[opyate]

My grandad had a tape measure which he regularly oiled and took very good care off.

On the flip side of that, today's tradesmen usually just leave their tape measures out in the rain and mud. Seen it twice now just in my own garden (garden office built in January, and home extensions now in July). Disposable culture!

[flipbrad]

Tape measures become inaccurate over time, especially if you let them snap shut, so holding onto them for too long may not be a great idea.

[coldtea]

If you're building a spaceship maybe.

For anything else it's trivial to check if there's any discrepancy, and for casual use it might not even matter.