Anyone engrave their tools?

[mkdive]

Most all of my tools / equipment are engraved or marked in some way.
I use an electric transformer type etcher that does a really nice job compared to other methods.

Its easy to use, it does cause the tool being engraved and the etcher handle to heat up quite a bit and after a while. I have to let it cool down as it gets too hot to handle.

Only issue is the part to be engraved has to be metal.

It's like a very small arc welder, it can produce a very fine or thick line depending on the current setting.
Finished product looks better than the jitterbug type engravers.

Tom

Can you post some pictures of your tools with that type of etching/engraving?

 

[wreckercologist]

I'm a tool collector, but I collect tools to use, so I don't care about messing them up with stamping or engraving...........I don't plan on selling. What tools I do buy to resell, I don't mark. Besides, they get beat up anyway if you use them everyday. I've got Snappy wrenches that have the chrome worn through ( and yes Merk, I marked them with a stamp!!).

Some of my tools were my fathers and he marked everything. Everyday at work when I open a drawer on my toolbox I am reminded of him and what I learned from him. That was tough the first few weeks after he died, but now six years later, I am proud to continue beating on 45-50 years old tools.

Maybe someday I will have a son that feels the same way.

Different strokes for different folks. I tell the guys at work, don't come cryin' on my shoulder when you think so-and-so took your unmarked tools. Mine are marked for a reason!

 

[crewchief888]

a lot of my old SK's are marked, most of the tools that ive bought in the last 20 years arent, with the exception of my air tools, i started stamping them with my name and purchase date, just to see how long they were lasting.

the last 3 or 4 years i've simply been marking drills,grinders, chop saw, ect with the month/year i bought them. again just to see how long they last, versus the old tools that they replaced.

 

[Teken]

I could never come to terms of marking my tools to be honest. I just lock them up when I am away from the tool chest.

 

[Vinko]

Day two, a "new guy" walks up to me, and is wearing a nice, almost new pair of gloves, deerskin, and in black sharpie, in large letters are my first name, and the initial for my last name "Bill N.". I politely ask for my gloves back, I get the "no speak engle", followed by a go *** yourself smile.

I don't even want to get started on this subject. Been there and I've got too much to say

 

[banditbigdog]

Here is a photo of my 3/4" drive armstrong ratchet.

The first 1500 watt engraver in GregN's link is the one I have.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I hope you got your gloves back, did you?

No, I mentioned it to the new owners, and they gave me the "why are you wasting my time?" look. So I pretty much decided then and there that I would collect my check on Friday, and give my notice at the same time. It was not place for me anymore. The new owners where in love with their "cheap" labor, and I was being paid well from the previous owner, so I knew my days where probably numbered and I did them the service of taking myself out, and them not having to do it.

10 years later, their business is booming and of no surprise, they cater to the non-english speaking customers, who also turn out to be not quite the sharpest shoppers either, as in you can sell them inferior product at a higher price, and make lots mo-money. And being that these guys where motivated by greed, I guess its a match made in heaven ?

It all worked out, in a random chain of events, I changed careers at that point more than tripled my income in a couple years time.

Oh, and the gloves, I didnt get them back, but I did get even, and Im still getting even,,,.... 10 years later. Those gloves cost that "house" allot of money, they dont know it, but I do! (it wasnt just the gloves, there are a couple of other incidents before I left)

 

[DanCo]

I will not engrave any of my tools, I know my stuff by the wear marks on them. It came up at a service meeting last year, people going into eachother's boxes and using tools without permission. I was the first one to say in front of the boss and crew that if I catch anyone in my box "I will cut off their hands and keep them". But just for sh!ts and giggles I use a scribe and some AC dye, to initial my higher end tools. Good thing that I've not had to break out the UV light.

 

[Paladin]

Most of my tools have a small "SV" in a not-to-noticeable place on the tool... Will it keep my tools from being stolen? No, but there is a slim chance that it will help in the recovery of them, and that makes me feel better...

 

[408Chevelle]

I know I'm bringing this thread back from the dead, but I'm curious what others think about tool engraving.

I don't make a living with my tools, but I still mark them. I have a lot of my great-grandfathers tools that he used working for the railroad from the 20s-60s. He marked his and I always think of him when I use his tools. I've even adopted his symbol (An arrow through his initials, WHB) using my initials. Maybe one day my future grandkids will use my tools and so on...

 

[mtkst19]

only reason i can give you not to engrave them is by engraving your tools, you can never walk off w/ other guys sockets to replace the ones you are missing

In my personal home garage, i have 4 friends who work in my garage with me. everyone has craftsman sockets. even my home box is a mix of craftsman sockets and miscellanous tool brand sockets. Do you see where this can be a problem unless your box is under lock and key.

From my experience, the only things that dont go missing is the name brand stuff. As i know my friends dont own snap-on or mac etc stuff. so it is easy to get it back if they borrow it and forget to put it away. yet sockets-- thats a free for all. thankfully c-man stuff is cheap and readily available. besides, i have 4 other boxes to raid to find the missing sockets if i cant find it there, then i buy it.

 

[Case]

i engrave the last 4 digits of my SSC and usually put a dot with a yellow paint stick...

 

[GTVi]

I don't engrave, but I wrap some part of the tool with a bright colored electrical tape...that's so that my tools don't mix with any one else s when its time to pack them up. Its not a security thing but rather gives me a quick way to identify them.

 

[polo2k]

What aboit micro dos that people use on mountain biles and the like?

 

[comedyman809]

i have my last name on most of my tools.

but lately,i havnt been engraving.

well, the guy in my shop or the machine operators all have tools that cannot be confused with mine.

i have the facom ergotwist screwdriver set. its has the funky looking red/black handles.

in 2006 after owning them for about 2 weeks, a slotted screwdriver dissapeared and i cannot find it.

well in, 2008, i was over at a machine, and the operator was fiddling with his controls, sure as ****, i noticed he was using my screwdriver.

no markings on it, but who needs them. there is no way he could of purchased this screwdriver from the local hardware store. so i walked up to him and demanded my screwdriver back, and he said that one of the manager gave it to him to use for his machine 2 years ago.

well, it is back where it belongs now. he had no arguement when he saw that i had a full set with one empty space and gee, that screwdriver just happen to fit perfectly into its slot.

 

[Greg-nwo]

All of my tools are in my garage and no one else even comes near them that might decide to take them and not return so I don't engrave my tools and I hope I never have to.

 

[Bolster]

When I was young, and immortal, I engraved my tools, because life was sooo long and there would be an endless amount of time in which I might lose my tools.

Now that I'm mid-life, and mortal, I no longer engrave my tools...knowing full well that some other guy will want to use them in a what will turn out to be a surprisingly short time.

 

[Skyline]

Since I don't work in a shop, I have no need to engrave my tools. I have no worries about identifying my tools in the event of a theft from my house...that's what I have insurance for....if I get them back, great, if not...so be it.

 

[comedyman809]

i wish i could engrave my engraver with my engraver!!

 

[leftyz]

I have never engraved any of my own tools.. Now, I've bought some tools which were engraved. I keep thinking someone is going to think I stole them! lol

 

[londonsteve]

I use a fine tip soldering iron to burn my post/zip code into my power tools that go on site and amazingly emough I had the police bring around a Hilti drill that had been stolen 2 years previously.

 

[turrican]

I used to work in a shop with high turnover, where there were a few stories of things finding their way into others' boxes, so many of my older tools are marked. Now I'm in a more shall we say "safe" shop, so I haven't really marked my newer stuff (though probably will at some point, for consistency).

I do first initial, last name, and try to do the same place on other tools of the same type - I call them my "signature series"

I don't sell tools, so I won't be around to see what their new owner thinks about it

 

[toolfreak]

I don't engrave my tools, imo, I think they offer very little help in recovering them if stolen. I worked with a guy last summer that had engraved his full social security # in all of his tools, when I asked why, he said he did it before the whole identity theft was happening.

 

[Eric Commarato]

Probably a theft deterrant, but I don't like buying used stuff with someone's name or initial. Seems like it would decrease the item's resale value.

 

[JohnFreeman]

I did a number of mine 30 yrs ago with... my SSAN.

OOPS!

The good news is, I've never lost them!

 

[reinhardt]

i work in the shipyard. if the yard birds dont steal it, the navy will. i engrave mine w/ first and last initial. doesnt stop theft, but definately stops co workers from claiming mine as theirs when theirs gets stolen.

i dont bother engraving my tools at home tho.

i dont buy engraved tools either typically.

 

[wrench]

Yes, I engrave my initials on all tools that it is physically possible to do so. I buy tools to use,not to re-sell. It can save a lot of "confusion" when they get mixed up with other tech's tools.

 

[webscrounger]

I understand the need to identify your stuff when working with others. I prefer not to permanently mark them but when I worked at a cycle shop doing ground-up bike builds in the 60's and 70's I always engraved initials on them. Tools seemed to go missing regularly. Now, I still have all of them and I kinda wish I had not engraved them. Not a mechanic now and prefer my tools (and everything else) unmarked. Just my preference.

 

[Indy_500]

It takes a lot of work to engrave over 250 sockets, that's why i have 2 engravers :d (they're both made in usa engravers too ) they get very hot after some use so i have 2 to use.

I engrave just about every socket and wrench. I know i won't be selling my tools and if i did, i could care less if i got a few less dollars for them because they were engraved.

 

[Red Green]

I understand the need to identify your stuff when working with others. I prefer not to permanently mark them but when I worked at a cycle shop doing ground-up bike builds in the 60's and 70's I always engraved initials on them. Tools seemed to go missing regularly. Now, I still have all of them and I kinda wish I had not engraved them. Not a mechanic now and prefer my tools (and everything else) unmarked. Just my preference.

If you hadn't engraved them you might not have as many of them now

 

[GTVi]

IMHO if I had to buy a second hand tool of good quality, and if it had an engraving on it, it would not bother me...I'd still pay what its worth...after all the tool still works the same way. At the end of the day its a tool that does the job, not a piece of jewelry to hang around your neck.

 

[2drx4]

I keep meaning to do my work tools. Most of the guys in the hangar are awesome, and would never steal a thing from another guy. However, lots of them borrow stuff without asking, which I don't mind as long as they put it back exactly where they got it and it is clean/unbroken. Most of the guys who do that are fine about it, but there is a couple guys that I feel like curb-stomping every time I have to go ask them if they might have borrowed something from me...

 

[JASTECH]

I use to engrave my SSN# on my tools, and my step-van was broken into with SO rollaway and chest mounted in it as I was a mobile mech at one time. The tools were located on the passenger side of a p-truck. The Sherif dept. called me do to the alarm going off and they ran the plates for the owner. So the peep was caught hiding in the bushes at a car wash. Employees at McDonalds heard the alarm and seen him run towards all the city loghts, lol
I will still engrave Dr.Lic. and thought about something detected by uv light?

Thanks, JASTECH

 

[doctorschmullus]

just initial your name- unfortunately my initials had to be j.m so I always got confused with all the other workers, james muggleton, johnny mclain etc, make sure other workers dont have the same initials

 

[caper]

Having been cleaned out by a break in in a shop one time I found out the importance of having some way of identifying your tools.The police recovered my stuff and other peoples when they busted a crack house a few months later.Convincing the police that the tools I saw on the front page of the paper were mine took some doing since nothing was marked even though it was all listed as stolen in the police report of the break in.Ever since things get marked.Not going through that argument again with a cop who figures he's going to take my tools home since they can't be identified.

 

[dgarage]

The reason not to use your DL # is that with it someone can get your name and addy. With those 3 your credit report can be gotten. With that your SSN is on it. NOW, someone can apply for credit in your name.

 

[2drx4]

The reason not to use your DL # is that with it someone can get your name and addy. With those 3 your credit report can be gotten. With that your SSN is on it. NOW, someone can apply for credit in your name.

If that is true, the USA seriously needs to overhaul regulations involving personal information and application for credit...

Seriously, I wouldn't post my CND driver license number on an open forum, but it's worth NOTHING to somebody trying to steal my identity (by itself, at least).

 

[TAftw]

I just got a Kershaw Leek (pics are coming, calm down) for my EDC and I'm going to have a machinist engrave my name into the handle. I don't ever intend on parting with it.

 

[newchris]

when i use my tools they get dirty so im not too concerned with their look, i engrave them, i engrave a backwards 7 on my tools because my last name backwards spells 7 =P

 

[dgarage]

If that is true, the USA seriously needs to overhaul regulations involving personal information and application for credit...

Seriously, I wouldn't post my CND driver license number on an open forum, but it's worth NOTHING to somebody trying to steal my identity (by itself, at least).

No chance of that happening, my country is run by thieves who profit from the status quo.