Found in Desk Drawer

[ranwhenparked]

About a month ago, I started a new job as the only person in what used to be a 4-person department (and didn't have one for a lengthy period of time). The office I'm working out of had been empty since about 2018, and is full of detritus left behind through various downsizings and reshufflings.

One of the nicer things I've found so far is this letter opener, from what was the local Diamond T truck dealership

It's made in Italy, and seems to be decent quality for what was a free giveaway item

Not sure on age, but Diamond T stopped existing in 1967, when it became Diamond REO

Also found this, doesn't seem to be as functional

[Bandit]

@ranwhenparked I’ve gotten some awesome stuff over the years from abandoned work desks. By far the best was this 1990s GMC Motorsport windbreaker that was new-in-bag. It’s so 90s!

[ibRAD]

@bandit Do you reserve that for special occasions, like cruise-in nights?

[Shop-Teacher]

@ranwhenparked That letter opener is sweet!

[ranwhenparked]

@bandit That is awesome, I could see using that

[Shop-Teacher]

@bandit You should wear that to a Radfest!

[Bandit]

@ibrad Cruise nights? Hell no, date nights. Nothing gets dates going more than telling them about the history of GMC Cyclones.

[Chariotoflove]

@ranwhenparked
From an age when swag was of a higher class.

Sometimes you strike gold with the castoffs. When I came to this department in 2007, they had a closet full of old equipment and lab ware that was unclaimed. I had my pick. I picked up thousands of dollars worth of glassware, incubators, shaker baths, centrifuges, a fridge and a freezer. It was the science nerd version of braking into a Gringott's vault.

[sn4cktimes]

@chariotoflove I’d really like to come across a bench top power supply for testing stuff at work.

[Chariotoflove]

@sn4cktimes
I've got a bunch of those, most in inventory (so they are tracked), but one or two possibly not (essentially invisible). But these are for gel electrophoresis. I don't know if they would fit your application.

[sn4cktimes]

@chariotoflove I need one or a set for 460-80V, 208V, 220-240V, 110-120V, 12-24V, and some of those with pretty high amperages. Just don’t know if that’s even a thing. The 460V needs to be 3 phase.

Would be useful for testing motors and contactors, maybe a rectifier.