Forum Member's Knives Stolen - December 2019

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WildBoar

Home cook, knife accumulator
KKF Supporting Member
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A fellow knife forum member had a bag full of knives stolen from his apartment recently. He discovered the theft this past week, but has been too busy with work to compile an email here on KKF. The apartment is in Columbia, Maryland (USA). He had a few grails in the bag, including some recent purchases that were still unused in boxes (one is a Mt. Fuji).

I hope to append this thread in the next day or two with more detailed information about the knives that were stolen. Some were rare and some have custom handles. But if you come across anyone selling some high-end j-knives in the DC/ Baltimore area please let me know.

They also stole a Nikon dSLR, but I do not have the model # or lens info yet.

There were no signs of a break-in, and he has two roommates who profess to know nothing about the theft. Yeah, it's a bit suspect... A police report has been made.
 
That sucks. Especially this time of year. What is wrong with people who think its OK to take others hard-earned belongings. Having been victim of a burglary a few years ago I know how bad it feels.

Yes, please post details and pics of unique items to help keep tabs on FS ads. Def call around a few of the local Pawn Shops and check CL. Did the victim give the Police the serial number of the camera? It might get flagged on the Pawn Shop reporting system and could lead indirectly to the knives if sold to the same store. Thief probably has no idea what he stole and its value.

Hopefully your friend had renters insurance. If paid for with a credit card there may be cover there too depending on the benefits the card offers. Worth inquiring.
 
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Seems doubtful that it could have been anything other than an inside job. They did not break in, and they knew what to take. Kosta has never had anyone over there, so it seems like it could be an acquaintance of one of the roommates who may have heard he had some knives worth a lot of 4.

Good point about camera serial No. Not sure if he has that or not, as the camera is a handful of years old. He has purchase info on most of the knives, except a couple that are 5-8 years old.
 
Seems doubtful that it could have been anything other than an inside job. They did not break in, and they knew what to take. Kosta has never had anyone over there, so it seems like it could be an acquaintance of one of the roommates who may have heard he had some knives worth a lot of 4.

Good point about camera serial No. Not sure if he has that or not, as the camera is a handful of years old. He has purchase info on most of the knives, except a couple that are 5-8 years old.
Serial number will be on the box if he still has that. Should also be listed on the invoice if purchased new.
 
Nothing else was stolen, just the guy's knives and camera?
That's brazen--You'd think the thief would at least have the sense to steal some of the other roomate's stuff too to make it not too obvious.
 
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This is all he could send me from work right now:

First Trio.jpg


9 knives + 6 sayas were stolen. 2 of the knives had upgraded handles.

No question the pool of people who may know who stole this stuff is pretty shallow. The police came and took a report, and did not seem interested in pursuing anything. One of the 2 roommates is the owner of the unit (it is a condo building).
 
This really sucks, hopefully this thread will help prevent the offloading of these knives, will help keep an eye out for these
May I suggest a STOLEN section on KKF as a permanent documentation that certain knives be placed on a "black list". I know a few months ago someones Doi was stolen and that one had a serial no. If anyone didn't know about these knives their searches will eventually lead them to KKF. Especially if these are grail level pieces.
 
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Let us know what he needs or PM me with his info.
Thanks for that. When I talked to him yesterday afternoon he said is good with knives for work (he had a working batch locked up in the restaurant), so this is not keeping him from working.
This really sucks, hopefully this thread will help prevent the offloading of these knives, will help keep an eye out for these
That's what I am hoping. Really wanted to get the work out for Kosta as early as possible, since he does not have the time right now to pull together the info needed for a proper forum post.
 
Def an inside job, no one steals knives unless they know they're worth thousands.
The DSLR sure.

Good luck nabbing the crook.
 
Here is the Mt. Fuji/ Purchased through KKF 5 months ago. Half-crescent moonover Mt. Fuji; Ebony handle w silver spacer and blond horn. Horn has white and brown streaks:

shirakifront-jpg.57766

shirakiback-jpg.57765

shirakihamon3-jpg.57767

Here is the FS Thread: https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...i-ikeda-tamahagane-shiraki-mt-fujiyama.42673/

Shiraki 240mm Mt. Fujiyama Crescent Moon Honyaki Gyuto [SOLD]
Heel Height: 54.25mm
Edge Length: 245mm
Weight: 290g

BNIB - (Few light swirls and scratches on mirror finish)
 
This sucks, the victim is a good guy and a fellow lefty. Clearly an inside targeted job if no forced entry and no other items stolen… not many thieves would perceive knives to be super valuable without some particular knowledge (the camera/electronics are common targets, at least according to police when my office had s commercial robbery last year).
 
Yes. His good stuff. Mix of several brand new/ never been used knives and a few older ones.
You got the list of knives that were taken?

Amyway, doubt they will eve list on KKF. They will prob end up on Craigslist for cheap.
 
This hurts to the core of every knife nerd. Financially, is there the possibility of an insurance payout to cover losses? While it still hurts. That takes some of the sting out.
 
Damn this sucks. I’m reading inside job here as well. But what sucks is I doubt we’ll see them unloaded any time soon.
There’s not a lot of pawn shops here in Columbia. In fact I don’t think there’s even one in the general Howard County area. But Baltimore and nearby D.C. area are riddled with them.
Hopefully something positive comes of this. But in the meantime he needs to dump the roommates. Won’t be easy I’m sure
 
i wanna thank everyone that posted and i am sure this has been the worst Christmas for me to date.

Here is a recap of what happened The knives where in storage in my room some in their bag and the new ones in their sayas . The DSLR was in storage as well as since i started with this project i had zero time to take it out for a spin so i was going to take it to work with me to start shooting food with it .

The plot thickens as well . The original box had the serial number on it but it was scratched off . Nothing else in the room was taken or touched and even more puzzling the rest of my items were intact and no forced entry.

The police were discouraging to the point i wanted to start crying. They said they would take a report down with my account of what happened and asked if i had any suspects. I have no suspects really and i never had issues with my roommates before so i didn't know what to say on the subject other that i dont have a solid suspect. they did not seem interested in pursuing anything with anything did not check any doors or windows, did not do an autopsy of the room just wrote a report.

I called my insurance even before i called the police. Honestly when i took the insurance this scenario never pan out to me i took it just in case the worst thing happens and i have a bigger loss due to something i did not expect like a flooded apartment or a small fire and basically, because renters insurance dropped my regular insurance by a lot.Now i am struggling to gather all the information needed to compile a list .

here is what was taken

most of these knifes i dont use at work anymore as they are heirlooms . they are bundled in nenox blue knife holders from korin and in a leather bag or in box and in storage

Kenichi Shiraki 240mm purchased here BNIB
didnt even cut a grape with it just rubbed it a couple of times creepingly with a microfiber

Tanaka rikichi blue N1 300mm Damascus sakimaru from STRATA portland made by hitohira with hybrid handle .
my most current purchase and BNIB in its saya untouched

Tanaka Blue N1 300mm Damascus Yanagi BNIB
with ebony saya and handle with silver spacers . Also in storage never touched never used

ittosai kotetsu old stock 300mm damascus yanagiba from korin
my first priced yanagiba with upgraded handle by PCPKEN and custom ebony wood saya

keijiro doi suisin light yanagi 270 mm BNIB
it was in long term storage stil in the box with the saya

HIROMOTO AS 270MM wa . sujihiki with upgrded handle by pcpken and ebony saya
a real unicorn from my old first few japanese knifes . Hiromotto stopped making wa version long long time ago .

WATANABE 210MM MIOROSHI DEBA
Custom work from watanabe that i bought long time ago from lee in the old forums . My first deba that slayed more fish i can even care to count

KONOSUKE SAKAI WHITE N1 FUJIYAMA
IN long term storage with upgraded ebony saya BNIB was waiting to be send for a new handle

SHUN PARING KNIFE

SHUN SMALL 150MM HONESUKI STYLE /PARER BONER

MAC SHARPENING STEEL

GLOBAL PIN BONE TWEEZERS

A COUPLE OF HORN HANDLED STEAK knives I KEEP FOR TASTING THAT WAS A PRESENT FROM ANOTHER CHEF. No idea the value or exact model they are laguiole though .

pictures are scarce as i never was taking as many of the knifes (i was waiting for a knife stand from PIOTR THE BEAR TO BECOME AVAILABLE)


In less important news i also lost an xt-30 with less than 25 activations maybe with an upgraded grib extra battery and kit lens . Also two older laptops a dell inspiron and an old old acer . Funny story these are so old but i was migrating recipes out of them and didnt wanna throw them in the garbage for recycling yet


Overall there is a moral on the story . You can't trust anyone when it comes to your belongings. definitely an inside job . Now i want to see if my renter's insurance will cover my loss at all .

i will be posting more pictures as i find them and links with descriptions. Anyone that see one of them pop up please let me know

regards

kk
 
Chin up man, I hope things take a turn for the better in the new year for you.
 
I am scary enough with my accent and I have an axe and a shovel in my car for building fires for outdoor fire cooking so that would manage.

all jokes aside I lost faith in humanity this past 2 days . and I could care less for the other items as they are all replaceable. These knives were irreplaceable and been with me through so many ups and downs of my life . Funny thing I use to live in questionable neighborhoods in 4 different states with the last 8 years in the heart of Baltimore city never had an issue but got robbed in white suburbia, Columbia Maryland.

You win universe... you win ...
 
Hey Kosta,
So sorry to hear about this. I'm no longer in DC but still have friends there I'll ask to keep an eye out...maybe also reaching out to District Cutlery and smaller shops like that would be a good idea. Let me know if you need anything. Good luck
 
You got the list of knives that were taken?
Ah, I see he was able to get on KKF last night. Not a good Christmas story by any stretch of the imagination. Really only two possible people who might have been involved/ facilitated the theft.
 
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Usually people can't tell the value of a knife especially a common thief. Only a knife nut would know that those knives are worth thousands of dollars. Since they stole just the knives and the dslr it seems to me it was an ordered job. If i were you I would make a list with guys with whom you have traded knives and who know your address from the past deliveries. Perhaps police should have a talk with the ones closer to your residence. Maybe some of them have a criminal record.
What I suggest to fellow members is that if you trade knives in the thousands of dollars on BST use a delivery address that is not your home. Not everyone is decent and there are plenty of crimes to prove it.
 
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