How do you mark your tools?

[malibu101]

I work in a maintenance department with a close-knit group of guys. No one is trying to steal anyone elses tools. We get to jobs and don't mind sharing some tools in fact we want to see it get back to the right person. And sometimes there's a couple of guys working on the same machine and everybody has the same brand of tools in the same place and they kinda mingle together. When it's time to clean up it would be nice for someone to see some kind of ID and know who that tool belongs to.
One guy sprayed flourescent pink on his stuff. He is secure with his manhood and everyone knows his tools.
I'm not going that far, and although they are and always be my tools (and they are work tools not treasures) I just kinda don't like engraveing my name or intials on them.
Has anyone done something to their stuff to ID it as theirs without being blatently obvious? Somewhere between nothing and dunking your stuff in pink paint?
Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Burgerkong]

Some sort of tape around the handle? Zip Tie?

 

[atari]

I like the zip tie thing but i think that little knob would piss me off.

 

[mattsparky]

As an electrician, we mark our personal tools with a wrap of electrical tape. You can get whatever color suits your mood.

 

[moparmuscle88]

we used to file small notches on the handles or bottom of sockets middle of wrenches

one guy has one notch, another had 2 notches, the next 3 and so on. they were very discreet, hardly visible but enough to know whos was whos

 

[EZH]

Personally I hate engraving but I know a lot of people do it. I knew a guy once that as soon as he walked off the truck, he went straight to a bench grinder and made 4 small scratches to mark his property. Even if my stuff was engraved it wouldn't do any good. The guy that just bought my ratchet from a crackhead for $2.00 at the gas station doesn't give rip who "EZH" is.

Anyway, just to distinguish who's tools are who's, I think the colored tape is the way to go. 3m probably has a color you like.

Hope it helps.

Eric

 

[Kool Coe]

what about a dab of nail polish. Millions of colors, and you can touch up if it starts to wear off.

 

[oldwino]

always been secure in my manhood, but still, no PINK for me...a little shot from a rattle can to identify what's yours and no questions asked. If you move on to a different job/crew/company the rattle can sploth is easily removed and you can establish a new color if needed...Nothing you do can prevent the real crooks, but you can deter the "Honest thieves" Never had a problem with this system

 

[Scout Driver]

Grab a big pack of colored electrical tape, let everyone pick a color, and everyone gets to put a stripe on their tools. Another vote for tape.

Scott

 

[wreckercologist]

I mark my tools with urine! Nobody wants to borrow them!


I engrave chrome tools and stamp everything else with hanson letter stamps. While real theives wont care, when I ask one of my coworkers if they have something of mine AND they deny having it, they get to look like a jerk when I pull one of my marked tools out of their box in front of the boss and entire shop.

It also helps when, in my case, there are nearly 10 complete sets of the same brand and type of wrench in the shop.

 

[bad daddy]

I like what Sears has done with Craftsman; they'll laser etch your initials on the tools for you for a minimal cost.
Now if only Snap-On would offer that service...

I have been using Rescue Tape on certain tools. It is a self-amalgamating silicon tape.
Not sticky to the surface, but stilcks to itself. Heat resistant to 500F, and pressure to 800psi or something. Better than shrink tubing.

Also handy to carry in the boat, and in the truck. (9 bucks for a 12' roll of it.)
And it also makes nice banages, that dont stick to the skin; don't ask me how I know, I just know.

 

[mkdive]

There is a etching kit you can buy...its a multi step process. It comes out really nice. There was a thread about it a year or two ago. One member on here bought one of the setups and etched his tools. Came out looking really good. I liked that you could design your own logo, font etc. Was kind of pricey though.

 

[Teken]

I am considering doing the wire tie, along with the nail polish thing . . . There were a few sets of those high temp and glow in the dark plastic ties, along with the proper bright nail polish in a obscure place that would be ideal for me . . .

Can't tell you how many tools I have passed in the classifieds or on line sales because the tool was chizzled with someones name or branding . . . I have never seen it done properly or in a manner that did not take away from the tool . . .

Now the etching thing . . . Hrmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[yellowbox]

i don't mark mine but i like to idea of color tape i may start to do that

 

[DanCo]

A/C dye, is what I use.

 

[tatra]

first ya get a intact male cat.....................

 

[fireguy]

My guys are expected to buy their own common hand tools and tool boxes. I supply power tools and expensive tools. If we are on a job together, we work out of my toolbox. They way, tools do not get mixed up. And, nobody puts anything in my toolbox. Just put the tools beside the box, I will put it away! I also put everything back in my van. They just carry the stuff out to the van. If it is raining or snowing, it goes just inside the back door. That helps to insure every tool and part is out of the job site and in my van, and in the right place. I use labels on the larger tools, sometimes more than one label. I also put a label inside tool boxes. If an employee looses a company tool, he pays for a replacement. I buy the tool and it comes out of his paycheck. That way my 36 inch aluminum Ridgid pipe wrench does not turn into a hf steel 24 inch pipe wrench. When a deducion of $125.00 is made to pay for a 36" Ridgid pipe wrench, the tool loss goes down.

 

[mattwgrizwald]

theres a past thread on this and what I Liked was a tip from elroy and use laquer stick to mark your tools letters

http://www.markal.com/productDetail.aspx?ProductID=82

 

[35mastr]

One small ginder mark for my work stuff. Nothing on my personal tools at home.

 

[mkdive]

theres a past theread on this and what I Liked was a tip from elroy and use laquer stick to mark your tools letters

http://www.markal.com/productDetail.aspx?ProductID=82

Wish it was available in blue.

 

[Merkava_4]

One small grinder mark for my work stuff.

**cringes**

 

[Krokodil]

What about heat shrink? Also available in many colors and not sticky like isolation tape.

 

[Arne73]

I mark my work tools. I've had a couple of lost tools show up on my box after I thought they were long gone because they were marked.
I use one of those buzzer engravers and the results are adequate. The paint pen idea for recessed lettering would probably work fine if you don't need your name on there.

Keeps honest people honest.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I don't care one way or the other about marked tools, as long as they are engraved. I bought them to USE, not polish and check my reflection in. Painted tools look like trailer trash to me. Mine have every name under the sun on them, as a lot of them came from yard sales and auctions. Sometimes I look at the name and thank the previous owner for allowing me to end up with it so cheaply. At work, I engrave every piece with a rotary engraver, using a diamond grit burr. They work much more fluidly than an impact engraver. I don't even bother to lock my box there, but the production employees will seek me out to return my wayward tools using this method. I'm missing one screwdriver for the last 2 weeks, and that's unusual. Hell, I probably left it somewhere myself. Passing out the occasional piece of candy buys a lot of good will from bored workers.

RJ

 

[wrenchr]

Urine........................................hahahahahahahahahaha. lol and J/King

 

[mdbeck1]

What/how do they put in the "High Vis" sockets? Is that paint? Can you put a different color in there without a lot of pain?

 

[binder man]

If most of our tools are polished with a somewhat deep etching for the name or the lines in sockets. Wrenches spray paint then take a cloth and wipe off the body and the paint stays in the lettering. It really makes them unique yet not gaudy. I prefer a chevy orange color, but matching your box would be sweet too.

 

[malibu101]

I prefer a chevy orange color, but matching your box would be sweet too.

Me too.
GREAT ideas! Thank you for all the input!

 

[nolatoolguy]

Grab a big pack of colored electrical tape, let everyone pick a color, and everyone gets to put a stripe on their tools. Another vote for tape.

Scott

I totally agree with him

 

[mdbeck1]

If most of our tools are polished with a somewhat deep etching for the name or the lines in sockets. Wrenches spray paint then take a cloth and wipe off the body and the paint stays in the lettering. It really makes them unique yet not gaudy. I prefer a chevy orange color, but matching your box would be sweet too.

Thanks, I'll have to try that. I'm thinking lime green for my metric stuff and a bright red or pink for the SAE stuff. It would make them easier to identify.

 

[binder man]

if you don't wipe it all off the first time. take some lighter fluid on a rag, not much though, and use it to get the rest of the paint off of the tool

 

[arkangel06]

Laser engrave your name into them.

 

[Teken]

Thanks, I'll have to try that. I'm thinking lime green for my metric stuff and a bright red or pink for the SAE stuff. It would make them easier to identify.

Oh, I really like that idea! Not only does it not damage the tools, but it clearly indicates the metric / sae standard from far away!

I honestly thought this thread would not yield any valuable solutions, but am glad to be proven wrong!

I am going to buy some hi vis paint spray and do all the stamped lettering in my tools this week . . .

Awesome solution, that doesn't affect the warranty,physical appearance and the possible future sale of said tool(s)

Regards

EVIL Teken . . .

 

[O RLY]

If you are not worried about theft and just want to make it easier to identify each others tools I gotta say +1000 on the colored tape.

 

[chopper1]

If most of our tools are polished with a somewhat deep etching for the name or the lines in sockets. Wrenches spray paint then take a cloth and wipe off the body and the paint stays in the lettering. It really makes them unique yet not gaudy. I prefer a chevy orange color,but matching your box would be sweet too .

I like that idea, but my main box is stainless so I guess I'll leave them alone

 

[Indy_500]

If most of our tools are polished with a somewhat deep etching for the name or the lines in sockets. Wrenches spray paint then take a cloth and wipe off the body and the paint stays in the lettering. It really makes them unique yet not gaudy. I prefer a chevy orange color, but matching your box would be sweet too.

I just got a toolbox today full of tools and a couple of the tools were painted just like this in red. It looked unique. Makes me wanna try.

 

[caper]

One's that aren't part of my ratchet collection all get my name engraved in them.After having a break in at a shop I worked at one time and dealing with the police everything gets engraved.It's really the only way to positively identify your stuff when your trying to get it back from the police.My stuff was recovered from a drug house in a bust and if I hadn't seen my stuff on the front page of the newspaper I would have never gotten anything returned.Had a hell of a fight to get the stuff back because my name wasn't on it even though all the stuff they had recovered was listed as being lost by me in the break in police report.I think the officer was hoping it would go unclaimed so he could somehow get it himself.I ended up having to get a supervisor and a town councilor involved to get my stuff returned.Everything gets engraved now and photos of everything are on photobucket.

 

[1969]

I don't; can't imagine buying a $100.00 tool and then putting grind marks on it. When I was doing electrical work, colored tape was often used. I guess if I were to mark my tools, I might try the nail polish trick. With all the colors you see on females fingernails, I might try the blue or black. JMO