Marking your tools

[HawkinsHollow]

How do you gentlemen mark your tools? Paint pen? Nail polish? I just inherited a bunch of amazing old "Made in the USA" tools from my dad and I want to make sure they don't grow legs and walk away. With wooden or plastic things I have a branding iron I use, with larger items a stencil and spray paint. I want to mark my smaller hand tools with at least a colored dot that I can recognize as mine.

 

[Paddy]

I used green spray paint when a worker claimed my speed square was their speed square.

 

[Jchonline]

I use a metal etcher. Just 2 letters (initials). Permanent marker for chrome stuff.

 

[Doofy]

Don't loan Tools! Problem solved.

 

[ptsg]

A die grinder with a diamond bit. Typically just the initials for the first and last name.

For my dad, since he has about 25% of vision on the good eye, I marked bigger numbers for the size on the harder to read wrenches using the same method.

 

[Thomas]

Engraver.

 

[Jstpssng]

Pink spray paint! Nobody will steal them.

 

[Spike56]

I use Yellow Paint.... Also helps if I drop it in the grass.

 

[Oaktree]

I use Yellow Paint.... Also helps if I drop it in the grass.

I use flourescent orange on tools likely to be used in the woods, etc. for that reason.

Don't loan Tools! Problem solved.

That too! Other than a few "work parties" with our local snowmobile club, most of mine are used at home with no one else around but me. Downside is there's no one to blame it on if something walks off...

 

[JasperFrank]

Engravers are the devil's tool for anyone that works in the second hand markets.
Can't even count how many perfectly good laptops we could not sell cause someone had burned in, "property of XXXXXX." and then also added their social security number.