# Marking your tools



## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Funny thing happend today, so i bought a 6" bahco adjustable couple years ago...went missing 2 weeks after i got it.
I was working on a job with a guy 3-4 months ago and i saw it laying on the ground next to his bucket of tools an i knew right away...thats my Fkin wrench. I didnt say anything and i left it.
Today was working with same guy and again i noticed it. So i wrested over what to do about it for a bit of the day eventually i seized my oportunity an snatched it back.

I know its mine cause dudes got a bunch of mastercraft stuff an i know he aint spending 20 bucks on a 6" spanner.
Im the only guy i work around that has knipex, bahco, werra, veto pro pac etc...
I dont buy cheap $hit take pride in the stuff i own.

So i just spent hours in my garage grinding my name into most of my stuff, labeld all my batteries. Started with seven milwaukee 5.0 batteries an im down to five...enough is enough.

Im sure this is a topic everyone here can relate to or has a story about.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> Funny thing happend today, so i bought a 6" bahco adjustable couple years ago...went missing 2 weeks after i got it...........
> Im sure this is a topic everyone here can relate to or has a story about.







We are pretty fortunate around here no one really steals outright. That said if you leave a pair of channellocks in a guys van and your name ain't on them you best not leave them there for long. We did have one guy take a couple small things from a guy he was having arguments with, nothing major.


The biggest problem is if you leave something where only other tradesmen go then it's fair game and even if your name is on it you might not get it back.




I write my name on everything and try to buy unique tools like channellocks with different color handles. I have used a dremel to grind my name into the back strap of my fuller japanese pipe wrenches in huge font. No mistaking those guys. I write my last name twice on the inside handles of my channellocks always. On my expensive power tools it's written in many places and often inside the case.


Marker, grinder, punches, you name it, I use it to put my name on all of my stuff I can. Only takes a moment to write your name, but it takes years to stop cursing yourself for losing a tool. Eventually when you go back to that house you can take it back in confidence knowing the homeowner can't say "I've had that for years!".






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## Logtec (Jun 3, 2018)

My power tools have my name written on them, in an obvious place, and once again under the batterie covers it, or there will be company stickers. 
Since I mostly work alone, my hand tools don’t have anything on them.


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## Debo22 (Feb 15, 2015)

My brother lays his tools on a piece of cardboard and spray paints them green. I used to work for a GC who would spray paint his Dewalt batteries hot pink so no would walk off with them. 

I sharpie my initials on my Milwaukee batteries and on the power tools where the battery goes. My basic hand tools I don’t bother and have rarely lost any.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I paint stuff either red or green. Hand tools that is.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

anything metal I stamp my initials into and anything else I put my initials on and then hide I set with a label or tape, so if some cocksucker steels it and paints over my initials I can peel back the tape or sticker and there they are and there he goes down..


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

If you ever get a swiss army knife, when it's brand new and the plastic isn't brittle, pop off the side panels and write your name in the valleys. You might need some superglue on the attachment points but even without it I have never had them come off later accidentally. There really isn't any where else to easily put your name that won't rub off or that they can't find easy and remove.



Those things can be expensive and I had this one time at an old job where someone found it in the parking lot and I had to have the manager pop off the panel to prove it was mine.








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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> anything metal I stamp my initials into and anything else I put my initials on and then hide I set with a label or tape, so if some cocksucker steels it and paints over my initials I can peel back the tape or sticker and there they are and there he goes down..





I have a couple different sets of punches including this nice set probably 100 years old from fall river mass. It's a cool old font. If you do it lightly to a bare metal surface with a good patina it will quickly blend in. Then later on you can take some grit cloth or even cardboard and with some light sanding it will be visible so you can show someone.








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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Debo22 said:


> My brother lays his tools on a piece of cardboard and spray paints them green. I used to work for a GC who would spray paint his Dewalt batteries hot pink so no would walk off with them.
> 
> I sharpie my initials on my Milwaukee batteries and on the power tools where the battery goes. My basic hand tools I don’t bother and have rarely lost any.





Unfortunately, at least around here, spray painting stuff, especially hot pink, is pretty common. I guess it's rare enough but I find all sorts of tools at thrift stores or garage sales that have pink paint.



Where I work we have stencils with a company logo for spray painting. It's more just for safe return than as a theft deterrent.







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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I have a couple different sets of punches including this nice set probably 100 years old from fall river mass. It's a cool old font. If you do it lightly to a bare metal surface with a good patina it will quickly blend in. Then later on you can take some grit cloth or even cardboard and with some light sanding it will be visible so you can show someone.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I got the harbor freight letter punches, I pound the schit out of them and they last..


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> Unfortunately, at least around here, spray painting stuff, especially hot pink, is pretty common. I guess it's rare enough but I find all sorts of tools at thrift stores or garage sales that have pink paint.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


if you really want to get crazy on semi expensive stuff, they have a thing called" tile" its a supper small gps tile that you put in or connect to whatever you want to track..


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

I always painted mine in Royal Blue, :biggrin:


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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

I've painted my tools from a mini excavator all the way down to a screwdriver in teal paint for at least 25 years. It has saved me countless tools over the years. I can spot a teal colored ladder a mile away.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

On my own now no tools go missing unless I forget them at a customer's house. When I was an employee my things didn't disappear. No one really stole tools from one another. It did happen once or twice on some job and the word spread around real quick and we always knew who it was.

Some jobs were sketchy so I locked all my tools at break and lunch.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

dhal22 said:


> I've painted my tools from a mini excavator all the way down to a screwdriver in teal paint for at least 25 years. It has saved me countless tools over the years. I can spot a teal colored ladder a mile away.



Yeah, ladders are definitely a hot one and they ain't cheap.


My boss gets so pissed as he should, our guys are so averse to having to getting stuck with things like threaders or ladders on their vans it can cause issues.


Such as one guy shows up at commercial site with ladder. Second guy shows up to help. First guy leaves on service call. Second guy finishes job and leaves ladder "assuming" it's the facility's ladder and not wanting to ask because who cares! The parts guy can grab it later if he's wrong!






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## dhal22 (Jul 30, 2010)

skoronesa said:


> Yeah, ladders are definitely a hot one and they ain't cheap.
> 
> 
> My boss gets so pissed as he should, our guys are so averse to having to getting stuck with things like threaders or ladders on their vans it can cause issues.
> ...



A lot easier to keep after it's been blasted with teal paint.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

dhal22 said:


> A lot easier to keep after it's been blasted with teal paint.





Yeah, my boss gets pissed if there's a ladder without like 4 logos painted and a couple stickers.






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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Harbor Freight has a cheap ENGRAVER tool I use on lots of things...........

I have done the grinding on the wrenches , but on the sawzalls and other tools the engraver works real well..... it really digs into the metal more than you realize and you can see the name still there years later..... I put it on there with my cell phone number ......

my staircat climber has got the engraving done to it too and my plumbing stickers plasterd all over it and the engraeging too... 

The stickers are a ***** to remove and those lazy bastar/s dont like to clean them off before trying to hock them....


the only thing in my truck that isnot marked that they can steal is the extension cords.... and they are rough......:vs_laugh:


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## canuck92 (Apr 1, 2016)

Just finished grinding my name all my tools in my third bag, very time consuming. Every single thing down too my small round files and allen keys lol.
I also printed labels with label maker an wraped with industrial tape.
I got some tools still that i purchased when i was day 1 apprentice...has some sedimental value to me even if its $8 id still be bummed out if it went missing.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

canuck92 said:


> Just finished grinding my name all my tools in my third bag, very time consuming. Every single thing down too my small round files and allen keys lol.
> I also printed labels with label maker an wraped with industrial tape.
> I got some tools still that i purchased when i was day 1 apprentice.*..has some sedimental value to me* even if its $8 id still be bummed out if it went missing.





I have some gritty stones an old friend gave to me, they too have sedimental value. :biggrin:






Print a long label with your name a ton of times and then spiral wrap it on your extension cord and then use clear heat shrink on it.






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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Master Mark said:


> Harbor Freight has a cheap ENGRAVER tool I use on lots of things...........
> 
> I have done the grinding on the wrenches , but on the sawzalls and other tools the engraver works real well..... it really digs into the metal more than you realize and you can see the name still there years later..... I put it on there with my cell phone number ......
> 
> ...





Print a long label with your name a ton of times and then spiral wrap it on your extension cord and then use clear heat shrink on it.




I would be livid if my good extension cord went missing. It's 25'+, neoprene jacket so it's nice and flexible. It was in a sewage pit for over 25 years, I cut it off a pump I changed way back when. Thing still looks mint. Just don't lick it.



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## Dpeckplb (Sep 20, 2013)

canuck92 said:


> Just finished grinding my name all my tools in my third bag, very time consuming. Every single thing down too my small round files and allen keys lol.
> I also printed labels with label maker an wraped with industrial tape.
> I got some tools still that i purchased when i was day 1 apprentice...has some sedimental value to me even if its $8 id still be bummed out if it went missing.


I’ve got a dewalt folding Knife that I’ve had since I started plumbing 12 years ago. It mainly is just in the truck for real emergencies. I’d be really bummed if it went missing.


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## Fatpat (Nov 1, 2015)

I used to wrap some orange electrical tape on each of my tools. If some one where to “borrow” a tool and the tape happen to “fall off” i could tell that it left a sticky residue.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Fatpat said:


> I used to wrap some orange electrical tape on each of my tools. If some one where to “borrow” a tool and the tape happen to “fall off” i could tell that it left a sticky residue.


 the problem is if you dont have your initials or a positive identifier on your stuff, there is no legal way to enforce the person to give it back or have them locked up for stealing your stuff....legally...
now a 2 x 4 to the back of the head is a mighty good convincer for a thief to give your stuff back...:wink:


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## Fatpat (Nov 1, 2015)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> Fatpat said:
> 
> 
> > I used to wrap some orange electrical tape on each of my tools. If some one where to “borrow” a tool and the tape happen to “fall off” i could tell that it left a sticky residue.
> ...


Very true, i was talking about back during apprenticeship/union days.

As a business owner, i have all my equipment engraved & the tools with serial numbers documented/insured.

It would feel good to beat a thief with 18inch piece of garden hose.


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## Venomthirst (Jun 20, 2018)

Barbie pink spray paint.. on my rigid pipe wrenches and cutters I got like 4 pairs of channels locks from misplacing them then finding them.. I just give a shot of spray paint on everything.. I picked a girly colour because most guys are macho and don't want to be wielding a 3' pink pipe wrench


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

My tools are not insured and it's pretty damn foolish to try to as the depreciation is absurd based on the insurer. Plus several thousands each year to insure. In 10 years I could buy new tools for the price of the insurance.

My doors are locked plus the lock boxes on the cargo doors. Plus the motion detectors plus my daily driver parked in front every night. The truck and tools aren't going anywhere when I'm at home.


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## Fatpat (Nov 1, 2015)

Tango said:


> My tools are not insured and it's pretty damn foolish to try to as the depreciation is absurd based on the insurer. Plus several thousands each year to insure. In 10 years I could buy new tools for the price of the insurance.
> 
> My doors are locked plus the lock boxes on the cargo doors. Plus the motion detectors plus my daily driver parked in front every night. The truck and tools aren't going anywhere when I'm at home.


Canada sucks haha

$600 a year for 30k in tool coverage
Ill pay it, i had a truck stolen and stripped.

It was literally every tool i had. Never again will i be caught with my pants down. 👉👌


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Fatpat said:


> ..........It would feel good to beat a thief with 18inch piece of garden hose.





Would feel better to use a slap stapler.






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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Venomthirst said:


> Barbie pink spray paint.. on my rigid pipe wrenches and cutters I got like 4 pairs of channels locks from misplacing them then finding them.. I just give a shot of spray paint on everything.. I picked a girly colour because most guys are _*insecure*_ and don't want to be wielding a 3' pink pipe wrench





There, I fixed it for you. :biggrin:




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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Fatpat said:


> Canada sucks haha
> 
> $600 a year for 30k in tool coverage
> Ill pay it, i had a truck stolen and stripped.
> ...


I can't remember exactly but it was several thousands. The second year after being new they depreciate like 40-70% or something ridiculous.


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## ironandfire (Oct 9, 2008)

Another temp gut I work with recently bought the midsize Milwaukee bandsaw. This thing comes chipped ! You can find the damn thing with your phone. Genius !


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## V.A Hydro-ooter (Oct 14, 2018)

ironandfire said:


> Another temp gut I work with recently bought the midsize Milwaukee bandsaw. This thing comes chipped ! You can find the damn thing with your phone. Genius !


That's the one key system. You can buy the chips separately to put on other tools. 

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/48-21-2000


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

ironandfire said:


> Another temp gut I work with recently bought the midsize Milwaukee bandsaw. This thing comes chipped ! You can find the damn thing with your phone. Genius !


I’ve got a few, you can also shut it down if it’s gets stolen.


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

V.A Hydro-ooter said:


> That's the one key system. You can buy the chips separately to put on other tools.
> 
> https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/48-21-2000





I should put those on my cats so I can figure where they go during the day.






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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

skoronesa said:


> There, I fixed it for you. :biggrin:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That’s very macho of you!:biggrin:


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

skoronesa said:


> I should put those on my cats so I can figure where they go during the day.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> I should put those on my cats so I can figure where they go during the day.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


put one on your wife without knowing and you may find out some stuff..just a different kind of pu$$y...:vs_laugh::vs_laugh::vs_laugh:


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

I am a Milwaukee nut, but everything is red! I have to put colored tape on them so that I know what they are. Lol


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## SlightlyAmused (Jul 28, 2018)

All my milwaukee batteries get hit with an orange paint marker along the vents and around the trim. Makes it easy for me to spot mine when I'm working with a group.

All my hand tools either have my name engraved on them or a strip of orange paint on them.


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## Milesplbg (Jun 30, 2020)

I recently had a pipe wrench returned to me after 10 years!


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Milesplbg said:


> I recently had a pipe wrench returned to me after 10 years!




This is why I used my dremel and ground my name in the backstrap of my pipe wrenches. The letters are like 1" tall.


I have two sets of letter punches and use them a lot.




I had a pair of channellocks get returned after a couple months just the other week.


One of these days I am going to get my 120$ Wheeler-Rex 4992 pipe cutter back. I punched my name into it. I just recently purchased a second.




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