How do you mark tools to identify they're yours?

[dtuned]

How does everyone mark their tools? My hand engraving skills are less than adequate.

 

[bcradio]

I have only used a paint pen and sharpie for mine. I don't mark my hand tools, only my power tools.

 

[77thor]

I use yellow spray paint or yellow tape on the handles...
Many of the guys that I work with on Habitat projects do the same with different colors.

 

[pooterguy]

I don't mark them. I booby trap them.

 

[Houdini5150]

I dont mark mine.. I just keep them separated and in a bag when I leave the house with them. FIL has his own stuff but my tools are newer as I just started my collection in the past 2 years.

 

[bbrins]

I just write my name or initials on most things with a Sharpie or paint marker, sometimes I'll get a bit more sophisticated and use a label maker, other times I don't bother. Considering where I work, and the fact that I am the only person that uses tools, if I leave a tool laying out somewhere inside one of the buildings, I pretty well have a 100% chance of getting my stuff back. Outside of the buildings, where the public has access, is a crapshoot, marked or not. If something is really, really important to me, I'll some times get out my engraving pencil.

 

[Old tool guy]

if I leave a tool laying out somewhere inside one of the buildings, I pretty well have a 100% chance of getting my stuff back.

Wait til you get a little older, tools tend to hide themselves.

 

[bbrins]

Already started down that path. Earlier today, I was looking for my good hand truck, the one I don't loan out, so I'm the only one I can blame if it winds up missing, I must have walked by it a half of a dozen times, just glad no one was watching.

 

[ecotec]

I don’t really mark my tools, but I want to try etching with a 9v battery.

I would not want to do it to truck brands or industrial brands, but I would have no problem etching Craftsman or Gearwrench level tools.

I have an electric engraver, but I would like the results to be better looking.

 

[nadogail]

Because I am presently working alone I don’t have a need to mark them, an engraver settles arguments when ownership is in dispute. A determined thief doesn’t worry about marked tools, they do lower the resale value.

 

[Kurt4440]

Well kids, back in the day, it was recommended and widely practiced to engrave your social security number right into your valuables. Clearly we don't do that anymore.
Paint pens and permanent marker wipes off with a little carburetor cleaner. So that leaves us: engraving your name, high tech trackers, and intimidating friends, neighbors and coworkers to keep their filthy paws off of your tools.

 

[Rusted Nut]

My carpentry tools that go to the job site get painted purple, and are engraved. My mechanic tools stay home and are just engraved.

 

[Al Borland]

Don't bring the good tools to work, just the "Tools for Fools" box.
If I have my tools out, they are on a tight leash.

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

My Dad stamped his initials on most of his wrenches and hand tools when he was doing factory work years ago. (These days he has more tools that aren’t initialed.) I’d do the same if I had a set of letter stamps, as it’s going to be hard to tell which tools are mine and which are his when I pack them up to move into my own shop...

 

[Clutchsmoke]

I engrave the metal tools with a Dremel and an engraving bit. Plastic tools like impact drivers and batteries get ingraved with a engraving tool and the plastic filled in with white paint. My son will get my tools and we have the same name. I never plan on selling any of them.

 

[Kuma601]

I use an electro chemical etch machine with stencils made up. One of the guy's at the shop has a 50 watt fiber laser so laser marking stuff is easy so long as it fits the 12x12" table.

 

[rockettauto]

Same way you mark anything else. If I know head of time I'll be doing some marking I like to eat asparagus and have a few beers.

Ok really

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079DC4P56/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Lassen Forge]

When I was a kid I used to put 3 red dots in a triangle, but I found out (the hard way) it takes a scumball about 3 seconds with some steel wool to unmark those. Now on stuff I don't want to punch or engrave a very specific lime green paint marker, either filling all the numbers and letters on hand tools or inside all the edges of my plastic or power tools... Power/extension cords get 2 stripes of the same green duct tape. And usually instead of engraving, I use a set of 1/8 or 3/16 punches... much cleaner and harder to obliterate than an engraver.

I DO have both a vibropen engraver and a 6 volt (ancient) electric "arc" engraver (from my dad's stuff) but I get **** results from either.

 

[ecotec]

I was never able to get good results from an engraver.

 

[woody 73]

I pee on them, yes sir doesn't everybody mark their tools just like that; kind of like marking your own territory.

 

[mfnlonewolf]

I spray paint my tools with Kubota orange. Helps me find tools others have borrowed and never brought back. Also when working outside garage I can locate them fast. At work i used purple, and pink to to the ones that were forever losing their tools.

 

[Lassen Forge]

We color coded all our personal ground pounder tools... My truck tools when I started by default were orange, my bosses were white, my leadman's were forest green, our senior equipment operator's were yellow, the new chick on the crew was blue, the old head who had been here for 30 years was black... The tweaker at work was red, but when he got canned I stole that and changed ALL my tools over to red (someone else could have that *****ing orange) because all my home tools were red already.

When I became a supervisor I painted my truck tools white.

 

[CoogarXR]

When I was in school, it was required that we engrave our name on our tools. So all the tools I had back then are engraved. But that's about it.

I do IT and automation work now, usually as an independent contractor, so I am usually working alone. There's not much chance of my stuff mixing with somebody elses. That, and just about all tradespeople I know use tool buckets or bags with Klein or Craftsman stuff. Nobody rocks up to the job with a brown leather briefcase full of Xcelite like I do, lol.

 

[MovingAlong]

Used to spray paint a couple passes across my extension cords while they were coiled up. Made a mess but stood out pretty clearly when plugged into a temporary box with a half dozen others (new construction)..

If I still did real work in the field, all my tools would be spray painted in an absurdly ridiculous color. Tape leaves a residue that I don't care for and it's hard to see engraving. Yes - honest mistakes happen and some folks just pickup the wrong tools by accident..

 

[tarbellb]

I do a spray of unique color in hard to wipe areas- think inside the battery port, pockets, crevices, etc
Then I engrave in a very visible spot sometimes.

mark mostly for insurance purposes, go to pawn shop and say "look at that spray paint !"

 

[dchawk81]

My stuff comes labeled.

 

[LeeG]

When I worked in the trades, I used orange spray paint on all my tools. Now, when I do volunteer work, yellow phase tape is sufficient. I’m not looking to prevent theft, just honest mistakes and inattentive “borrowing”.

Lee

 

[seber]

Working around others where tools could get mixed, I used cheap paint like Krylon. It washes off easily when you bring it home. As Lee noted, nothing will prevent theft so permanent markings are of little use.

 

[GTO]

Paint Pen on my power tools.

 

[Robinson1]

I just use a sharpie. I’m not really worried about an actual thief. I’m just trying to keep my stuff separate from everyone else’s.

 

[xjfish]

I pee on them.

 

[Renegade1LI]

On larger sites it can be a pia to keep track of everything. 100 plus guys working makes it a challenge, I do a full repaint of the bigger tools, repaint all the pipe wrenches. The small stuff is part of doing business, labor is too expensive to have a guy looking for a socket. Unfortunately a certain amount of loss is acceptable on a big project. Having good workers is a big plus, great them right and less stuff disappears.

 

[humber2]

I work alone so no need to identify.

A pet peeve is 2nd hand tools marked with a price sticker that when removed at home reveal grinds or cuts from a PO.

YMMV

 

[Coach James]

I don't mark my tools. I tools I buy to keep in the tool box at our business, all get spray painted pink. I used pink because Lowes had a sale on pink spray paint the day I bought it.

Coach