's thumb on its iconic lever or chikiri, to prevent the knife from folding during use. The handle of the Higonokami is made of a folded over sheet of metal. The handle is stamped with the name of the maker o... ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/65 "2022-01-08T21:05:51Z")
I don’t think the higher-wattage soldering irons made by [American Beauty](https://americanbeautytools.com/Soldering-Irons) have changed in over 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/66 "2022-01-08T21:37:36Z")
Ernest Wright has been making kick-ass scissors since 1902. > **[Ernest Wright | Handmade scissors since 1902 Sheffield England](https://www.ernestwright.co.uk)** > > Each pair of Ernest Wright scissors and shears reflects over a century of knowledge, passion and character. Bought once, they’ll love you forever. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/67 "2022-01-08T21:38:41Z")
I get the impression that people are just naming old companies, without _any_ evidence that the products themselves remain unchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/68 "2022-01-08T21:43:24Z")
The makhilas that the Bergara family make are pretty much all custom jobs AIUI so it could certainly be argued that they don’t make the same product now as they did even last month. Ernest Wright has been making the same scissors the same way since 1902. ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/69 "2022-01-08T21:51:55Z")
Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys have been relatively unchanged for over 100 years. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/70 "2022-01-09T00:10:09Z")
Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Tonic has the same recipe since 1868. They’ve added a diet version, but have not changed the original. > **[Cel-Ray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel-Ray)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Cel-Ray is a celery-flavored soft drink from Dr Brown's. It is fairly easy to find in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and in South Florida, but rather obscure elsewhere. > Dr. Brown's sodas are kosher, are often sold in Jewish delicatessens and restaurants, and can also be found in specialty grocers and grocery stores that specialize in American food in Israel. The flavor, derived from celery seed extract, is reminiscent of ginger ale but w... ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/71 "2022-01-09T04:14:49Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Tonic has the same recipe since 1868. They’ve added a diet version, but have not changed the original. They discontinued Diet Cel-Ray many years ago. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/72 "2022-01-09T13:40:23Z")
My dad and his friends used to use Necco wafers for .22 target practices. They ‘powder’ like a skeet does with a shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/73 "2022-01-09T15:57:51Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > What I find remarkable is that since 1899, the standard dose of 500mg hasn’t changed. At least it’s still the same here in the country of origin of Aspirin/Bayer. Odd. Here in the US, 350mg is the standard tablet size with two being the usual dosage. 500 mg is touted as “extra strength.” Do Germans pop theirs one or two at a time? ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/74 "2022-01-09T16:18:36Z")
In Holland 500 mg is the standard dosage, you’re allowed to pop two at a time. I wouldn’t, though. Aspirin is quite dangerous when it comes to risk of GI bleeding, at least compared to paracetamol. Newer NSAIDs carry a comparable risk. For a simple headache I wouldn’t take it. (end of hijack, but the over-the-counter availability of NSAIDs is a pet peeve of mine. There are dozens of elderly people admitted to hospitals every year with gastrointestinal bleeding and/or nasty haemorrhages after falling due to otc NSAIDs) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/75 "2022-01-09T16:23:37Z")
There have been some changes. I restored a number of these many years ago. The attach point for the handle now has a plastic ball type thing to prevent fingers from getting pinched. The top of the wagon has a more molded shape, the older wagons had a rolled top. I believe they are made with thinner metal now. The wagons I restored were heavier than new wagons. And the logos have changed over the years too. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/76 "2022-01-09T16:25:26Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Odd. Here in the US, 350mg is the standard tablet size with two being the usual dosage. 500 mg is touted as “extra strength.” Do Germans pop theirs one or two at a time? Was the 350 mg tablet a real Aspirin™, though, or a generic version? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/77 "2022-01-09T16:53:09Z")
This definitely does _ **not** _ get the OP’s award. But I still think it deserves recognition. Technology changes so rapidly that anything made with electronics is pretty much obsolete within 10 years. Manufacturers of anything containing electronics will quickly update their designs, else the competition will eat them up. There’s a peculiar anomaly in this, though: the **Hewlett Packard 3458A digital multimeter**. It was first introduced in 1988. Since then, HP turned into Agilent, and then Agilent turned into Keysight. None of the stuff that was made in the 1980s and 1990s is still offered today, **with the exception of this meter**. You can still buy the same meter, brand new, from Keysight. (I should probably say it’s “essentially” the same; they may have changed a few components here and there inside the unit due to obsolescence issues.) Why? Not sure. But I’ve heard the design is “so good” that it can’t be improved upon. One thing for sure is that the meter has developed a bit of a cult following since its introduction. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/78 "2022-01-09T17:02:40Z")
Probably _Eagle Condensed Milk._[It was invented in 1856.](https://www.eaglebrand.com/history)Cans of the stuff we issued by the Union Army in the American Civil War. Oddly enough, it is pasteurized, but Borden did it before Pasteur, Borden did not have a clear idea of what he was doing. . ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/79 "2022-01-09T17:45:46Z")
The current company making Moleskine notebooks is only from 1997, but the original that it is based on is from much, much earlier and essentially unchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373/80 "2022-01-09T17:49:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I get the impression that people are just naming old companies, without _any_ evidence that the products themselves remain unchanged. Yeah - it is weird the extent that people are doing that. I thought the intent was clear as to a desire to discuss specific products and/or their packaging that have remained as near as possible to unchanged for the longest time. With some items - such as my offered Bic pen or the Stanley tools, there might be a debate as to whether there were changes that would be apparent to an afficiando, but not a more casual viewer/user. But simply saying (to chose one among many examples) Stella Artois is a really old company says nothing about how long the current formulation or packaging has remained unchanged. I find interesting the subset of products - such as 20 Mule Team Borax - which intentionally use old-appearing packaging/labels. With some products - I’m thinking Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker - it can be a bit of a shock to see the decades old package you grew up with being updated, Tho I can appreciate the multiple reasons for doing so. I also find it curious when - on shows like American Pickers - they point out very fine points which distinguish products as being of different vintages. Thanks for contributing to an interesting thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-branded-product-has-remained-unchanged-for-the-longest-time/957373.md?page=5)