caintuckrifle Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 How do you mark your tools to prevent them from "walking away"(mark them as yours)? Stamps, spray paint, etching etc... How do YOU do it? Thanks, Caintuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 German shepard and a 9mm :D I also used my makers mark to stamp them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 all my tools have my paint colour on them. My expensive/special ones may also have a marking in a secret place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Greetings, If you lived in Texas like TP you could carry a long gun even when you when to lunch... I hate colored tools ... On a demo I keep most in a box and only bring out the ones I need for the operation.. Make a ring for your hammer and put it on the stump so it is harder to walk off with it without being seen.." The quick grab.." Forge on and make beautiful things Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Well at the State Fair when we may have a half dozen smiths demo'ing during the day and everyone bringing some tools but not a complete set and stuff gets shared around as needed. Colour makes for a fast and easy sorting method at the end of the day---unless two smiths have the same colour! I've even had stuff that got put away fast when a storm hit find it's way back to me "because it had your colour on it") Now me and a friend of mine have similar colours, dark vs light, and are always hassling the other that their tools have the wrong shade... in a big group strips may be needed Checking similar hammers for a touchmark, (we buy from the same stores after all), takes a lot longer than: blue this bucket, orange that bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 having read the tips and suggestions from other people about marking your tools prior to conferences and get togethers I went to the hardware store and bought some neon green spray paint and a roll of green duct tape for the purpose. the tape sucked on a scale unimaginable so I just sprayed everything up and tried to get two coats on before I had to throw everything in the trunk :) I saw several other smiths at the conference with rather elaborate color schemes and things like argyle tape too! I don't look at it as a theft deterrent really, it would be pretty unlikely that someone would be so unscrupulous as to swipe your tools maliciously, and if that's the case they are probably going to disappear into a bag in short order. its more useful for rounding kit up at the end of the day. I would have walked away with out one of my bending forks and my scrolling wrench if they hadn't been marked. one of the conference organizers was walking by me as I was working and exclaimed "Hey! YOURE bright green!" and handed me my fork :) and one of my friends from LA came up at lunch on the last day after I had already packed up all my gear and was getting ready to head out and handed me the twisting wrench I had left on the vice table for both of us to use. so it really does come in handy, feel free to get creative with how you do it but knowing what is yours in a sea of similar looking items is a godsend! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McCarthy Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Good thing your in California. Thats the same color I use. "Grabber Green" engine enamel from the auto parts store. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 yea, I was kind of concerned that it would be a common color, but I had no time, and its my favorite color :) once it gets narrowed down to one of the folks marked with the color you can usually tell by inspection if it belongs to you or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 My colors are hunter green and gold. I look at is a good way to untangle our gear on go home day. A little paint won't keep a thief from taking your stuff, I know but I'm not going to get into the story it just ticks me off. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 My color for *all* of my tools is Federal Safety Purple, I buy several cans at a time when I find it, and apply it liberally. In forty years, I have only seen one other company, and a lady smith use it. Even if I leave a shovel or rake behind at Scout camp, somebody will know that it is mine, and give it back two years later. Marking is not a cure-all, but it is a strong theft deterrent, and helps prevent excess "shrink". As noted, getting the mess untangled at the end of a group project goes much smoother if you can separate the sheep from the goats easily. And with 250 students a week going thru our welding lab, I have only missed a few paltry items over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I just stamp my tools. I have only lost one in 4 years. it was just a set of tongs for 1" stock. They will show up at an other event folks around here are good about making sure you get your stuff back. even had a set of tongs mailed back to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Working with another smith at a museum demo, a whole bucket of tongs went missing from the back of his pickup before we returned with another load from a hundred feet away. They were probably gone as soon as our backs were turned. I put my stuff inside my van and locked the doors *every* time before I walked away. Helping a relative build a log cabin years ago, thieves even took the electrical panel box and shower stall: they left my purple tools in the floor - too easy to identify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 sounds like plum is the new color for the new shop. when i was a steel erection superintendent i marked all our job tools in Ace hardware's stock plum paint. been gone from that company for 7 years still have good friends there and they still have all the job tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 then to I use fiberglass handles on all my hammers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I don't always paint my tools.......but when I do, I use Ford Motorcraft blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 My personal tools are all marked with yellow and black paint. My hammers have the paint then yellow and black electrical tape over the paint by the head. Incase someone might think they can get away with just removing the tape. Then I am very picky about letting others use my main forging tools. I have to much time in them getting them the way i like them. I always carry extra tool for people to borrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 In addition to paint, any one stamp a mark into the wooden handle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Not.....yet.....? :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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