Letter/ number stamps on tools?

[Knotgoalie]

I started a thread a while ago about putting stickers inside of tools to identify them in case of theft. I was shortly informed that it was a dumb idea and I agreed with that judgement however...I recently went through all of my cordless tools/batteries and stamped a 1/8" logo on each tool/ battery as well as a # on each battery.

Everything is in plain sight but invisible unless you know where it is. I just see it as a very fast way to identify what is mine with a mark that has to be deliberately sanded/ground off??? Call me paranoid but I have lost over $60k in tools to a thief!

 

[wyattstihl]

This seems like a very good system. Even if someone stole the tool, they wouldnt have a clue about the stamping. And if they did, A it would have to be someone you told, and B you would be able to tell if someone tried to remove/cover up the stamp in some way.


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[PFSard]

Call me paranoid but I have lost over $60k in tools to a thief!

Big bucks!!! I have no clue how to deal with this. Do police departments have recommendations on how to protect your tools from theft?

 

[WWheeler]

Back around 2005-2007 or so one of our trucks got broken into and had a couple chainsaws, ropes, climbing gear, etc stolen out of it. Each of the saws had my company name and last 4 of my SSN engraved in the housing under the filter. Nothing else was marked. When I filed a police report with Chesapeake VA PD they took note of the markings on the saws.

Two days later I get a call from the detective who had taken my report. At least in VA if something is stolen that is marked by the owner in a way that can be identified the description of the item and the markings goes out to all local pawn & consignment shops, etc. A pawn shop owner in VA Beach, about 40 miles from where my truck got broke into, had seen that report and when one of the little pricks who broke in our truck tried to pawn one of the saws he saw the markings and called it in.

We wound up getting almost all of our stuff back a couple weeks later. The same guys had been hocking all sorts of other stuff through that same pawn shop and several others for months, but none of it had been marked or had serial numbers that matched any known stolen items until they walked in with my saw. When they searched the thief's parents' houses they also recovered items reported stolen from more than 50 other businesses, vehicles and homes. The paper said the value of items recovered was well over $100,000. The detective said it was likely that none of it would have gotten back to their owners if I hadn't engraved my saws like I did, not to mention how much more stuff they would probably have gotten away with if they weren't caught when they were.

 

[Knotgoalie]

Big bucks!!! I have no clue how to deal with this. Do police departments have recommendations on how to protect your tools from theft?

Police seem to prove ineffective in most cases. I knew who perpetrated the theft, told the police and their "investigation" consisted of them calling the suspect on the phone and were told "I didn't do it". The police had the nerve to tell me that there was no case because the perpetrator denied the charge so I would have to take them to court...did...won...aaaand every time the thief has been served with papers...they move!