Would you pawn your tools?

If I was unemployed, my tools would be my living.

If I was sick, I would get better and have my tools later, if not mamma will find a home. How many women visit a pawn?

Yes, lots of things that are pawned are stolen. I have seen many brand new small power tools in their unopened packages in the pawn shops that have probably been shoplifted. And toolboxes that have probably been taken in burglaries or vehicle prowlings. Many areas have pawn shop ordinances that require the pawn shop operator to report in detail every item that is pawned and also to report the identity of the person who pawned the items to the local police. A lot of stolen property gets recovered that way and the pawn shops consider it as part of the price of doing business.

Some pawns are completely legitimate. I talked to one pawn operator who said he had a customer who had pawned and recovered his wedding ring more than 10 times--just needed a little cash. But if the pawn operator has any notion that the item being pawned might be stolen and therefore there would be a chance that police would seize the item, the pawn operator will give cents on the dollar of the true value of the item as a loan. If the customer redeems the pawned item, it costs him less and if they never come back and the item is not seized, the pawn shop can make a good profit on the item when they sell it. Most of the pawn operators I have known were pretty sharp and didn't get stuck with much of a loss very often if items were seized. They really know values of different items.

I guess I would have to be pretty desperate to pawn anything. Thank God I have always had better choices to get money when I really had to have it quick. Pawning something and redeeming it is quite costly (the percentage of interest and fees is ugly). I would wonder if I couldn't come out better having a yard sale if I was just going to sell my tools or other goodies.

A lesson to all, NEVER TRUST A TRUCK CAP FOR SECURITY!

Good part was (as if any of it was good) that I was in Kingston for the company so they replaced everything. But boy is it hard to remember exactly what is in your tool box when everythingis gone. I always kept a list of what tools I had after that.

And YES a friend of mine saw MY Snap-on screw driver with the arc mark on the shank in a PAWN SHOP in Kingston about 2 months later.

Tell me how do you identify hand tools to the Police? There is no serial number.

Sell my stuff, yea about 2 hrs before I'm gone.
My wife(bless her soul)wouldn't have a clue what to do or where to start she says that about every 6 months(the 2 times a year she is in the garage).

Mike"Mr.what needs fixed up here"